EMPRESS REGENT OF FRANCE
WILLIAM MACKENZIE. LONDON. EDINBURGH * GLASGOW
THE
FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR:
ITS CAUSES, INCIDENTS, AND CONSEQUENCES.
EDITED BY
CAPTAIN H. M. HOZIER, F.C.S., F.C.S.,
AUTHOR OF "THE SEVEN WEEKS1 WAR," "THE BRITISH EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA," ETC.
WITH THE
TOPOGRAPHY AND HISTORY OF THE RHINE VALLEY,
BY W. H. DAVENPORT ADAMS,
AUTHOR OF "BEFORE THE CONQUEST," "BURIED CITIES OF CAMPANIA," ETC.
VOL II.
LONDON:
WILLIAM MACKENZIE, 22 PATERNOSTER ROW;
43 TO 51 HOWARD STREET, GLASGOW; 59 SOUTH BRIDGE, EDINBURGH.
PRINTED BY WILLIAM MACKENZIE, LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND GLASGOW.
THE
Franco-Prussian War.
CHAPTER XV.
Popular Feeling in Paris—Excitement on hearing of the Fighting around Metz and Hostile Feeling against the Government—Appointment of
General Trochu as Governor of Paris, and brief Biographical Notice of him—Complete Exemplification of his Views with regard to the
French Army—His First Proclamation to the Inhabitants of Paris—Favourable Reception of it by all Parties—Cheering Assurances of M.
Thiers as to the Capacity of Paris to withstand a Siege—His Proposal to make a Waste of the Country surrounding the Capital, and to
bring the Inhabitants and their Produce within the City—False Statements made by the Government as to the Battles around Metz and
the reputed slaughter in the Quarries of Jaumont—The Feeling of the Extreme Opponents of the Government—The First Arrivals of the
Wounded in Paris—Execution of Spies—Fearful Atrocity at Hautelaye—Important Decree published by the Empress appointing a Com¬
mittee of Defence—Proclamation of General Trochu to the National Guard—Sketch of the Sieges of Paris, and Historical and General.
Description of the Fortifications—Activity displayed in placing the latter in a thorough State of Defence—Armameut of the Forts—Gun¬
boats launched on the Seine to assist in the Defence of the City—Minute Information possessed by the Germans as to the Fortifications of
Paris—Improved Tone in the Feeling of the Parisians, and Activity manifested in the Organization of the Troops—Expulsion of the Germans
and of all the "Dangerous" Classes, and Voluntary Exodus of the Well-to-do Classes and Foreigners—Closing of the Theatres—Arrival of
the Outside Population within the City, with Huge Droves of Sheep and Cattle—The Country aroused at the Danger of the Capital—A
Loan of £30,000,000 rapidly subscribed for—Proceedings in the Corps Législatif—Impressive Remarks by M. Thiers—The Party of the
Left gradually gaining the Upper Hand—Important Cqmmunication from the Government and Reply from the Inhabitants—Statement to
the Corps Législatif by Count Palikao relating to the Sortie from Metz and Battles around Sedan—The Surrender of the Emperor and
his Army still kept from the People—Great Agitation in the Chamber, and demand of M. Jules Favre that the de facto Government should
cease—Levy era Masse—Instances of the Changeability of the French Character—The Sad Feeling in Germany caused by the Fearful Losses
in the Battles around Metz, and increased determination to put down France effectually—Behaviour of the French Wounded—Remonstrances
of the well-known Authoress, Fanny Lewald, against the Attention shown to the French Prisoners—Increasing Feeling of Hostility against
the French Government and People—Germany's wishes with regard to Alsace and Lorraine—Protests against Foreign Interference in
the Struggle—The Jubilation in Berlin and other German Cities on the Reception of the News of the Surrender of the Emperor and the
French Army at Sedan.
Having brought the narrative of the events con¬
nected with the war to the surrender of the
emperor and his army at Sedan, we suspend the
further description of active operations in the field,
to glance at the situation of affairs in the French
capital, where most important political and other
matters had naturally occupied the attention of
the authorities and people generally. We shall
also, at the same time, briefly notice the feeling
manifested in Germany.
In Chapter IX. we described the progress of
events and the state of the public mind in the
French and Prussian capitals down to the emperor's
fête day (August 15)—a day which had been
fixed on by many enthusiastic Frenchmen for the
triumphant march of their troops into Berlin !
As already stated, the usual festival was not cele-
VOL. II.
brated; and the Parisians suffered keenly from
suspense and mortification occasioned by the early
disasters of the campaign. The festival of the
church, however, was duly honoured. On the
day following the festival (August 16) the city
was again plunged into a state of the most intense
excitement, when it became known that severe
fighting had been going on upon the banks of
the Moselle, the details of which were, in vain,
eagerly sought for; while the excitable disposition
of the Parisians was embittered by the minister
of the Interior posting a despatch to the effect
that " some travellers " had reported a great
battle, in which 40,000 Prussians were placed
hors de comhat. Taught a lesson by the false
news spread after the battle of Woerth, this pro¬
ceeding of M. Chevreau only served to increase
a
2
THE FRANCO PRUSSIAN WAR.
the hostile feeling of the people, whose menaces
began to be formidable.
The 17th of August deserves especial notice as
the day on which General Trochu, who afterwards
played so important a part in the defence of the
capital, was appointed governor of Paris. Nothing
could have shown more clearly the precarious
condition of the empire than this appointment.
General Trochu had displayed the qualities of an
able soldier and a high-minded gentleman ; but his
sympathies were professedly Orleanist, and little in
accord with the regency of the empress. He had
likewise requested of the emperor a command in
the army of the Rhine, which was refused. He
had, however, been sent to the camp at Toulouse
to organize the troops, and was subsequently ap¬
pointed to the command of the twelfth army corps
stationed at the camp at Chalons, whence he was
recalled for the defence of the capital.
This general, Louis Jules Trochu, was born in
1815, and educated at the military school of St.
Cyr. He was appointed lieutenant in 1840, cap¬
tain in 1843, and subsequently served in Algeria,
where he became the favourite aide-de-camp of
Marshal Bugeaud, who had remarked his great
bravery at the battle of Isly. He became major
in 1846, and colonel in 1853. During the Russian
war he served in the Crimea as aide-de-camp to
Marshal St. Arnaud, gaining by his gallant conduct
at the siege of Sebastopol the commander's cross
of the Legion of Honour. After the Marshal's
death he was promoted to the rank of general, and
commanded a brigade of infantry until the end of
the war. During the Italian campaign of 1859,
which ended with the victory of Solferino, he
served with distinction in command of a division.
In 1861 he was promoted to the rank of grand
officer of the Legion of Honour, having then been
in the army twenty-five years, and served in
eighteen campaigns, in one of which he was
wounded. General Trochu was also elected a
member of the consulting committee of the Etat
Major, and chosen in the place of his father a
member of the Conseil Général of Morbihan, in
the canton of Belle Isle. In 1866 he helped
greatly in the reorganization of the army, and in
the following year published anonymously a book
entitled "The French Army in 1867," which
passed through ten editions in six months. In it
he severely criticized the organization of the army,
and especially the changes introduced into it under
the empire, which tended to render the soldiery
a caste, severed in interest and feeling from their
civilian countrymen. He maintained that its
manoeuvres were antiquated, its organization very
imperfect, and " that the main secret of success
in every war was to be more completely prepared
for action than the enemy;" a theory strikingly
exemplified in the Prusso-Austrian war of 1866,
and still further verified by the French reverses
during the late conflict.
General Trochu's appointment as governor of
Paris was mainly owing to the acknowledged
merits of this treatise ; and so highly were his
qualifications valued by the community, that it
was only by promptly installing him in the office
the government prevented a proposition in the
Corps Législatif to place him in it. Count de
Palikao, however, in announcing the appoint¬
ment, was careful to state that it had no political
signification. On the morning following his
appointment the general issued the subjoined pro¬
clamation :—
" Inhabitants of Paris,— In the present peril of
the country I am appointed, governor of Paris and
commander-in-chief of the forces charged with
defending the capital in a state of siege. Paris
assumes the rôle which belongs to her, and desires
to be the centre of great efforts, of great sacrifices,
of great examples. I associate myself with it with
all my heart. It will be the pride of my life and
the brilliant crowning of a career till now unknown
to the most of you. I have the most implicit faith
in the success of our glorious enterprise, but it is
on one condition, the nature of which is absolute,
imperative, and without which our united efforts
will be powerless. I mean good order ; and I
understand by that not only calmness in the
street, but in-doors, calmness of mind, deference
for the orders of the responsible authority, resig¬
nation under those experiences which are insep¬
arable from the situation, and, finally, that grave
and collected serenity of a great military nation
which takes in hand, with a firm resolution, under
solemn circumstances, the conduct of its destinies.
I will not refer, in order to secure to the situation
that equilibrium which is so desirable, to the state
of siege and of the law. I will demand it from
your patriotism, I shall obtain it from your confi¬
dence, while I myself repose unbounded confidence
in you. I appeal to men of all parties, belonging
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
3
myself, as is known in the army, to no other party
than that of the country. I appeal to their devo¬
tion ; I entreat them to restrain by moral authority
those ardent spirits who cannot restrain themselves,
and to do justice by their own hands on those men
who are of no party, and who perceive in our public
misfortunes only the opportunity of satisfying
detestable desires {appétits). And in order to
accomplish my work—after which, I assure you, I
shall retire into the obscurity from which I emerge
—I adopt one of the old mottoes of my native
province of Brittany, ' With God's help, for the
country' ('Avec l'aide de Dieu, pour la patrie').
" GENERAL TROCHU."
This proclamation was greatly approved by the
inhabitants of Paris, and favourably commented on
by journals of nearly every shade, especially for
its patriotic spirit, firmness, and modesty. In rela¬
tion to that part of it which speaks of summary
justice being done by the people, the general sub¬
sequently explained as follows:—"A time may
come when Paris, threatened at all points, and
subjected to all the hardships of a siege, will be,
so to speak, given over to that particular class of
rascals (gredins) who in public misfortunes only
see an opportunity for satisfying their detestable
appetites. These are the men, as you know, who
run through the affrighted town, crying out, ' We
are betrayed ! ' who break into houses and plunder
them. These are the men whom I told all honest
folk to lay hold of in the absence of the public
force, which will be required on the ramparts.
That was what I meant." It is noticeable that
General Trochu simply announced his appoint¬
ment, without indicating the authority whence it
emanated.*
These proceedings, coupled with declarations
by M. Thiers as to the capacity of the fortifica¬
tions of the capital to withstand a siege, somewhat
cheered the spirits of the Parisians. At the sitting of
the Corps Législatif he (M. Thiers) also expressed
a hope that, in case of necessity, Paris would be
able to offer an invincible resistance to the Ger¬
mans. With a view to this, and in order to secure
abundance in the capital, he suggested that a
waste should be made around it, and that the
inhabitants of the surrounding country, with all
their produce, should take refuge in it.
As regards the communication of news from the
* See note at the end of Chapter.
front, the government fell into the error of their
predecessors. The truth respecting the battles
around Metz on the 14th, 16th, and 18th of
August, which led to the investment of Marshal
Bazaine and his entire army within the lines of
the " maiden " fortress, was uniformly withheld
from the people. The minister of War spoke of
the affair of the 14th as a brilliant combat, in
which the enemy had sustained severe losses ?
but refused to give any details of the engage¬
ment. A despatch subsequently published inti¬
mated that the French had been able to carry
their wounded into Metz; that the Prussians
were compelled to retire to their former lines;
that they had been repeatedly repulsed in an
unsuccessful attempt to carry the French posi¬
tion; and that Bazaine had rejoined MacMahon,
with the prospect of a decisive victory.
In published despatches it was also announced
that in the battle of the 16th Marshal Bazaine had
repulsed the German army, had everywhere main¬
tained his ground, and that his troops had passed
the night in the position they had conquered.
The place, however, whence the latter announce¬
ment had been issued was not mentioned; and
although the despatch had been sent on the night
of the 16th, it was not published in Paris till the
18th. The actual state of affairs was subsequently
learned from German despatches published in the
English newspapers. No information was com¬
municated respecting the hard-fought battle of
Gravelotte on the 18th, but the Parisians were
firmly persuaded that a great victory had been
obtained; and on Friday (19th) the Boulevards
were crowded with enthusiastic multitudes singing
the Marseillaise and shouting "Vive la France!"
" Vive Bazaine ! " " Vive l'Armée ! "
In the Chamber, on Saturday, August 20, al¬
though no despatch was produced from Bazaine,
Count Palikao made the following communica¬
tion :—" The Prussians have circulated the report
that they gained advantages over our troops on
the 18 th. I wish formally to state the contrary.
I have shown to several deputies a despatch, from
which it appears that three Prussian corps united
made an attack upon Marshal Bazaine, but that
they were repulsed and overthrown into the
quarries of Jaumont (culbutés dans les carrières
de Jaumont)." The minister likewise intimated
that Bismarck's cuirassiers had been cut to
pieces, and the Prussian troops had sustained
4
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
great loss, while Bazaine's position secured to
him entire freedom of action. These statements
were at the time loudly cheered ; but subse¬
quently, pressed by the Left, Count Palikao
failed to substantiate them. Assailed by M.
Gambetta, he said that a premature communica¬
tion of good news from the seat of war would
imperil the success of the commander's plans; but
the Opposition contended that if there was only
bad news it could not come too soon, since, until
the country was made aware of the worst, it would
not nerve itself for the sacrifices to which it would
have to submit.
It was, however, well understood in Paris that
the success of Bazaine was absolutely necessary to
meet the circumstances. When on the 15th Count
Palikao announced in the Chamber that on the
13th the marshal had shaken off the Germans, and
rejoined MacMahon, there appeared in the Paris
journals on the same day long articles showing
the critical character of the dangers which had
been surmounted, and congratulating Bazaine on
his safety. Little did the writers know that the
information they had received was utterly opposed
to the facts; and it was but indifferent consolation
they subsequently professed to find in believing
that their favourite general had failed to shake
off the hold of the German strategists, only be¬
cause he had resolved to engage the enemy with
the best troops of France, while the raw levies
were being drilled into efficiency in the camp at
Chalons !
The reticence of the government, combined
with the flagrant distortion of the actual facts, had
the usual damaging effects. The inhabitants of
the capital, in their feverish discontent, encouraged
the fabrication of false news. Thus, according
to the Liberté, on the 18th the Prussians were
totally defeated, leaving 40,000 wounded on the
battle-field, and had to demand leave to send them
to Germany through Belgium and Luxemburg.
Imaginative writers also described " the terrific
drama of the Quarries of Jaumont, near Metz,
where 20,000 Prussians were represented to have
been precipitated into an abyss with vertical sides
and a depth of 100 feet, and afterwards buried en
masse with sand by Belgian peasants employed at
ten francs a day, while groans yet issued from the
mass on the fourth day after the catastrophe, a
catastrophe which caused many French soldiers
who witnessed it to burst into tears." On the
other hand, the most alarming rumours were
current that the French army had been utterly
beaten and destroyed. The following extract from
the Centre Gauche (subsequently suppressed) shows
the feeling of the extreme opponents of the govern¬
ment at this time:—" How absurd are the organs
which boast of a 'victory.' Is it victory because the
emperor just escaped being made prisoner? Is
it victory because our army was not cut in two
on the Moselle? Is it victory because, after four
days' fighting, we at length shook off an enemy
which all that time had harassed our retreat? If
it is victory, where are the prisoners, the guns,
and the flags to show for it? If the Prussians
should take the emperor prisoner, let them keep
him. Not a particle of our national genius or
honour will go with him. Let his wife and son
share with him the carefully prepared luxuries of
an opulent exile. At all events, may the hand
which traced the proclamation abandoning Metz
to its fate draw up no more bulletins of the grande
armée on the banks of the Meuse. May such sad
comedies be spared us in future. He is already
called by his former flatterers in the Corps Légis¬
latif, His Majesty Invasion III., and it is notorious
that only to avoid difficulties while the enemy is
at our gates his deposition is postponed for a short
time by a tacit compromise."
Added to the restlessness engendered by uncer¬
tainty, the heart of Paris was further saddened by
the arrival of the battered remnants of cavalry
regiments, reduced to mere handfuls by the vicis¬
situdes of the campaign. Weary, footsore, and
wounded, the chargers passed along the thorough¬
fares ; while the troopers, thin and haggard, looked
like men who had fought hard and fared badly.
Not even the march of troops still in course of
being forwarded to the front could now awaken
the enthusiasm of the Parisians, and regiment after
regiment passed through the streets in silence.
Meantime, many of the rioters at La Villette were
condemned; "spies" were executed; reports were
in circulation implicating even the ladies of the
palace, and the mind of the capital was agitated
by news of outrages in the provinces. An outrage
of a specially frightful character was perpetrated
on the deputy mayor of Beaussac. Misinterpreting
a remark made by the unfortunate gentleman as
favourable to the Prussians, a mob of some 200
ruffians attacked him with barbarous ferocity, and
having wounded and battered his person, kindled a
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
5
fire in the market-place of Hautelaye, and literally
burnt him alive.
The serious turn which the course of events had
taken was evidenced by the following decree, pub¬
lished in the Journal Officiel of the 21st August,
signed by the empress and countersigned by the
Count de Palikao:—
" Napoleon, by the grace of God and the national
will, emperor of the French. To all present and
to come, salutation. We have decreed and do
decree as follows :—1. The Defence Committee of
the fortifications of Paris is composed of general
of division Trochu, president ; Marshal Vaillant,
Admiral Rigault de Genouilly, Baron Jerome
David, minister of Public Works, general of divi¬
sion Baron de Chabaud la Tour, Generals Guiod,
dAutemarre, d'Erville, and Soumain. 2. The
Defence Committee is invested under the authority
of the minister of War with the powers necessary
for carrying out the decisions at which it may
arrive. 3. For the execution of such decisions our
minister of War will attach to the Defence Com¬
mittee such generals, military intendants, and other
officers as may be required. 4. The Defence
Committee will meet every day at the War Office.
It will receive a daily report of the progress of the
works and armaments, the stores of ammunition
and provisions. 5. The Committee will report its
proceedings every day to the minister of War, who
in turn will report to the Council of Ministers.
6. Our minister of War is charged with the execu¬
tion of this decree. Done at the Palace of the
Tuileries, 19th of August, 1870, for the emperor,
by virtue of the powers intrusted to her.
" EUGENIE."
To the names given in this proclamation, the
Chambers, contrary to the wishes of the executive,
subsequently persisted in adding others ; and three
deputies, MM. Thiers, De Talhouët, Dupuy de
Lôme, and two senators, General Mellinet and M.
Béhic, were placed on the Committee of Defence.
General Trochu also issued the following pro¬
clamation, which was published in the same
number of the Offcial Journal :—
" To the national guard, the national garde
mobile, to the land and sea troops in Paris, and to
all the defenders of the capital in a state of siege.
In the midst of events of the utmost gravity, I
have been appointed the governor of Paris and
commander-in-chief of the forces assembled for its
defence. The honour is great, but for me equally
so is the danger. Upon you, however, I rely to
restore by energetic efforts of patriotism the for¬
tunes of our army, should Paris be exposed to the
trials of a siege. Never was a more magnificent
opportunity presented to you, to prove to the world
that a long course of prosperity and good fortune
has in no degree enervated public feeling nor the
manhood of the country. You have before you
the glorious example of the army of the Rhine.
They have fought one against three in heroic
struggles, which have earned the admiration of the
country, and have inspired it-with gratitude. It
wears now mourning for those who have died.
" Soldiers of the Army of Paris. My whole life
has been spent among you in a close intimacy,
from which I now derive hope and strength. I
make no appeal to your courage and your con¬
stancy, which are well known to me. But show
by your obedience, by a firm discipline, by the
dignity of your conduct and behaviour, that you
have a profound sense of the responsibilities which
devolve upon you. Be at once an example and an
encouragement to all. The governor of Paris,
" TROCHU."
From these proceedings on the part of the
governing authorities, the people saw clearly the
dangers of the position. Notwithstanding the
" glorious example " and " heroic struggles " of
the army of the Rhine, the facts came out that
Bazaine was shut up in Metz ; that the camp at
Châlons had been broken up and evacuated; and
that the Crown Prince of Prussia, with a powerful
army, was pursuing the southern route in order
to attack Paris. The attention of the capital was
thus centred upon the fortifications which thirty
years before had been constructed by the ministry
of M. Thiers—now a member of that Committee
of Defence whose duty it was to place those
structures on a war footing.
Before proceeding further with our narrative,
we think it cannot fail to be interesting if we here
give a very brief sketch of the sieges of Paris
prior to that of 1870—71, and a short historical
and general description of the fortifications which
proved so effective during its investment on the
present occasion, and of which a plan is annexed.
It is worthy of note that the first mention we
have of Paris in history is connected with the
6
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
record of an investment. Fifty years before Christ
it was a stronghold of the Gauls, when Labienus,
the most able of Caesar's generals, marched an army
against it, and after crossing the Seine forced the
insurgents to evacuate it, after Vercingetorix, the
chief of the Gauls, had burned what there was of
a city. Paris was originally confined to an island,
formed by a river and surrounded by inaccessible
swamps. After the Germans conquered France,
Chlodwig, the leader of the invading tribe, recon¬
structed ancient Lutetia, and made it the centre
of the new empire. When the authority of his
descendants began to decline, the defence of Paris
against a foreign enemy gave a prestige to one of
their generals that enabled him to usurp the throne
of the decaying dynasty. Nearly 900 years after
Christ, Charles le Gros, a degenerate scion of
Charlemagne, was attacked by the Normans. A
helpless imbecile, he had no choice but to make
his peace with the predatory bands. On the
occasion of a second raid, however, Paris gallantly
held out for a whole year under the command of
Count Otto, one of the king's nobles. By this
feat of arms Otto acquired such renown, that
on Charles' death, in 888, the Frankish nobility
elected him king. A nephew of his, Hugh Capet,
was the ancestor of the Bourbons.
Meantime, the German conquerors of France,
absorbed by the subject of nationality, had quar¬
relled with the old country whence they had
proceeded. In 978, when the German emperor
Otto II. was celebrating the festival of St. John at
Aix-la-Chapelle, he was surprised by King Lothaire
of France at the head of an army of 30,000 men.
Otto, however, crossed the frontier on the 1st of
October, and marched straight upon Paris, over¬
coming all resistance in his way. Before winter
set in he stood at the foot of Montmartre, and
invested the city. But to ward off the hosts
attempting its rescue he had to detail a portion of
his army, which was eventually decimated by the
cold of winter and disease. He was ultimately
obliged to withdraw without effecting his object,
and returned the way by which he came.
The strength of the place having thus been
proved by experience, King Philip Augustus, at
the beginning of the thirteenth century, extended
its fortifications, adding several hundred towers to
the walls. In the latter part of the fourteenth
century King Charles V. surrounded the new
suburbs with a fresh enceinte, built a citadel called
the Bastille, and constructed a fort on the Isle of
St. Louis. Notwithstanding these new defences,
the English, after the battle of Agincourt, 1420,
took Paris. The Maid of Orleans, attempting to
recapture it in 1429, was repulsed ; but seven
years later, through the gallantry of Dunois, the
Bâtard Royal, the English were obliged to eva¬
cuate it.
King Henry IV. was the next to assail the
devoted capital. As he was a Protestant, it would
not recognize his authority. Having defeated the
Catholic League at Ivry, 17th March, 1590, he
approached the city by forced marches; and occu¬
pying Corbeil, Lagny, and Creil, cut off the supply
of provisions, then chiefly received by the river.
He next planted his guns on Montmartre, and
from this commanding position left the Parisians
to choose between starvation and bombardment :
15,000 of the inhabitants died of hunger before
negotiations were opened with the king. At that
very moment, however, the Spaniards, who assisted
the Catholic League, sent General Prince Farnese
with a large army from Belgium to the rescue.
Henry was thus compelled to raise the siege, and
only entered Paris four years later, when, having
embraced Catholicism, he was welcomed with the
greatest enthusiasm.
The power of France rapidly increasing, Paris
remained more than 200 years unvisited by an
invading army. In the reign of Louis XIV. the
mere idea of the foreigner venturing into the heart
of the country had come to appear so preposter¬
ous, as to lead to the razing of the fortifications.
Louis XV., in 1726, again encircled the city with
a wall, which, however, was not intended for
military purposes ; and as an open town Paris
passed through the storms of the Revolution.
In 1814 the allied armies appeared in front of
Paris to avenge the deeds of Napoleon I. At that
time Joseph Bonaparte acted as regent, and a few
redoubts, hastily thrown up, were all the impedi¬
ments in the way of the enemy; 25,000 regulars
under Marmont and Mortier, and 15,000 national
guards, with 150 guns, formed the city garrison.
The allied sovereigns arrived on the evening of
the 29th of March at the château of Bondy, and
resolved to attack Paris by the right bank of the
Seine. They planned three simultaneous attacks.
That on the east, under Barclay de Tolly, with
50,000 men, was to carry, by Passy and Pantin,
thé plateau of Romainville; that on the south,
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
7
under the Prince Royal of Wiirtemburg, with
about 30,000 troops, was to pour through the wood
of Yincennes on the barriers of Charonne and the
Trône; the third by the north, in the plain of St.
Denis, was to be headed by Blucher himself, and
to march on the right of Montmartre, Clichy, and
Etoile. On the French side, Marmont had to
scale the escarpments of Charonne and Montreuil,
and establish himself on the plateau of Romainville ;
while Mortier, traversing the exterior boulevard
from Charonne to Belleville, and descending by
Pantin, La Villette, and La Chapelle, to the plain
of St. Denis, established his right wing on the
canal of the Ourcq, his left at Clignancourt, at the
foot of Montmartre. Marmont, finding the Rus¬
sians in possession of Romainville, with 1200 men
threw himself on their rear-guard and drove them
back on Pantin and Noisy. Barclay de Tolly,
vexed at his repulse, resolved to retake Romain¬
ville, and called up his reserve. General Mezen-
zoff, who had been repulsed in the morning, pushed
forward his stubborn grenadiers and won the
height. The Russian cuirassiers, driving along
the plateau of Montreuil, tried to charge the
retiring French infantry, but were repelled.
The French batteries, served by mere Poly-
technique lads with skill and devoted courage,
kept up a most determined plunging fire with
great effect. Ledru des Essart's young guard
had also reconquered, tree by tree, the wood of
Romainville, and thus outflanked the Russian
troops. Marshal Mortier had already taken up his
position on the plain of St. Denis. On the north,
Blucher was advancing over the plain of St. Denis.
The bulk of the Prussian infantry advanced to the
foot of Montmartre; General York's corps, on the
left of the allies, moved on La Chatelle; and the
corps of Kleist and Woronzoff, still more to the
left, bore down on La Villette. The Prince Royal
of Wiirtemburg also advancing, and carrying the
bridge of St. Maur, made a circuit round the
forest and attacked Charenton by the right bank.
The brave national guards had tried to defend the
bridge at Charenton with l'Ecole d'Alport; but
finding their rear in danger, they abandoned the
position, and pushed across the country to the
left of the Seine. The allied forces were now in
line, and the firing commenced in one broad belt.
To the north Prince Eugene fell on Pantin and
Près St. Gervais, and grappled with the Boyer de
Rebeval and picked divisions of the young guard.
The French, driven out, rallied, however, at the
foot of the height, and supported by well-posted
artillery, returned to renew the struggle for the
unhappy villages. On the plateau of Romainville
there was equally hard fighting, but the French
had not the same success. Pressed on both flanks,
Marmont struck a bold blow for life rather than
for victory. He threw himself in front of four
battalions, formed in column, and pushed like a
battering-ram straight at the Russian centre.
Twelve cannons loaded with grape gave a rude
welcome to the intruders, Marmont being at the
same moment attacked in front and in flank. The
four French columns fell back after a furious
hand-to-hand fight. Marmont was already weighed
down by his assailants, when a daring officer,
named Ghesseler, broke from a wood with .200
men, and rushed at the Russian columns, to give
time to Marmont to retreat towards Belleville.
Bravely as they had resisted, the French were
everywhere outnumbered; and along the line from
St. Denis to the Barrière du Trône, the allies,
according to Thiers, had lost already 10,000 men,
the French C000. The allies, however, dreaded
the return of Napoleon, and the blow of despair
he might strike. About three in the afternoon
Brigadier Paixhan placed heavy guns on the
declivity of Mènilmontant by Belleville, and Chau-
mont. His gunners waited with stern calmness
for the masses of Russians and Germans, whose
front ranks were mowed down by the relentless
fire. The allies, however, pushed on and attacked
Marmont in the rear ; who, to prevent being
cut off, collected his forces, and rushed on the
Russian grenadiers, whom he broke and drove
back beyond the barrier, and then resumed
the defence at the octroi wall. Mortier, in the
plain of St. Denis, was also in an all but hope¬
less condition, though he still kept a brave front
to the enemy. The divisions at La Villette were
now in the centre of a mass of Russians and Ger¬
mans, when Mortier rushed with part of the old
guard down on La Villette, and drove out the
Prussian guard with great carnage. But fresh
masses poured in, and drove him over the plain
into the barriers of Paris. The heights of Mont¬
martre were then wrested from a handful of sap¬
pers, and subsequently the Clichy barrier, which
the national guards, under Marshal Moncey, were
bravely defending. As M. Thiers says eloquently,
when he reaches this point in his history: " Such
8
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
was the termination of two and twenty years of
victory. The triumphs at Milan, Venice, Rome,
Naples, Cairo, Madrid, Lisbon, Vienna, Dresden,
Berlin, Warsaw, and Moscow, now closed dis¬
astrously before the walls of Paris." Marmont,
desirous of saving the city from ruin and blood¬
shed, sent three officers to Prince Schwartzenberg
to propose terms. At that moment General Dejean
arrived in breathless haste, to announce that Na¬
poleon would appear within two days with 600,000
men, and that, therefore, the enemy must be
resisted at any cost, or cajoled by a sham parley.
But it was too late ; the imperial star was waning,
fortune had hidden her face. The allies refused
to resume negotiations till Paris surrendered, and
hostilities were suspended. The marshals con¬
sented to save Paris by evacuating it that night,
and retiring to Fontainebleau. Meanwhile, Napo¬
leon was flying to save the city, but at Fromenteau
he met General Belliard, and heard the fatal news
that struck him like a thunderbolt. He sat down
by the two fountains on the Juoisy road, hid
his face in his hands, and, in those moments
of agony, struck out a great plan to still save
France, which, however, it was not permitted him
to accomplish. On March 31 Frederick William
III. of Prussia, and Alexander I. of Russia, made
their entry into the city.
The following year witnessed a repetition of the
feat. On the 2nd of July, 1815, the Prussians,
under Blucher, took Montrouge and Issy by storm,
while Wellington forced his way into the northern
and eastern suburbs, and on the 7th the English
and Prussian guards once more trod the Boulevards.
Projects for fortifying Paris had been enter¬
tained from the Revolution in 1789. Since the
works opposed to the Allies in the operations above
referred to had utterly failed, Napoleon I. had other
plans in view in the latter years of his reign, and
while at St. Helena ordered a memorial of his in¬
tentions to be drawn up. After the revolution of
1830 the project was again revived, and in 1831
the works were commenced by Louis Philippe ;
but on the return of peace, after the siege of
Antwerp, they were abandoned for a second time.
It was reserved for M. Thiers, in 1840, to carry out
the projects to their fullest extent. Louis Philippe
had made up his mind to fortify the capital, and
with his council and generals held that the best
system of defence was the erection of several fort¬
resses, built in front and around it. The Opposi¬
tion in the Chamber, on the other hand, contended
that the only way to fortify the city efficiently was
to build a rampart all round it. At this juncture
the duke of Orleans, the intelligent but unfortunate
heir-apparent to the throne, proposed a new pro¬
ject, combining the two plans, viz., to have Paris
fortified with circular ramparts as well as with
detached fortresses.
The opponents of the scheme, however, declared
that the notion of a siege or of an assault of the
capital of the civilized world, with its public monu¬
ments, its riches, and its population of near two
millions, was insensate. How could whole legions
of men be got to occupy all the points of that vast
enceinte? Even if they could be got together it
would, with the city blockaded, and the enemy's
flying columns devastating the country, be impos¬
sible to feed them, not to speak of the multitude
of refugees from the surrounding villages and
towns who would be forced to take shelter within
its walls. Nor would it be possible to keep in
order such a mass of human beings on the brink
of famine, liable to frequent panics and seditions,
and but too ready to impute their disasters to
treason. If Paris was to be defended it should
be at the frontier. In a political point of view, a
series of bastilles, enveloping in a circle of fire the
city which represents the whole of France, would
be full of peril to liberty and the free institutions
of the country. The idea of fortifying Paris was
not merely an illusion, it was a menace and a
danger ; and the treasure which it was proposed
to lavish on- it, the amount of which could not be
fixed beforehand, but which, in any case, must be
enormous, would be more usefully spent in mak¬
ing roads, canals, railways, steamships, &c.
The defenders of the project, which was sub¬
mitted to a committee consisting of M. Billault,
General Bugeaud, Matthieu de la Redorte, Allard,
Liadéres, General Boguereau, Bertin, Odillon Bar-
rot, and Thiers, contended that, far from exposing
Paris to a siege, the fortifications would for ever
prevent it. The capital was not more than six
days' march from the frontier, and the centraliza¬
tion in it of all the impulsive forces of the nation
rendered France utterly incapable of resistance
were Paris taken. When it was entered in 1814
and 1815 all France surrendered. Paris, as an.
open city, seemed to invite the enemy, who would
be anxious only to hurry on and strike the decisive
blow. Paris fortified, that sort of war would be
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
9
impossible, and tbe enemy would be obliged to
employ regular tactics, to take fortified places, and
to secure his communications before venturing
to approach the interior of France. That which
without fortifications was little more than a coup
de main, would become with fortifications an un¬
dertaking of magnitude and hazard. And should
Paris be besieged, it would certainly know how
to defend itself. Yalenciennes, Lille, Mayence,
Dantzic, Hamburg, and Strassburg had proved
that the genius of Frenchmen was not less fitted
for sieges than for battles. It was likewise asked
Low Paris could be fed. The question should be
—How an army that besieged Paris could be fed ?
In ordinary times the capital always had provisions
for five weeks at least, and in case of invasion little
effort would suffice to supply it for two months ;
and where was the army of 200,000 or 300,000
men that could live a single month concentrated
in such a space? Moreover, how could Paris, with
iortifications eighteen leagues in circumference, be
blockaded? The besieging army should extend
on a front of twenty-two leagues, cut up stream
and down stream by the great course of the Seine !
The attempt would be madness. A good deal
had been said about terrorism, panic, want of
confidence, &c. To this it was replied that
before the first line of outer works was carried
Paris would certainly be delivered—either the
army, which there would have been time to
reform, or the want of supplies, would force the
enemy to retire. Regarding the danger to liberty,
where, it might be asked, could be found a
tyrant so barbarous, and withal so stupid, as to
fire on his capital, and confound in his wrath
friends and foes? With respect to expense,
even exaggerating all the calculations, it would
scarcely amount to 160,000,000 francs ; and what
was that compared to the 2,000,000,000 francs
which two invasions cost France?
At the sitting of the Chamber of Deputies on the
1st of February, 1840, the bill for carrying out the
fortifications, which had been amended in some
matters of detail and completed by some guarantees,
was again presented, and passed by 237 votes
against 162. Its adoption was chiefly owing to
the Opposition, who were the majority in the
committee, and had named the reporter who sup¬
ported it during the debate with remarkable talent.
M. Odillon Barrot, then the leader of the Left,
defended the bill in the tribune. The Radical or
vol. n.
Republican Opposition had the patriotism to abstain
from all opposition on a question which so deeply
concerned the defence of the country. rI hey not
only did not oppose, but combated in the columns
of the National, then their principal organ under
the management of Armand Marrast, the objections
brought forward against the fortifications ; and a
speaker of the extreme Left, M. Arago, in a speech
which attracted much attention, defended the
system of the enceinte continuée. Having passed
the Chamber of Deputies, it was carried up to the
Peers on the 11th of February, when, after a
discussion which lasted six weeks, it passed by a
majority of 147 against 85.
M. Thiers and his cabinet entered heartily into
the work, and the duke of Orleans, with the con¬
course of officers of the génie, submitted plans of the
fortifications to a full council of the ministers,
which were ordered to be executed under the
direction of Marshal Dode de la Brunnerie.
The district in which the city is situated is
crossed by four longitudinal roads-—1. From Paris
to Strassburg byMeaux, Chateau Thierry, Epernay,
and Chalons, now skirted by a railway. This was
the route taken by Blucher's army in its march to
Paris. 2. From Paris to Châlons by Meaux, Fertè-
sous-Jouarre, Montmirail, and Champaubert. This
route Blucher took in his first march in 1814, when
his army was destroyed by Napoleon in the battles
of Champaubert, Montmirail, Chateau Thierry, and
Yauchamps. 3. From Paris to Yitry by Langwy,
Coulommiers, Fertè Gaucher, Sezanne, and Fère
Champenoise. The allies took this route in 1815,
in their last march on Paris, when they defeated at
Fère Champenoise and Fertè Gaucher the corps of
Marmont and Mortier. 4. From Paris to Nogent-
sur-Seineby Brie Comte Robert, Mormans, Nangis,
and Provins. This was the route taken by Schwart-
zenberg's army in its first march on Paris, when it
was beaten by Napoleon at Mormans, Nangis, and
Montereau. These four roads are intersected by
four cross-roads :—1. From Châlons to Troyes by
Arcis. 2. From Epernay to Troyes by Vertus,
Fère Champenoise, and Plancy. 3. From Epernay
to Nogent by Montmirail and Sezanne.
The city, placed between the confluence of the
Marne, the Oise, and the Seine, in the midst of
a wide plain, is divided into two unequal parts
by the river, from 200 feet to 300 feet in breadth,
which runs from east to west, forming an arc of a
circle. On the right bank of the Seine, the height
b
10
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
of which is about 80 feet above the level of the
sea, rise the hills of Montmartre, 426 feet high;
of Belleville, 311 feet ; of Mènilmontant, and of
Charonne. On the left bank are the heights of
Mont Yalérien, 495 feet; of St. Cloud, 306 feet;
of Sevres, Meudon, and Issy. The district lying to
the north of the Seine is the larger and lower of
the two ; that to the south of the river is consider¬
ably higher. Twenty-one bridges keep up the
communications. The form of the city may be
compared to an ellipse, somewhat flattened on the
right side, the longer axis of which is about nine
miles. According to the census of 1866, Paris had
1,825,274 inhabitants, and 90,000 houses. The
systematic reconstruction of the interior of the
city, which Napoleon 111. caused to be executed by
the eminent prefect of the Seine, M. Haussmann,
completed the works of fortification. These form
probably the most complete and extensive military
engineering works ever constructed. As will be
seen from the accompanying plan, the fortress
consists of a continuous inclosure (enceinte con¬
tinuée) of a roughly pentagonal form, embracing
the two banks of the Seine, bastioned and terraced
with ten metres (about 33 English feet) of escarp¬
ment faced with masonry. The general plan of
the enceinte presents 94 angular faces (fronts), each
of the medium length of 355 mètres (about 1450
feet), connected by curtains, with a continued fosse
or line of wide wet ditches in front, the bottom laid
with masonry, of the medium depth of six mètres ;
thence to the top of the parapets of earth raised
over the wall is a height of 14 mètres in all, or
about 46 feet. This is for artillery, &e., and forms
entrenchments for the defenders. The continuous
outline of the work is broken by V-shaped projec¬
tions, the two sides of each of which are commanded
by a flank fire, and thus every part of the front
may be swept by the guns of the garrison. At
different points are drawbridges, magazines, &c.,
and several military roads of communication. The
distance of this regular zone or belt from the irre¬
gular cutting formed by the octroi wall of the capi¬
tal varies from two-fifths of a mile to nearly two
miles. Taking as a point of departure the western
extremity of Bercy, on the right bank of the river,
it crosses the road to Charenton, traverses the
avenues of St. Maudè and Vincennes, goes to the
south end of Charonne, behind Père la Chaise to
Belleville, then to Romainville, and, crossing the
Boute de Flandre, reaches the Pont de Flandre at
La Villette. Thence passing westward, it proceeds
to La Chapelle St. Denis, crosses the great northern
road, leaves Montmartre to the left, and traversing
various routes, &c., passes by Clignancourt to Batig-
nolles, &c., till it reaches the eastern point of the
park at Neuilly, when crossing the road it cuts into
the upper part of the wood of Boulogne and ends
at Auteuil. Resuming the line on the opposite
bank, it incloses the suburbs of Grenelle, Yaugirard,
cuts the line of the Versailles Railway, leaves Mont-
rouge outside, passes Gentilly, traverses the plain
of Ivry, and crosses the line of the Orleans Rail¬
way before arriving at its limit opposite Bercy,
on the left bank. The entire circle of inclosure
comprises a length of 35,914 yards (upwards of
20 miles).
In their outer extent the ditches are of consider¬
able width, and the escarpment is lined with a wall
which is covered by the glacis. The military road
inside is paved. Near to this, and frequently
parallel to it, embracing the entire series of forti¬
fications, is the line which joins all the railways
running into Paris and their eight termini. Sixty-
six gates are pierced in the fortifications. On the
north side of the city the hill of Montmartre, which,
as before stated, is 426 feet high and 318 feet
broad, forms a commanding eminence close on
the boundary, inaccessible on all sides except that
towards the town. It is a position of surpassing
strength, and, if well defended with artillery,
almost impregnable. Montmartre is separated from
Belleville by the plain of St. Denis. These three
positions—the plateau of Belleville, 460 feet high,
and extending from 984 feet to 4920 feet in
breadth, the hill of Montmartre, and the plain of
St. Denis—form the natural defences of Paris; and
as it was evident in the late campaign that the
Prussians had determined on marching on the city,
these positions, especially the heights of Mont¬
martre, were strengthened, and a fine battery of
naval guns established, worked by a detachment
of the sailors from the fleet.
The exterior fortifications (forts détachés) present
sixty-one fronts, and are so many small but com¬
plete fortresses, with lodgings for at least 500 men
each, and dwellings for the officers. Adopting the
line traced in the preceding description of the
enceinte, the first in order is the Fort de Charenton;
2, the Fort de Nogent; 3, the Fort de Rosny; 4,
the Fort de Noisy; 5, the Fort de Romainville; 6,
the Fort de l'Est; 7 and 8, Couronne du Nord and
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
11
Fort de la Briche, one on either side of St. Denis;
9, Fort du Mont Valerien; 10, Fort de Vanvcs;
11, Fort d'lssy; 12, Fort de Montrouge; 13, Fort
de Bicêtre; and 14, Fort d'lvry.
The detached forts may be considered in three
groups. One group formed the north-east line
from St. Denis to the north of Montmartre. On
the left of St. Denis, close to the railway leading
to Enghien and Montmorency, and behind the con¬
fluence of the canal of St. Denis, with the Seine,
is the fort of La Briche, covering the branch of
the railway to Pontoise to the north ; on the other
side of the stream of Rouillon, the fort of La
Double Couronne du Nord, containing in it the
crossing of the principal north, north-eastern, and
north-western roads; and on the south-east the
fort de l'Est, a regular bastioned square. These
three points are united by ramparts and ditches
which can be readily filled, and which are covered
by the redoubt of Stains. At 4400 paces to the
south-east of Fort de l'Est is that of Aubervilliers,
an irregular bastioned pentagon. Between the two
passes the railway to Soissons, and behind this
line the canal of St. Denis. The earth which
was dug out of the canal formed before it a
sort of parapet fortified by three redoubts. At a
distance of 4200 paces from the other side of the
Canal de l'Ourcq and of the Strassburg Railway,
on the continuation of the height of Belleville
by Pantin, stands the fort of Romain ville, a bas¬
tioned square, 1800 paces from the principal wall
of defence. A series of intrenchments extends
from the fort towards the Canal de l'Ourcq, while
on the other side two redoubts defend the pass¬
age. Further off to the east and to the south,
still on the outer side of the same line of hills, and
almost in a line parallel to the railway to Mulhouse,
the works of the fortifications, which are united by
a paved road, are continued at about equal distances
—the forts of Noisy (3500 paces), Rosny (3200
paces), and Nogent (3800). There ends the line
of hills which begins near Belleville, and descends
by a steep incline towards the Marne. Between
the above-named forts are placed at short intervals
the redoubts of Noisy, Montreuil, Boissiere, and
Pontenay. The Marne, which is here 100 paces in
breadth, forms a natural defence, fortified also by
an intrenchment of 2800 feet in length, consisting
of a parapet and ditches covering the isthmus of
Saint Maur, where a bridge crosses the Marne. The
two extremities of the intrenchment are flanked by
the redoubts of Faisanderie and Gravelle, which
the railway of Vincennes and La-Varenne passes.
All these works inclose in a semicircle the castle of
Vincennes, in which is the principal arsenal of
Paris, on the edge of the great field for manoeuvring
artillery close to the Marne. On the other bank
of this river, in the triangle formed by the union
of the Seine and the Marne near Alfort, on the
right side of the Lyons Railway, is the fort of
Charenton, a bastioned pentagon which closes the
first line of defence. What adds to its strength is
that the enceinte inclosed by the fortifications serves
admirably for an intrenched camp, in which 200,000
men may be placed.
The next group of detached forts form the
southern line of exterior defences. Opposite Fort
Charenton, at a distance of 4000 paces, on the left
bank of the Seine, begins the southern line, with
the fort of Ivry, another bastioned pentagon, which
commands the neighbourhood. In a straight line,
nearly from east to west, the forts of Bicêtre,
covering the road to Fontainebleau, Montrouge (a
bastioned square), Vanves (an irregular bastioned
quadrilateral), and Issy (a bastioned pentagon),
follow at equal distances of about 3000 paces. The
last-named rises to a height of about fifty feet above
the Seine, which here leaves the city. Between
them are the railways of Limours and Versailles.
The third group of detached forts are those on
the western side of Paris. This line of outside
defence is naturally very easy, for the Seine, flow¬
ing in the direction of the north and north-east,
turns towards St. Denis by St. Cloud, Boulogne,
Surennes, Puteaux, Courbevoie, Neuilly, Asnières,
Clicliy, and St. Ouen, places on the banks of the
river. Between it and the town is the celebrated
Bois de Boulogne. On the line indicated five
bridges cross the Seine; and near the station at
Asnières, on the left bank, the railways from
Dieppe, Normandy, St. Germain, and Versailles
unite, and cross the river by a common bridge. A
single fort, but the largest and strongest of all—
that of Mont Valerien, a large bastioned pentagon,
situate 415 feet above the Seine, and from which
there is a magnificent view of Paris—commands
this space. A paved road joins Mont Valérien
with the Bois de Boulogne, by the bridge of
Surennes.
The distance from Fort Mont Valérien to the
nearest of those about St. Denis is nearly seven
miles, and from the fort of Issy about four miles.
12
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
Consequently at this point there was a great gap
in the system of defence; a defect met by the con¬
struction of extensive works, on the plan organized
for the defence of Sebastopol by General Todleben,
between Mont Valérien and the sides of Meudon,
at Montretout, which commanded the valleys of
Sevres and Ville d'Avray. The extreme diameter
is that between Mont Valérien and the Fort de
Nogent. It follows exactly the parallel, and at a
distance of 27,000 paces, or nearly eleven miles;
while in the southern direction the greatest dis¬
tance between St. Denis and the fort of Bicêtre is
20,000 paces, or eight miles. A line of circum¬
ference joining the exterior forts would be twenty-
six miles, or twelve and a half hours' march. All
the exterior forts possess bastions, and the forts of
Noisy, Rosny, and Nogent have hornworks. The
scarps and counterscarps are as high as those of the
fortifications of Paris ; covered ways, with trenches
of masonry and bomb-proof powder magazines, are
everywhere. All the forts communicate by tele¬
graph with Paris, and with each other.
To place the fortifications in a condition for
active defence, at the period at which we inter¬
rupted our narrative, in order to give the preceding
description of them, 12,000 "navvies" worked
day and night to cut through the roads and carry
the fosse completely round the walls. The smaller
gates were blocked up by the banks of earth and
strengthened on the inside by palisades. Dams
were constructed across the Seine by which the
waters could be forced into the trenches. Three
gates only, those of Bercy, Italy, and Orleans,
were left open, which were approached by draw¬
bridges and defended by massive outworks. The
trees which grew upon the glacis were cut down
to within a foot or two of the ground, and the
sharpened stumps left standing to impede the
advance of a storming party. On every bastion
from eight to ten twelve-pounders were mounted
to the number of about 1200, and the outlying
forts were armed with heavy naval breech-loaders,
throwing projectiles of great weight, and served
by marine artillerymen. From St. Denis to Vin-
cennes, and thence to Issy, the forts are so close
that their cross-fire sweeps the intervening space ;
and between Issy and Mont Valérien to St. Denis, as
before stated, intermediate works were constructed.
These detached forts, thus placed with reference
to the range of their guns, and supporting one
another, were capable of filling the spaces between
them as with a hail of iron or a wall of fire.
Within their protection an army could manoeuvre
with freedom, or retreat in safety. The actual
armaments of the detached forts—which were sub¬
sequently materially strengthened by supplementary
defences—were approximately as follows :—The
southern forts, Issy, Vanves, Montrouge, Bicêtre,
and Ivry, mounted from forty to seventy guns
each ; the eastern forts, Charenton, Nogent, Noisy,
Rosny, Romainville, and Aubervilliers, from fifty
to seventy ; the northern forts of St. Denis, Forts
de l'Est, du Nord, and de l'Ouest, from forty to
sixty guns ; and Mont Valérien, the only fort
on the western side of the city, was armed with
about eighty cannon. There was also a strong field
of artillery drawn up in the Champs Elysées, the
Palais de l'Industrie, and other localities.
Besides upwards of 2000 heavy guns mounted
on the forts and ramparts of the city, and manned
by 18,000 sailors, the flower of the French navy,
several light gun-boats were launched upon the
Seine, to assist in the defence of the city, placed
under the command of Captain Thomaset. These
small vessels were very broad in the beam in
proportion to length, being iron-plated, and the
decks were covered with iron. Each vessel con¬
tained two guns, pointing forward in a line with
the keel, with a slight training limit to each side.
Two large helms with double screw were fixed,
and in six small projections on each side the fore¬
castle, covered loop-holes for musketry.
While, however, the French authorities were
putting Paris into a state of defence, the Germans
had the most minute information of every addition
to the fortifications. The officers were furnished
with maps of France more complete than any
which the French possessed; and in particular
the defences of the capital were perhaps not better
known to M. Thiers and General Trochu than
to Count von Bismarck and General von Moltke.
During the last days of August, as the situation
grew more serious, an improved tone was mani¬
fested by the inhabitants of the capital. General
Trochu likewise showed great activity in the organ¬
ization of the troops, and took energetic measures
for the expulsion of German residents from Paris.
To effect this the following decree was issued:
— "Article 1. Every person not a naturalized
Frenchman, and belonging to one of the countries
actually at war with France, is called upon to quit
Paris and the department of the Seine within the
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
13
space of three days, and to leave France or to
withdraw into one of the departments situated
beyond the Loire. Article 2. Every foreigner
coming within the scope of the preceding injunc¬
tion who shall not have conformed to it, and shall
not have obtained a special permission to remain,
emanating from the governor of Paris, shall be
arrested and handed over to the military tribunals
to be judged according to law.
" The Governor of Paris, TROCHU."
A further order was issued to rid Paris of that
loose class of society which finds its opportunity
in times of national trouble. Accordingly a great
number of arrests were made from the disreputable
dens and suspicious cafés of the city ; while a raid
was made upon the ranks of the courtesans, whose
language and gestures after arrest were a public
scandal. Several thousands of these worse than
" useless mouths " were conveyed to villages out¬
side the fortifications. Most of the theatres were
also closed, the musicians and other attendants
joining the ranks of the army. There was more¬
over a voluntary exodus of the well-to-do classes,
of ladies and children, and of foreigners of all
nationalities, who hurried to the railway stations
in order to escape from the city. Side by side
with the movement outward, thousands of farmers
and peasants living in the environs flocked in with
vehicles crammed with furniture, and waggons
laden with corn and flour and all kinds of agricul¬
tural produce. This immigration was hastened by
the action of the government, who had invited
farmers to deposit their stores in the municipal
warehouses free of all charge, and threatened that
all grain remaining outside the walls would be
burnt, to prevent it falling into the hands of the
enemy. Huge droves of sheep and cattle arrived
from the provinces, and were placed in the beauti¬
ful grounds of the Bois de Boulogne and other
open spaces ; the pens covered many acres, and a
market was rapidly constructed. The preparations
to receive the invaders were made with a ruthless
band. The handsome entrance gates from the
Avenue de l'Impératrice to the Bois de Boulogne
gave way to a massive bulwark in stone ; the line
of gilded railings at La Muette was replaced by a
high wall, loopholed for musketry ; and the woods
upon the glacis were cut down.
The danger to the capital effectually roused the
nation. Recruits poured into the various dépôts with
great rapidity. Regiment after regiment passed
through Paris for the protection of its outer defences ;
masses of gardes mobiles were drilled at the camp of
St. Maur, and thousands volunteered for the corps
of francs-tireurs and other irregular troops. Many
aged men, among whom were Auber the composer,
and Carnot, grandson of the celebrated military
organizer mentioned in Chapter V., also joined the
ranks. Fortunately, too, although composed of
most discordant elements, the various bodies of
defenders showed great confidence in the character
and sagacity of the governor.
The ministry of Count Palikao, while displaying
great activity in raising troops to meet the contin¬
gency, by calling out all old soldiers between
twenty-five and thirty-five years of age, all officers
formerly in the army up to sixty, and all able-
bodied generals up to seventy, also put forth
strenuous efforts to obtain the necessary military
equipments. Large demands were made upon
foreign markets, and much satisfaction was felt at
the discovery of 300,000 Chassepots which were
not known to be in store. The patriotism of the
people at this juncture was strikingly manifested
in the readiness with which they replenished the
coffers of the government. On the 21st of August
a decree was issued announcing a new loan for the
sum of 750,000,000 francs (about £30,000,000).
The subscription opened on the 23rd, and on the
25th the Official Journal stated that more than the
amount had been received.
The proceedings in the Corps Législatif during
this period of intense interest to the Parisians,
were of a most unsatisfactory nature, and similar
scenes to those recorded in Chapter IX. were
repeated in the Chamber. Great difficulty con¬
tinually arose from the incapacity of the Legis¬
lature. There was, however, one honourable
exception. M. Thiers, who so boldly opposed the
declaration of hostilities, and was reviled by the
Chamber for doing so, forgot past slights, and
applied himself with all the vigour and ardour
of youth to the work of the national defence.
His appointment by the government to the Com¬
mittee of Defence was approved by acclamation
of the Chamber; and a few words of his address
are worthy a place in the records of the crisis.
Although his voice was feeble, there was some¬
thing peculiarly impressive in the tone and manner
in which he said:—" Believe me, gentlemen, that
I do not desire at this moment to create difficulties
14
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
for the government or for you, for they would
also be difficulties for the country itself; but I
have all my life endeavoured to keep my conduct
perfectly clear, not in the eyes of blind partisans,
for whom nothing is clear, but with just and
prudent men. And I cannot consent that the
slightest cloud of doubt should rest upon the act
to day imposed upon me. What I yesterday was
I to-day am; I do but bring an unofficial and
devoted co-operation to the common work—un¬
fortunately a very inadequate co-operation ; I say
it, believe me, without false modesty !... The
efforts of everybody are inadequate in the emer¬
gency in which we find ourselves. I ask your
pardon for these details and beg you to excuse
them, but I desire that my conduct and my life
shall be for my country, and for all parties what¬
soever, as clear as daylight. "
Subsequently, the veteran statesman of seventy-
three years was out for hours before breakfast,
superintending the arming of the fortifications,
and giving the benefit of his suggestions to the
officials in charge.
But during this period the more resolute party
in the Chamber was gradually gaining the upper
hand, although the fierce onslaughts of the Left,
generally headed by M. Gambetta, whose impetu¬
osity was most remarkable, were pretended to be
treated either with threats or contempt ; while
General Trochu, whose popularity was his great
crime, was opposed by the empress, and regarded
with ill-concealed suspicion by the cabinet, as ex¬
plained more fully in the note at the end of the
chapter. Count Palikao stated publicly in the
Chamber that he would suffer no distribution of
arms to be made to the national guard by " one of
his subordinates;" and a disposition was even
shown by some members of the Right to place the
general at the bar of the Chamber, to ask explana¬
tions relative to his proclamation to the people
and the army of Paris; but an officer so valuable
as Trochu could not be sacrificed thus lightly.
Ernest Picard, in the Electeur Libre, said, "We
cannot believe the position of General Trochu to
be seriously menaced; the government will not
brave public opinion; if it has any doubt as to
what that opinion is, let it go to the next review
of the national guard."
It was soon felt, however, that it was no time
for internal discord, and on the 26th of August
M. Chevreau made the following communication
to the Corps Législatif:—"Messieurs,—The army
of the Crown Prince appeared yesterday and the
day before to be retreating, but it is now march¬
ing onwards. It is the duty of government to
inform the Chamber, France, and the Parisian
population of this fact. I need not add that the
Committee of Defence is taking every measure for
the eventuality of a siege. The utmost reliance
may be placed on the energy of the minister of
War and of the governor of Paris, and we on our
part believe we may rely on the valour of the
Parisian population."
This statement drew forth a spirited reply
signed by the eighteen mayors of the capital:—
"Monsieur le Ministre,—You announced to the
Corps Législatif that the enemy was marching on
Paris. The citizens of our arrondissements are
ready for every sacrifice, every act of devotion and
courage. They will receive the enemy with calm
and resolution. The inhabitants of Paris will
prove to the whole world that France is still the
grand nation. Let the enemy come. We await
him with arms in our hands. The mayors of Paris
will be in the front rank of the defenders of the
country."
Notwithstanding the gravity of the situation, the
Bourse held firm, and the greatest activity pre¬
vailed in the city. The Chamber, too, did not fail
to applaud the gallant conduct of Strassburg, which
was declared to have "merited well of the country."
A firm protest was also entered by M. André
against malevolent aspersions as to alleged dealings
of the Protestant population of the provinces with
the enemy ; certain honourable pastors having
been pursued with the cry of "A bas les Prussiens."
The deputy was loudly cheered, and the good
sense of the Chamber possibly saved the country
from the dangers of a religious war.
The opening days of September brought news
to Paris unfavourable to the French cause. The
contending armies were closing in. Success was
already attending the enemy's operations; and
after being puffed up with falsehoods regarding
the exploits of their army, the Parisians were
rudely awakened to the truth that their two greatest
generals, with the flower of their troops, had been
signally defeated. In the Corps Législatif, on
Saturday, September 3, Count Palikao, very much
depressed, made the following statement :—
" Messieurs les Députés—I have promised to tell
you the whole truth, and I am now here to keep
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
15
my promise, painful as it is to do so. The news 1
have to give is even yet not official; but it comes
from a certain source. Marshal Bazaine, after a
great engagement and some advantages, has been
obliged to fall back upon Metz; but he may perhaps
yet make sorties. There is the first bad news.
The next is that of a battle fought near Mézières
by Marshal MacMahon. There was a long series of
combats attended by reverses and successes. A
part of the Prussian army was driven into the
Meuse ; but after a terrible fight our army was
obliged to retreat either to Mézières or Sedan, and
a few took refuge in Belgium. There is other
serious news in circulation about another battle
fought by Marshal MacMahon, but as the govern¬
ment has no official news it cannot give details for
fear of being accused of alarming the country.
We therefore come here to-day to make a fresh
appeal to the whole valid force of the nation.
The mobile national guard is organized throughout
France. A part of it will come to assist in the
defence of Paris, and the rest will be sent to rein¬
force the regular army. I trust that France,
responding to our appeal, will enable us to drive
the enemy out of the country."
Thus at last the truth was told, with one all-
important reservation, that of the surrender of the
emperor and his army. The statement of the
minister, however, caused great agitation, and
M. Jules Favre intimated that the time had come
for the de facto government to cease. The country
must henceforth rely on itself. Before the Chamber
separated a resolution was passed that a levy en
masse of the nation should be made forthwith.
The development of the crisis illustrated the truth
of Carlyle's estimate of the French nature, " so full of
vehemence, so free from depth." One day towards
the close of August, a large black cloud hovering
over Paris took a shape which was thought to
betoken victory, and the crowds on the boulevards
eagerly accepted the auspicious omen ; on the 3rd
of September, when the news of defeat began to
spread among the citizens, their depressed and
despairing attitude was saddening to witness; next
day, when the news was received of the crowning
disaster of Sedan and the capture of the emperor,
Parisians, frantic with joy, were rushing into each
others arms, and shouting and singing with the
glee of school-boys set free for a holiday. In the
cry of " Vive la République ! " they forgot the
awful peril of their position; that the enemy was
steadily advancing; that the flower of their army
had been cut down on the red battle-field; and
that the effective force with which they could
oppose the victorious Prussians was comparatively
small and inefficient. Enough that Paris had
effected a revolution, and was delivered from
imperialism !
But the events of this day, September 4, must
form the first subject of the succeeding chapter of
our narrative.
The progress of events which led to the collapse
of the imperial régime in France naturally caused
great satisfaction throughout Germany. The open¬
ing victories of the campaign inspired her people
with confidence, and prepared them for the news
of further successes. Great irritation, however,
was felt at the manner in which their opponents
professed to regard their victories. Even the
defeat of MacMahon at Woerth and Frossard
at Forbach were made light of, and the Yosges
mountains, according to French journalists, were
to be the grave of the Prussian troops. " Two
more such victories as they had won, and the
German army would cease to exist." Such state¬
ments, so little in accordance with the facts,
incited the Germans to caricature the failure of
the French programme, and to display cartoons
the reverse of flattering, especially after receipt
of the news that Nancy, the chief city of Lor¬
raine, had capitulated without a battle in its
defence, thus placing in the hands of the Ger¬
mans the direct line of railway between Metz
and Paris.
The issue of the hard-fought battles around
Metz produced in Germany a subdued feeling of
exultation. The people saw the importance of the
advantage obtained by their commanders in isolat¬
ing Marshal Bazaine and cutting in two the army
of the Rhine; but they had hardly the heart to
exult over the news of victory so dearly purchased.
As the king had written to his queen from the
battle-field that he could scarcely bring himself to
ask after his acquaintances, so many of them were
dead or maimed, the joy of the inhabitants gene¬
rally was sensibly damped by the same cause.
The terrible slaughter of the 16th and 18th
August more particularly cast a gloom over the
nation. At Berlin the people received the news
with melancholy thankfulness, and no demonstra¬
tions were made in the streets. But in the absence
of outward displays, their interest in the sanguinary
Il)
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
events of the war was the more intense, and the
wish to prevent a recurrence of them was general.
Although the German army was not composed of
mercenary soldiers, hut citizens in uniform, the
pith and flower of the country, who were being
slaughtered in those murderous contests, the uni¬
versal cry was to "put down France," and render
it impossible for her again to indulge in " military
promenades" at the expense of her neighbours.
In fact, though shocked at the frightful bloodshed
and the untold miseries it entailed upon their
families, the Germans were yet firmly determined
to crush the enemy before mentioning terms.
Germany indeed had sad experience that close
upon the heels of victory follows the ghastly
shadow of suffering. Into the larger cities of the
Fatherland, after the sanguinary battles of the
middle of August, poured continuous streams of
wounded men, many with the impress of death
upon their faces. Train after train brought regi¬
ment upon regiment of sufferers, stretched on beds
extemporized to receive them ; all the surgeons
available, besides many strangers and foreign
volunteers, troops of sisters of charity, and bands
of girl and woman nurses, assiduously sought to
relieve the sufferings of the wounded, and friends
and enemies were treated with equal kindness.
Especially in the earlier stages of the war, the
Germans displayed great general philanthropy,
and their kindness to the individual Frenchman
was beyond all praise. That, however, which
raised their indignation was the employment of
the Turcos, who even when wounded bit at the
very fingers which tended them, and actually
attempted to outrage the sisters of charity. For
that crime ten of their number were shot off-hand
at Berlin in one day. " Conceive," said the Ger¬
mans, " these men masters of our towns, with our
wives and daughters at their mercy ;" and they
became the more embittered against the French.
A sterner feeling was also enkindled among
many by the lavish attentions bestowed upon the
French wounded and other prisoners by German
ladies. In the Cologne Gazette, a well-known au¬
thoress (Fanny Lewald) reminded them that such
benevolent proceedings had their limits, and, ad¬
dressing the women of Germany, concluded with
the following:—"You would not be worthy of
the German men who are standing in the field
for us and our country if you could forget but
for a moment who are the authors of the fearful
misfortune brought upon hundreds of thousands
of Germans, if you could forget what you owe
to the memory of our fallen heroes, to the
anguish of the mourners, to your country, to
your fellow-women, and to your own dignity.
We should not forget the man in the prisoner,
the wounded, the Frenchman; but we should
not, and will not, forget that he is at this
moment our enemy and the enemy of our
country. Let him testify on his return that we
are merciful and know what is becoming, and
what we owe to ourselves. Do not let us substan¬
tiate the caricatures with which, at the expense
of German women, French vanity and immorality
filled the soldiers knapsacks when they started."
Indeed the hostile feeling towards both the
French government and people was manifestly
deepening, and such articles as the following
from the Staats Anzeiger found a hearty response
in public opinion :—
" Three battles have been fought in the short
space of time between the 14th and the 18th. In
each of them the main army of the French, headed
by the guards and commanded by its most able
generals, has been defeated. Let us place laurel
wreaths on the coffins of our departed brothers, to
whose self-sacrifice we are indebted for these vic¬
tories ; but let us acknowledge that we are wit¬
nessing a judgment of God Almighty. God is
punishing a people which obstinately persists in
insolence and blindness even in the hour of trial,
and of whose moral depravity we see such appal¬
ling proofs before us. High and low in France
behave at this moment with equal frivolity. Lies
are incessantly propagated at our expense, to stir
the passions of the populace against us. A hollow
grandiloquence appeals in vain to the patriotism of
the inhabitants. Fanatic party divisions interfere
with all real devotion to the country, and as they
cannot vanquish our armies they presume to hate
us as a race, and to injure, oppress, and expel the
few Germans living among them. The infamies
perpetrated against German residents in France
will be a lasting stain upon that country. In the
meantime, our sons and brothers are fighting the
good fight of Germany. Many have already sealed
with their blood the vow they took; none have
given way before the enemy, and all have mani¬
fested that spirit of moral elevation and discipline,
the symbol of which the Prussian colours have
ever been. We celebrate their exploits, and we
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
17
mourn the dead. In seeing the noblest of our
race taken from us by an untimely death we have
one consolation. If our lathers warded off the
unjust attacks of France without deriving any
permanent benefit from their efforts it will not be
so this time. We shall settle accounts with this
race, so eaten up with arrogance and the lust of
conquest, which has threatened and endeavoured
to humiliate us for centuries, and which has robbed
Germany of some of her finest provinces. The
Lord, who has helped us to overcome the lying
mendacity and frivolity of France, will not permit
our victims to be offered up in vain. He will bless
our aged king, and accord him the noble privi¬
lege of establishing a safe and durable peace,
guarded by our united, our free, upright, and
pious Fatherland."
A still more notable production appeared in the
official Provincial Correspondenz, broadly intimat¬
ing that the social and political disorganization
displayed by France could not have supervened so
soon unless her people had been morally corrupt
long before. After noticing her arrogant claims
to take the lead in European affairs, the writer
continued:—" By the reviving power of Germany
this overweening superiority of one state is at last
to be reduced to its proper limits. ... In a
state of perfect intoxication the French govern¬
ment and people entered upon the war. Events
which have recently occurred could not but arouse
them from their dreams. Yet the same giddiness,
the same deficiency in moral sense, which have
conjured up the evil, are noticeable in their con¬
duct. . . . What has surprised us most is
the precipitation with which extreme measures
are adopted by the ministry and sanctioned by
the Chambers. Steps which in great and well-
ordered states are, as a rule, only resorted to in the
last extremity, we find resolved upon after a few
preliminary disasters. This betrays a state of cor¬
ruption. and internal rottenness more intense and
more comprehensive than one could have imagined
to exist. Not by her misfortunes in war, but by
her pitiable self-despair, France has forfeited the
prestige she so long regarded as her due."
Sentiments similar to these were widely dissemi¬
nated by the German press, and contemporaneously
an article appeared in the Provincial Correspondenz,
headed " Germany's wishes with regard to Alsace
and Lorraine," which contained the following:—
" These provinces which were torn away from
VOL. II.
the German empire have become France's chief
points of support for menacing attacks upon
Germany. How should it be possible, after the
glorious victories of the German army, after the
re-conquest of two old German provinces, and
after the heavy and costly sacrifices by which our
triumph has been gained ; how should it be pos¬
sible to avoid the irresistible conviction that the
honour and the safety of Germany imperatively
demand the removal of the lasting shame—a Ger¬
man country serving as a starting point for Ger¬
man enslavement? The European powers, true
to the attitude of neutrality which they have
assumed, will not arbitrarily endeavour to arrest
the consequences of the war, so long as no
substantial European interest is injured by the
conditions of the treaty of peace. The German
people, however, is conscious that in its demand
it does not aim at any preponderance over other
nations which might endanger the so-called Euro¬
pean equilibrium, but that it seeks only a firmly-
established peace, which it intends to wring for
itself and for other nations from the old enemy of
the peace of Europe."
Large public meetings, also, were held in Ger¬
many, protesting against foreign interference, and
contending that the mere substitution of one form
of government for another in France would not
afford the necessary guarantees against another
war of aggression. Since 1552, it was said, France,
under every possible form of government, and un¬
der the control of the most opposite parties, had
never ceased to extend her territory at the expense
of her neighbours, and Germany had been the
principal sufferer. The time had at length come
when the Fatherland must cease to be molested by
her, and secure for itself a long period of peace.
Alsace and Lorraine must again form an integral
portion of the German empire.
This resolve on the part of the Germans was
greatly favoured by the subsequent course of
events ; and while they watched with intense
interest the movements of the combatants on the
field, many of the well-informed anticipated to
some extent the gradual closing in of their war¬
like hosts upon the bewildered and disorganized
French. But no anticipations could have come
up to the reality; and when, early on Saturday,
September 3, a telegram proclaimed the astound¬
ing news of the crowning victory at Sedan and the
| surrender of the French army, Berlin immediately
c
18
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
gave way to unwonted jubilation. Un ter den
Linden was crowded, and everywhere the city
became alive with processions. Flags and banners
were exhibited in endless profusion, and wreaths
and streamers covered the great monument of
Frederick the Great, and every other public situa¬
tion. The veteran Marshal Wrangel was early on
his way to the palace to offer his congratulations ;
and on returning to his residence in the Pariser
Platz was attended by an enthusiastic crowd, who
cheered him as he passed the sentries at his gate,
waved flags under his windows, and sang " Borus-
sia." These jubilant demonstrations continued
throughout the day, and were followed in the
evening by brilliant illuminations from almost
every dwelling, public and private ; the unusual
glare increased by torchlight processions and dis¬
plays of fireworks. Similar scenes occurred in
every corner of Germany. In all the larger cities
the moment the capture of Napoleon and his army
became known, the population rushed into the
streets, and assembled in the churches, town-halls,
and other places of public resort. Schools and
workshops, and, in some cases, even the courts
of justice, were closed. Everywhere the bells were
rung and royal salutes fired in honour of the day.
In many towns meetings were improvised on the
market-place; in others, a regular service was
celebrated in the churches; and rarely, indeed,
had the places of worship been so filled as they
were on that Saturday and the ensuing Sunday.
All the various capitals had their processions, and
forwarded congratulatory telegrams to the king of
Prussia and the Crown Prince of Saxony. Im¬
portant and cordial addresses were presented to
King William of Prussia, thanking him and the
army for their achievements in the field, insisting
upon the annexation of Alsace and Lorraine as
the only means of securing Germany from future
attack, and recommending the immediate reunion
of Northern and Southern Germany. Thus the
victors, rejoicing over their marvellous successes
in the field, eagerly sought, at the same time, to
possess themselves of the fruit of their conquests.
The intelligence of the emperor's surrender
created a profound sensation in England and
throughout all the nations of the Continent, while
the Atlantic cables flashed the news across the
seas to the Western hemisphere. East and west
alike, men looked on in surprise and bewilder¬
ment, exclaiming, in the words of the Jewish
patriot, " How are the mighty fallen !"
NOTE.
The exact circumstances attending General Trochu's appointment
as governor of Paris were neither known nor understood correctly until
he himself laid them before the National Assembly sitting at Versailles
in June, 1871, and in the course of his statement on that occasion
considerable light was thrown upon some of the incidents of this part
of our narrative. After describing the causes of the military decadence
of France, General Trochu, on the occasion referred to, said that as
early as the commencement of August, he, being the only general in
Paris, perceived the importance of the capital being prepared to with¬
stand a siege. He wrote a letter to the emperor to that effect, warning
him that all other events were secondary, and that an army of succour
collected before Paris was the only resource left. The general also
asked for the recall of the army of Marshal Bazaine, subsequently to
be joined by that of Marshal MacMahon, which was unanimously
approved by a conference of generals, but political considerations pre¬
vented this measure from being carried out.. This support failing, the
safety of Paris was thenceforth seriously compromised. General Trochu
was present at a conference held on the 17th August at Chalons, at which
the emperor, Marshal MacMahon, Prince Napoleon, and several other
officers were present. The question discussed was whether the emperor
should give up the command of the army or abdicate altogether, the
emperor himself being desirons of resuming the reins of government.
General Trochu accepted, with the title of Governor of Paris, the task
of preparing for the return of the emperor, on the express condition
that the army of Marshal MacMahon should be ordered to fall back
on the capital to act as an army of succour. The appointment was
couched in the following terms :—" General Trochu, appointed governor
of Paris and commander-in-chief, will immediately start for Paris ; he
will precede the emperor by a few hours. Marshal MacMahon will
march on Paris with his army." The general also received the follow¬
ing order:—"Campof Chalons, August 17, 1870. Mon cher Général,
—I appoint you governor of Paris and commander-in-chief of all the
forces intrusted with the defence of the capital. Immediately on my
arrival at Paris you will receive communication of the decree officially
conferring these functions upon you; but in the meanwhile take all the
measures that may be necessary to fulfil your mission. Receive, mon
cher général, the assurance of my friendly feelings—Napoleon." The
empress, however, distrustful of what was being done, formally opposed
the return of the emperor. Count Palikao, too, received General Trochu
coldly ; refused to allow the army of Marshal Bazaine to come to
Paris ; and decided to send all disposable reinforcements to Verdun
and Metz. The peculiar fact, too, that no authority was given by
General Trochu for his appointment was also fully explained in his
speech before the National Assembly, to which we are referring. On
presenting himself to the empress on the night of the 17th of August,
General Trochu said, " I have brought with me the proclamation in
which I desire to make known to the population that X have been
appointed governor and commander-in-chief during the siege. That
proclamation begins thus :—1 In the presence of the peril that threatens
the country, the emperor has appointed me governor of the capital in a
a state of siege.' The empress here interrupted me. ' General, the
emperor's name must not appear in a proclamation at a time like this.'
' But, madam, I represent the emperor. I said that I would come
here to defend him. I cannot address the population of Paris without
referring to the emperor, and saying that it is by his orders that I
have undertaken the defence of the capital.' '.No, general, believe
me. In the present state of the public mind there would be serious
objections to allow this reference to the emperor.' Thereupon it was
struck out." Farther on in this remarkable speech, General Trochu
fully confirmed the inharmonious nature of his relations with Connt
Palikao and the empress. In their views of the situation of affairs the
governor and the minister strongly disagreed, and General Trochu was
regarded with a distrust which was shared in by all the imperial
authorities. "The council of the empress," continued the general,
" consisted of the ministers of the privy council, of the president of
the Corps Législatif, and of the president of the Senate. I experienced
at its hands great and growing distrust ; my loyalty, my sincerity were
insufficient to disarm those who showed me so plainly their feelings."
4M M *CH L*I-'»F CONDON EDINBURGH 6 GLASGOW.
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
19
In fact, for some days the general was virtually relieved from his com¬
mand, and until the time of the revolution on the 4th of September
was at constant variance with the minister of War.
To this defence of General Trochn before the National Assembly,
Count Palikao subsequently replied in a letter to the president. That
document, however, essentially confirmed the statement of General
Trochn, especially as to the unfortunate relations existing between him
and the count. The latter admits that the general conceived that the
whole war should be reduced to the defence of Paris, with MacMahon's
army hovering at a distance round the capital till it gathered strength
to come to the rescue. His plan was laid before the emperor's council
at Chalons : it was approved and intrusted to Trochn himself for exe¬
cution. Troehu, however, found himself, on arriving at Paris, in a
subordinate position. His scheme clashed with the views of the War
minister, which were also those of the empress-regent and of her
cabinet, who held at that moment the supreme power. Count Palikao's
own plan was to reinforce MacMahon at Châlons, so as to enable him
to defend the line of the Mame, and even to recover lost gronnd on the
Meuse and the Moselle, eventually advancing to the release of Bazaine
at Metz. In pursuance of this strategy, both Trochn himself and the
emperor's council, in whose name he spoke, were ntterly ignored. By
Palikao's own admission, Trochn was "taught his place," "it being
the habit of the minister never to discuss with his subordinates when
he had orders to give them." The most serious charge made by Count
Palikao against General Trochu in his letter was, that when he returned
to Paris from Chalons, "in pursuance with the order which he com¬
municated to the Chamber, he brought back with him eighteen batta¬
lions of the Paris mobiles who were quartered there." " We all know,"
continued Count Palikao, " the innate gallantry of the Parisians under
flro, and all the world is equally aware of the dangers their presence in
Paris must bring abont. So that, instead of leaving at Châlons these
eighteen battalions, who, at a given moment, might have performed
prodigies of valour and decided the issue of a battle, the general brought
back in his train a phalanx of revolutionists, whose presence here must
further complicate our trying situation. Several of these battalions
belonged to the most dangerous quarters of the town. By this step we
were deprived of so many men against the enemy, who were arrayed
against the cause of order, as experience proved soon after, under the
very eyes of General Trochn." Count Palikao also intimated that
matters were rendered still worse by a proclamation, in which General
Trochu asserted that " the mobiles had a right to be in Paris, and to
stay there." He further admitted that he ceased to communicate with
the general, and added, " As to his presence at the Council of Ministers,
he was summoned to attend whenever a question which came within
his province was to be discussed, and he was admitted whenever he
wished to be present. But I must frankly confess that in the midst
of the nrgent business to be transacted during those critical times, the
length of the speeches which the general's great facility of elocntion
led him to indulge in were greatly dreaded."
It is thus easy to perceive that some, at least, of the misfortunes
of France at this time arose as much from a conflict of opinion as from
a collision of authority. The division was not, however, only between
the two generals ; it was also, as we have proved in a previous chapter,
between the government in Paris, presided over by the empress, and
the government in the field, with the emperor at the head of its coun¬
cils. The views of the former prevailed, and resulted in the catastrophe
of Sedan, involving alike the ruin of the regency, of the empress, and
of the dynasty of Napoleon.
I
CHAPTER XVI.
Overthrow of the Second Empire—General Trochu called upon to assume the Government of the Country—Midnight Sitting of the Corps
Législatif—M. Jules Favre moves that the Emperor and his Dynasty have forfeited all Bights conferred by the Constitution—Government
Proclamation on Sunday, September 4, admitting the Surrender of the Emperor and his Army—Its effect on the Parisians—The National
Guard fraternize with the People, and the Gendarmerie allow them to proceed to the Corps Législatif—The Scene inside the Chamber—
The National Guard replace the Soldiers ou guard outside—The crowd calls for the immediate Dethronement of the Emperor and the
Proclamation of a Eepublic—The National Guards and the Citizens at last invade the Chamber—The President is driven from the Chair,
the déchéance voted by an immense majority, and the New Republic established—The Extraordinary Scenes in the City on the News
becoming known—Public Proclamation of the Republic by M. Gambetta—The Palace of the Tuileries entered by the Crowd, and everything
connected with the Imperial régime destroyed—Protest of a Meeting of the Deputies against the Proceedings in the Chamber—A Pro¬
visional Government formed of all the Members for Paris except M. Thiers—The Last Sitting of the Senate—The Opinion of the American
Ambassador on the Events—Biographical Notice of M. Jules Favre, the new Minister of Foreign Affairs—Flight of the Empress from
Paris, and safe arrival in England—Proclamation of the new Government decreeing the Formation of the Republic and granting an
Amnesty for all Political Offences—Important Circular by M. Jules Favre, blaming the Emperor for the War and throwing the onus of
continuing it upon the King of Prussia, but asserting that the French will cede neither " An Inch of their Territory nor a Stone of their
Fortresses"—The feeling produced by the Circular in France and abroad—The Prospects of Peace increasingly doubtful—The Military
Spirit throughout the Country aroused—Disturbances in Lyons—Extraordinary Proceedings—Excitement in Marseilles and other towns—
Re-appearance of the Extreme Section of the Press—Magniloquent Addresses of Victor Hugo—Arrival of the Orlean Princes in Paris, but
their offer to serve the Government declined—Address of the Comte de Chambord—Characteristic Letter from Garibaldi—A Constituent
Assembly to be called—Another Important Circular by M. Favre—Unremitting Exertions to Provision and Defend the City—Review of
the whole Armed Force in Paris by General Trochu, and subsequent General Order—Destruction of the Bridges leading to Paris, and of
the Woods near the City—Removal of the Government to Tours—Fruitless Mission of M. Thiers to the different European Courts—The
Financial Position of Affairs—Recognition of the Republic by the United States of America—Manifestation of Feeling on the part of the
Germans in America—Acknowledgment of the Republic by Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal—Action of the British
Government on the Subject—Meetings of the Working Classes and Deputation to the Prime Minister, Mr. Gladstone—Interesting Letter of
M. Guizot—Feeling in Germany on hearing of the Proclamation of the Republic, and of its prompt recognition by the United States—
The action of England treated with indifference—Impulse given to the cause of German Unity by the Events of the War.
The news of the French disaster at Sedan sealed
the fate of the second empire. Scarcely seven
weeks had elapsed since the declaration of hos¬
tilities was made with a "light heart" by the
•Ollivier ministry. During that time the capital of
France had been deluded with false reports of
successes. Even when the fact of the crushing
reverses she had sustained became generally known,
the people still clung to their belief in the invinci¬
bility of their army, and cast the blame of defeat,
first upon the cabinet, which crumbled under the
heel of popular displeasure, and subsequently upon
the emperor and his generals. These circum¬
stances paved the way for the events which form
the subject of the present chapter.
We have already shown that in the Corps Légis¬
latif on Saturday afternoon (September 3) Count de
Palikao prepared the public mind for the reception
of the disastrous intelligence. A similar statement
was made in the Senate by Baron Jerome David.
The ministerial statements roused public indigna¬
tion, though very few were yet aware that the em¬
peror was a prisoner. But later in the evening, on
the publication of confused reports in the special
editions of the papers, an assemblage of about
6000 persons sent a deputation to General Trochu,
calling upon him to assume the government of the
country. He replied that he was not in a position
to respond to such a proposal, but would do his
duty in defending Paris. This answer was re¬
ceived with shouts of "Abdication!" "Abdica¬
tion!" Another assemblage of about 10,000 per¬
sons sent a deputation to him with the same object,
and got a similar reply, which was followed
by cries of "Abdication!" "France for ever!"
" Trochu for ever !" The Boulevards were densely
crowded, and though the people were silent, the
approaches to the Chamber were guarded by a
strong force of cavalry and infantry.
While the Legislative Body were still in session
at midnight on Saturday, Count de Palikao com¬
municated the news of the surrender of the emperor
and the capitulation of the army, and asked the
Chamber to postpone discussion as to what should
next be done till the following day ; but M.
Jules Favre rose and moved that the emperor
and his dynasty should be declared to have for¬
feited all rights conferred by the constitution.
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
21
He also demanded the appointment of a Parlia¬
mentary committee to be invested with powers to
govern the country and take measures for expelling
the enemy from French territory, and that, in the
meantime, General Trochu should be maintained
in his post as governor of Paris. This proposal
was received with profound silence, broken only
by a protest from M, Pinard. The Chamber
thereupon resolved to hold a sitting at noon on
the following day, Sunday, September 4.
Early on the morning of this day the cabinet
posted the following proclamation, which was also
published in the Journal Officiel, signed by the
full council of ministers :—" Frenchmen ! a great
misfortune has befallen the country. After the
three days of heroic struggles kept up by the
army of Marshal MacMahon against 300,000 ene¬
mies, 40,000 men have been made prisoners.
General Wimpffen, who had taken the command
of the army, replacing Marshal MacMahon, who
was grievously wounded, has signed a capitulation.
This cruel reverse does not daunt our courage.
Paris is now in a state of defence. The military
forces of the country are being organized. Within
a few days a new army will be under the walls of
Paris, and another is in formation on the banks
of the Loire. Your patriotism, your concord, your
energy will save France. The emperor has been
made prisoner in this contest. The government
co-operates with the public authorities, and is
taking all measures required by the gravity of
these events."
By this intelligence the Parisians seemed for a
time to be well-nigh paralyzed. The streets were
deserted ; the shops were either not opened, or were
closed again long before the usual hour. The faces
of the few stragglers who might be seen reading
the ominous placards, were expressive of doubt and
anxiety as to what might be their effect. Even on
the principal boulevards, between ten and eleven
o'clock, comparatively few persons were abroad.
Everything wore that look of silent and suppressed
emotion which in Paris has so often proved the
premonitory signal of a coming explosion. About
eleven o'clock, however, vast bodies of men ap¬
proached from the Boulevard Montmartre, all
armed, and displaying a perfect forest of bayonets.
In a moment the whole scene on the boulevards
changed. The trottoirs suddenly became densely
crowded, and every window and balcony filled with
the heads of eager spectators. The column proved
to bo national guards, and though in every sort of
attire, they marched in excellent order, with each
officer in his place. Loud cries of " La déchéance !
La déchéance!" "Vive la France!" and "Vive la
Republique ! " were raised, equally by the national
guards and the people, with a vehemence and
unanimity which left no doubt as to the nature of
the movement which was taking place. The cry
of " La déchéance " especially was repeated by
the national guards ; and the shout of " Vive la
Republique!" was universal. An order had been
issued by General Trochu for the national guards
to muster in force around the Chamber, and they
were now evidently marching from all points of
the city towards the Place de la Concorde, which
rapidly filled with a prodigious multitude, and
glittered with thousands of bayonets. The number
of armed men, almost all of whom had a musket,
was appalling. But complete unanimity prevailed,
and in the satisfaction of putting down the im¬
perial government and crying "La déchéance," the
news of the morning—the German invaders, the
defeat, indeed every other fact and feeling—seemed
to be forgotten. There was an entire absence of
hostile demonstration. The crowd in the Place de
la Concorde continued to increase. The gates of
the Tuileries gardens were closed, and one or two
soldiers only were visible inside ; but the imperial
flag still floated above the palace. As each succes¬
sive battalion of the national guard debouched into
the Place, it was hailed with deafening shouts, which
were answered with like enthusiasm. Often the
entire battalion raised the butt-ends of their muskets
in the air, and flourished them in token of complete
sympathy with the crowd, in the midst of which
numbers of ladies were walking about without
apprehension. Every now and then the multitude
caught up the refrain of the Chant du Depart or
other revolutionary air, and sang it in chorus with
inspiring effect. The whole scene resembled some
immense jubilation or Sunday fête. Civilians
gathered twigs from the neighbouring trees and
stuck them in their hats, while every garde national
inserted one into the end of his musket, so that
the entire Place soon presented a display of green
branches instead of bayonets. The men marched
steadily across the Place and up to the Pont de la
Concorde in front of the Corps Législatif, where
a slender body of gendarmerie à cheval had been
drawn up across the entrance to the bridge, who
had received orders from Count de Palikao to
22
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR,
" do their duty," and prevent the invasion of the
Chamber. When the head of the column came
up, the officer in command of the gendarmerie
refused to let it pass, and the national guard were
brought to a stand-still. There was much angry
vociferating by the crowd, and gesticulation and
remonstrance, followed by menace, on the part of
the captains of the citizen troops. The gendarmerie,
expecting to be attacked, drew their swords, and
so frightened the spectators as to send them to
the rear. It was an anxious moment: some of the
horses, pressed by the crowd, got restive, and the
officers, mounted and foot, found it difficult to
negotiate. Suddenly there was a cheer from the
spectators ; the gendarmerie opened its ranks, and
the national guards, with drums beating and
colours flying, passed on to the bridge. When
half across, however, another obstacle presented
itself in the shape of a squadron of helmeted troops
belonging to the municipal guard. The civic
troops, uncertain how to act, halted for a few
minutes, until orders were sent them from the
Chamber to wheel about, and on the steps of the
Corps Législatif some fifty deputies were immedi¬
ately observed, who uncovered and cheered. There
was a responsive cheer from the populace ; again
the drums of the national guard were sounded,
and the men effected the passage of the bridge
without bloodshed. The various battalions then
took possession of every available space outside
the Chamber, the general crowd following them
unimpeded across the bridge.
Meanwhile, a noonday sitting was being held
inside the Chamber, and before the other proceed¬
ings commenced, M. de Keratry complained of
the presence of a great body of regular troops
massed about the Corps Législatif, contrary to
the orders of General Trochu. Count de Palikao
then brought in a projet de loi signed by the
empress, for instituting a council of government
and national defence, to consist of five members
elected by the Legislative Body, himself occupying
the post of lieutenant-general of the council. M.
Jules Favre claimed priority for his motion already
proposed, to the effect that the emperor and his
dynasty had forfeited all rights conferred on them
by the constitution. M. Thiers also brought forward
a proposition, signed by forty-five members of the
left and right centres, to appoint a commission
of government and national defence. The Cham¬
ber declared urgency for all the three propositions
en bloc, and they were collectively referred to the
bureaux with a view to the appointment of the
commission. The sitting was then suspended for
a short time, during which the crowd penetrated
into the Salles des Quatre Colonnes and de la
Paix. In the latter, M. Jules Ferry, mounting
on a bench, amid cries of " Vive la République ! "
" Yive Ferry ! " informed the multitude that he
had given Count de Palikao his word that the
people would not enter the hall where the deputies
of the Corps Législatif deliberated. M. Ferry
having called upon the national guard to defend
the entry, the soldiers on guard retired, and the
crowd continued calling for the dèthronement,
which, they urged, ought to be immediately pro¬
claimed. M. Ernest Picard then addressed them,
saying that the Chamber was about to pronounce
on this very question, and begged them to wait
patiently the decision of the deputies, which could
not but be favourable to the unanimous demand
of the people. M. Emmanuel Arago next came
forward, observing " that they knew for what the
democratic party in the Chamber had combated,
but that it was for the people to decide who should
govern them." He was followed by the president,
M. Schneider, who had been requested by several
deputies and officers of the national guard to
speak. He had always, he said, been devoted to
the empire and his country ; and he begged the
crowd to allow the Chamber to deliberate calmly,
and not to let it appear that their representatives
acted under popular pressure. "Before all," said
he, " we must save France," which produced shouts
of "Yes, yes! Yive la Republique?" Meanwhile,
M. Glais Bizoin, in the Salle des Quatre Colonnes,
called on the people in the name of liberty not to
compromise what they were about to proclaim ;
and M. Ferry, conducted into the Salle de la Paix
by several national guards, was invited to address
the assemblage there. " Citizens," he said, " I do
not call on you to evacuate the Corps Législatif,
but be calm and allow us to deliberate." M.
Steenackers followed in a similar strain ; but the
crowd insisted on getting into the " Salle des
Séances," clamoured about the members to be
designated to form a provisional government, and
a paper, on which was written the names of seven
deputies of the Left, was hung on the statue of
Minerva. The pillars and walls were also covered
with demands for the dethronement of the emperor
and the proclamation of the republic, which were
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
23
re - echoed by the incessant clamours of the
crowd.
Inside the Chamber there was an attempt to
get through business, amid cries of " down with
Bonaparte." M. Gambetta ascended the tribune,
and thrice addressed the galleries ; while groups
of citizens and national guards invaded and per¬
sistently kept the floor of the Chamber. Presi¬
dent Schneider occupied the chair for the last
time, and addressed a few words to the Corps
Législatif, represented by the Left and a few
members of the Right who had timidly taken
their seats. Count de Palikao shortly appeared,
but M. Brame was the only minister who faced
the storm. In spite of a spirited protest by M.
Schneider against all attempts at intimidation,
there arose fierce cries for the republic, the Cham¬
ber was again invaded by a fresh rush of the mob,
the benches were taken by storm, and the presi¬
dent was driven from his chair. In the midst of
this scene of utter confusion the new republic was
born. Numerous slips of paper were passed eagerly
from hand to hand, containing the names of persons
who should be appointed to form a new government,
and many deputies were summoned, all of them
belonging to the Left, excepting M. Thiers. M.
Jules Favre then gained possession of the tribune,
and proclaimed the downfall of the Bonapartist
dynasty, backed by M. Gambetta, who acted as
"reporter." The déchéance, indeed, had been
previously voted in committee by the immense
majority of 195 deputies to 18.
Outside the Chamber it was immediately known
that the déchéance had been pronounced and the
republic proclaimed. The shout which arose left
no doubt as to the opinion of those present upon
what had been done. The cry of "à l'Hôtel de
Ville ! " was soon after raised, and the whole body
of national guards began to move in that direction.
On their way they removed the eagles from the
flagstaff's, and the frightened householders followed
the example, throwing them amongst the crowd.
Arrived at the Place de la Concorde, the populace
forced the sergents-de-ville to give up their swords,
which were immediately broken, and the fragments
thrown at the feet of the statue representing
Strassburg, which had been crowned with flowers
on the preceding day.
As the army had made common cause with the
national guards there was, of course, no fear of
armed collisions. The scene at the barracks of the
Quai d'Orsay was thus graphically depicted by an
eye-witness, and was a specimen of what took place
in other parts of the capital :—" From the windows
of those great barracks, formerly peopled with
troops every man of whom was supposed to be
ready to die for his emperor, I saw soldiers smiling,
waving handkerchiefs, and responding to the cries
of ' Long live the Republic ! ' raised by gendarmes,
cavalry, soldiers of the line, national guards, and
people, below. Well-dressed ladies in open car¬
riages shook hands with private soldiers and men
in blouses, all crying ' Long live the Republic ! '
Nay, strangers fell on each others' necks, and kissed
each other with 4 effusion.' In the neighbourhood
of the Pont Neuf, I saw people on tops of ladders
busily pulling down the emperor's busts. I saw
the busts carried in mock procession to the parapet
of the Pont Neuf and thrown into the Seine;
clapping of hands and hearty laughter greeting the
splash which the graven image of the mighty mon¬
arch made in the water."
The scene which took place at the Hotel de
Ville, to which the more prominent members of
the Left had retired, was almost equally extra¬
ordinary. The. mob soon became masters of
the building, and vented their rage on every¬
thing connected with the emperor or his family.
Portraits of him and the empress were cut to
pieces and thrown out of the window to be trod¬
den upon by the people, the number of whom
was now enormous. A discussion arose as to the
choice of the flag to be used by the new govern¬
ment, but the tricolour was ultimately decided on
—the proposal of some workmen to adopt a red
one having been objected to by MM. Gambetta
and Schoelcher. As soon as the provisional gov¬
ernment had actually been formed, a deputation
from them went to the prison of St. Pelagie, and
demanded the release of M. Henri Rochefort, a
most violent republican, and one of the members
for Paris, who was confined there for a political
offence. The officials at once acceded to the
demand—thus acknowledging the authority of the
new rulers as readily as every one else—and he
was triumphantly drawn through the streets to the
Hotel de Ville ; where on appearing at the window
he was vehemently cheered by the vast crowd below.
At forty-five minutes past four, M. Gambetta
appeared at one of the windows, MM. Jules Favre
and E. Arago standing a little behind him, and then
and there he publicly proclaimed the republic, and
24
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
the installation of a provisional government. This
proclamation was received with every possible
demonstration of enthusiasm, and a few minutes
afterwards the Phrygian cap of liberty was planted
on the top of the flagstaff in place of the eagle.*
Meanwhile the crowd, in company with national
and mobile guards, moved towards the Tuileries,
tore down the eagles that surmounted the railings,
and bursting open the gates made their way to
the reserved garden, where a considerable number
of voltigeurs of the guard were massed. A depu¬
tation sent in advance to hold a parley with the
general in command, informed him that the republic
had been proclaimed, and that the people demanded
entrance to the palace. At this moment the im¬
perial flag was lowered, the signal that the empress
had fled from the Tuileries. The general then
mounted upon a chair, and expressed his willing¬
ness to march out the troops, providing the post
was confided to the charge of the national guards.
This agreed to, the crowd was allowed to roam at
will over the apartments of the palace, which were
deserted by all except the servants in the kitchen.
The people, however, were soon cleared out by
a detachment of national guards, who throughout
the day behaved with great propriety. As in all
Parisian tumults, the wits were busy, and covered
several prominent places with " Appartements à
louer," "liberté, égalité, fraternité," and other stock
phrases of the previous revolution. The crowd,
however, unlike that of 1848, not only did not
destroy the furniture, but showed some disposition
to respect property. Then, however, as on the
following day, they busied themselves in erasing
and destroying every vestige of the imperial regime.
Thus many of the public buildings were defaced,
and the shopkeepers, either from predisposition
or force, speedily removed all tokens of imperial
patronage, even to the vignettes on Exhibition
prize medals. All portraits and photographs of
the imperial family immediately disappeared, and
the Avenue de l'Impératrice and other thorough¬
fares associated with the cast-off dynasty were
renamed after republican or patriotic celebrities.
The deputies who left the Chamber when it was
invaded met in the afternoon at the president's
residence ; vice-president Alfred le Roux presided.
It was agreed to advise the nomination of a com¬
mittee of government elected by the Corps Légis¬
latif; the Chamber, at the same time, protesting
* See note at the end of Chapter.
that it recognized in no single body of citizens the
right of controlling the destiny of the country.
A deputation was then appointed to wait upon the
deputies of the Left at the Hotel de Ville, for the
purpose of inculcating the necessity of reliance
upon the representatives of the nation, the only
legal and organized force, in the forming of a
government and combining of efforts against the
enemy. The bearers of the proposal were informed
that it could not now be entertained, as the republic
had already been proclaimed and accepted by the
people. It was promised, however, that some of
the members of the provisional government should
attend an evening meeting of the deputies. At
this sitting, which took place under the presidency
of M. Thiers, and comprised nearly 200 members
of the Corps Législatif, amongst them MM. Jules
Pavre and Jules Simon, it was explained that the
new government were anxious to have the support
of the deputies, though these, it was considered,
might be able to render better service to the
country in the departments. " If," added M. Favre,
"you will kindly give the new government your
ratification, we shall be grateful to you for it ; if,
on the contrary, you refuse it, we shall respect the
decisions of your conscience, but we shall preserve
the entire liberty of our own." He also stated
that M. Rochefort was a member of the provisional
government, which comprised all the deputies for
Paris except M. Thiers, who had refused to form
part of it. The veteran statesman, however,
counselled a passive concurrence in accomplished
facts. " Our duty," said he to M. Favre, " is
ardently to desire your success in the defence of
Paris. We desire this because your success would
be that of our country." Nothing, however, came
of this interview, beyond the issue of a protest on
the part of the deputies present against the events
of the afternoon. The exclusion of other members
than those of Paris from the government, was
justified by M. Favre on the ground that the
defence of the capital was their primary duty.
The Senate on that eventful Sunday had also
held its last sitting. M. Rouher took the chair at
noon, and warmly protested against the proposition
of M. Jules Favre for dethroning the dynasty.
The protest evoked some applause, and one or two
senators cried, "Vive l'Empereur !" M. Baroche
said a few words in defence of the empire, as did
also Prince Poniatowski ; but with these feeble
and expiring forms the body became defunct.
THE FRAN CO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
25
Referring to these events, the American minister
wrote to his government :—" In a few brief hours
of a Sabbath day I have seen a dynasty fall and a
republic proclaimed, and all without the shedding
of one drop of blood."
At six o'clock in the evening a decree naming
the members of the provisional government was
issued, stating that the déchéance had been pro¬
nounced by the Corps Législatif, the republic
proclaimed at the Hotel de Ville, and a com¬
mittee of national defence had been appointed.
The provisional government originally consisted
of the following members :—General Trochu,
president ; Emmanuel Arago ; Cremieux, minister
of Justice; Jules Favre, minister for Foreign Affairs;
Jules Ferry; Gambetta, minister of the Interior;
Gamier Pagés, Glais - Bizoin, Pelletan ; Ernest
Picard, minister of Finance; Rochefort; and Jules
Simon, minister of Public Instruction. Subse¬
quently General Leflô, minister for War ; Admiral
Fourichon, minister of Marine; M. Dorian, min¬
ister of Public Works ; M. Magnin, minister of
Agriculture and Commerce ; Count de Keratry,
prefect of police; and M. Etienne Arago, were
added—forming eighteen members in all.
Jules Claude Gabriel Favre, the minister for
F oreign Affairs, and vice-president of the Committee
of Defence, was one of the most distinguished
members of the new cabinet. He was bom at
Lyons in 1809, and took a prominent part in the
revolution of 1830, being at the time a law student
at Paris. Practising as a barrister at Lyons, he
warmly espoused the cause of the working classes,
and gained great distinction by his ultra-radical
opinions. In 1835, at the Paris bar, he especially
distinguished himself in a speech before the Cour
des Pairs, when, commencing with Je suis Répub¬
licain, he pleaded for four hours, though he was
then dangerously ill. In the revolution of February,
1848, he was appointed secretary-general of the
ministry of the Interior, took a prominent part
in the prosecution of Louis Blanc and Caussidiére
for the attempted insurrection of the 15 th May,
and refused to join in the vote of thanks to
General Cavaignac. After the election of Louis
Napoleon as president, Jules Favre became one
of his bitterest opponents ; and though he ac¬
quiesced in the vote for the Italian expedition,
he objected to the direction it was taking,
and demanded that the president and ministry
should be proceeded against. On the coup d'état
vol. n.
of the 2nd December, M. Favre retired from
political life for six years, refusing to swear fidelity
to the new régime. He reappeared in the Corps
Législatif as a Paris deputy in 1858, and defended
those involved in the Orsini conspiracy with such
power that, in reference to his speech, the pro¬
cureur-général said, " En presence de l'echafaud
qui se dresse on avait élevé une statue pour
celui qui doit y monter. " In the general
elections of 1869 he was rejected by his native
town, but was elected for the seventh circonscrip¬
tion of Paris. He was known as the author of a
number of political pamphlets, and in 1868, in
company with MM. Hénon andE. Picard, founded
L'Electeur, a weekly political journal.
It had become evident about mid-day that
the Tuileries was no longer a safe residence for
the empress, and she determined on immediate
flight. As she passed into the streets a petit
gamin recognized her, and shouted " Voila l'Im¬
pératrice ! " which called forth from the crowd
the rejoinder, " A la guillotine !" No violence,
however, was offered her Majesty, who hastened to
the house of a friend. As it was considered hazar¬
dous to travel by railway, she left Paris without
luggage of any kind, and drove to the little northern
port of Deauville. An English cutter yacht, the
Gazelle, lay in the harbour, ready to sail on the
following day for England with Sir John and Lady
Burgoyne. A few hours before the time appointed
for the Gazelle to weigh her anchor the empress
presented herself, announced her rank and difficult
position, and claimed the protection of Sir John as
an English gentleman. Lady Burgoyne was at
once introduced to the empress, who became her
guest for the voyage across the Channel. At seven
o'clock on the morning of the 7th September the
Gazelle left for England, and reached Ryde on the
afternoon of the 8th. The empress then crossed
by steamer to Portsmouth and proceeded to Hast¬
ings, where she was joined by the Prince Imperial,
who had already arrived in England. After her
flight a despatch was found on her table from M.
Pietri, the prefect of the police, announcing that the
situation was grave ; that the national guards were
hostile ; and that the troops would not march.
The officials of the imperial régime had shown
themselves quite as fully alive to the dangers of
the situation as the empress. Count de Palikao and
his colleagues in the ministry fled immediately after
the proclamation of the republic, and the " official
D
26
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
majority " instantly disappeared. In fact, as soon
as it became really known that the emperor had
succumbed, his wife, his son, his throne, his system,
and his supporters, shared in the general collapse.
An exodus of the able-bodied youth of the capital
followed, and as the Germans approached, England,
Belgium, and other countries received an influx of
of visitors from Paris evading the levée en masse.
Thus France rewarded him who had given her the
first place in Europe for eighteen years, and during
the same time had preserved her internal quiet, and
held in order the turbulent masses of Paris.
On Monday morning (September 5) the Journal
Officiel was superseded by the Journal of the
French Republic, which contained the following
proclamation:—"Frenchmen! The people have
disavowed a Chamber which hesitated to save the
country when in danger. It has demanded a
republic. The friends of its representatives are
not in power, but in peril. The republic van¬
quished the invasion of '92. The republic is pro¬
claimed. The revolution is accomplished in the
name of right and public safety. Citizens ! watch
over the city confided to you. To-morrow you
will be with the army avengers of the country."
A decree of the ministry dissolved the Corps Légis¬
latif, and abolished the Senate and the presidency
of the Council of State. The manufacture and
sale of arms was declared absolutely free, and a
complete amnesty proclaimed for all political
crimes and offences. Four prisoners, sentenced to
death for their participation in the La Yillette riots
on the 14th August, were also released.
A proclamation was also issued to the army, in
the following terms :—"When a general has com¬
promised his command, it is taken away from him.
When a government has imperilled by its faults
the safety of the country, it is deposed. This is
what France has just done. In abolishing the
dynasty which was responsible for our misfortunes,
F ranee accomplished an act of justice, and at the
same time performed an act of necessity for her
own preservation. The nation has only to depend
upon herself, and only to reckon upon two things
—the revolution, which is invincible ; and your
heroism, which has no equal, and which, amid
undeserved reverses, excites the astonishment of
the world. We are not the government of a party,
but a government of national defence ; and have
but one object and one will—the safety of the
country by means of the army and the nation
grouped around the glorious ensign which made
Europe draw back eighty years ago. To-day, as
then, the name of the republic signifies the hearty
union of army and people in the defence of the
country."
All public functionaries of every class were re¬
leased from their oaths; the ambassadors to Eng¬
land, Austria, and Russia were dismissed; and all
Germans not in possession of special permissions
were ordered to leave the departments of the Seine
and Seine-et-Oise within twenty-four hours. Count
de Nieuwerkerke was dismissed from his post of
superintendent of the fine arts and museums. New
prefects were appointed all over France ; new
mayors in all the Paris arrondissements ; and M.
Gambetta, the minister of the Interior, addressed
the following letter to all the provisional adminis¬
trators and prefects of departments:—"In accept¬
ing power at a time of such danger to the country
we have accepted great perils and great duties.
The people of Paris who on the 4th of September
found themselves again in existence, after so long
an interval, have so understood the emergency,
and their acclamations plainly mean that they
expect from us the preservation of the country.
Our new republic is not a government which per¬
mits of political dissensions and empty quarrels.
It is, as we have said, a government of national
defence, a republic of war to the knife against the
invader. Support us, then, citizens, animated, like
ourselves, by the paramount desire of saving the
country, and prepared to shrink from no sacrifice.
Into the midst of these improvised workers bring
the coolness and vigour which should belong to.
the representatives of a power resolved on every¬
thing in order to vanquish the enemy. Sustain
every one, by your unlimited activity in all the
questions which concern the armament and equip¬
ment of the citizens and their military instruction.
All prohibitory laws, all the restrictions so unfor¬
tunately placed on the manufacture and sale of
arms, have disappeared. Let every Frenchman
receive or seize a gun, and place himself at the
disposal of the authorities. The country is in
danger! Day by day information will be given
you respecting the details of your duties. But do
much spontaneously, and especially endeavour to
gain the co-operation of all minds, so that by a
gigantic and unanimous effort France may owe its
deliverance to the patriotism of all its children."
The fact that the revolution had been achieved
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN "WAR
27
without bloodshed gave rise to the hope in some
quarters that peace might be established. But
the illusion was speedily dispelled. On the 6th
September M. FavTe, vice-president of the govern¬
ment of national defence and minister of Foreign
Affairs, addressed to the French diplomatic agents
abroad the following very important and historical
circular :—
" Sir,—The events which have just taken place
in Paris explain themselves so well by the inexor¬
able logic of facts, that it is useless to insist at
length on their meaning and bearing. In ceding
to an irresistible impulse, which had been but too
long restrained, the population of Paris has obeyed
a necessity superior to that of its own safety ; it
did not wish to perish with the criminal govern¬
ment which was leading France to her ruin ; it has
therefore pronounced the deposition of Napoleon
III. and of his dynasty : it has registered it in the
name of right, justice, and public safety ; and the
sentence was so well ratified beforehand by the
conscience of all, that no one even among the
most noisy defenders of the power that was falling
raised his voice to uphold it. It collapsed of itself
under the weight of its faults, and amid the
acclamations of an immense people, without a
single drop of blood being shed, without any one
individual being deprived of his personal liberty ;
and we have been able to see—a thing unheard of
in history—the citizens, upon whom the popular
voice conferred the perilous mandate to fight and
to conquer, not thinking for a moment of their
political adversaries, who but the day before threat¬
ened them with execution. It is by refusing to
their adversaries the honour of being subject to
any sort of repression, that they have shown them
their blindness and their impotence. Order has
not been disturbed for a single moment. Our
confidence in the wisdom and patriotism of the
national guard and of the whole population permits
us to affirm that it will not be disturbed. Rescued
from the shame and the danger of a government
which has proved itself a traitor to all its duties,
each one now comprehends that the first act of the
national sovereignty, at last reconquered, must be
one of self-control—the seeking for strength in
respect for right. Moreover, time must not be
lost : the enemies are at our gates ; we have but
one thought, namely their expulsion from our
territory. But this obligation, which we resolutely
accept, we did not impose upon France. She
would not be in her present position if our voice
had been listened to. We have energetically
defended, even at the cost of our popularity, the
policy of peace ; we still maintain the same opinion
with increasing conviction. Our heart breaks at
the sight of these human massacres wherein is
sacrificed the flower of two nations, that a little
good sense and a great deal of liberty would have
preserved from such frightful catastrophes. We
cannot find any expression capable of rendering
our admiration for our heroic army sacrificed by
the incapacity of the supreme commander, but
showing itself greater in its defeats than in the
most brilliant victory : for in spite of the knowledge
of faults which compromised its safety, the army
has immolated itself with sublime heroism in the
face of certain death—redeeming thus the honour
of France from the stain cast upon her by her
government. All honour to the army! The
nation looks towards it with open arms ! The
imperial power wished to divide them : misfortune
and duty join them in a solemn embrace sealed
by patriotism and liberty. This alliance renders
us invincible. Ready for every emergency, we
look with calmness on the position of affairs made
what it is, not by us, but by others. This position
I will explain in a few words, and I submit it to
the judgment of my country and of Europe. We
loudly condemn the war, and while protesting our
respect for the rights of peoples, we asked that
Germany should be left mistress of her own
destinies. We wished that liberty should be at
the same time our common tie and our common
shield. We were convinced that these moral
forces would for ever insure peace, but as a sanc¬
tion we claimed an arm for every citizen, a civil
organization, and the election of leaders. Then
we should have remained invincible on our own
soil. The government of the emperor, which had
long since separated its interests from those of
the country, opposed that policy. We take it up
with the hope that, taught by experience, France
will have the wisdom to put it into practice. On
his side the king of Prussia declared that he
made war, not against France, but against the
imperial dynasty. The dynasty has fallen to the
ground. France raises herself free. Does the
king of Prussia wish to continue an impious
struggle, which will be at least as fatal to him as
to us? Does he wish to give to the world of the
28
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
nineteenth century the cruel spectacle of two
nations destroying one another, and in forgetfulness
of humanity, reason, and science, heaping corpse
upon corpse, and ruin upon ruin. He is free to
assume this responsibility in the face of the world
and of history. If it is a challenge, we accept it.
We will not cede either an inch of our territory
or a stone of our fortresses. A shameful peace
would mean a war of extermination at an early
date. We will only treat for a durable peace. In
this our interest is that of the whole of Europe,
and we have reason to hope that, freed from all
dynastic considerations, the question vfill thus
present itself before the cabinets of Europe. But
should we be alone, we shall not yield. We have
a resolute army, well-provisioned forts, a well-
established enceinte, and above all, the breasts of
300,000 combatants determined to hold out to the
last. When they piously lay crowns at the feet
of the statue of Strassburg, they do not obey
merely an enthusiastic sentiment of admiration,
they adopt their heroic mot d'ordre—they swear
to be worthy of their brethren of Alsace, and
to die as they have done. After the forts we
have the ramparts, after the ramparts we have
the barricades. Paris can hold out for three
months and conquer. If she succumbs, France
will start up at her appeal and avenge her.
France would continue the struggle, and the
aggressor would perish. Such is, sir, what Europe
must know. We have not accepted power with
any other object; we will not keep it a moment
if we should not find the population of Paris, and
the whole of France, decided to share our resolu¬
tions. I sum up these resolves briefly, in presence
of God who hears me, in the face of posterity
which shall judge us. We wish only for peace;
but if this disastrous war, which we have con¬
demned, is continued against us, we shall do our
duty to the last, and I have the firm confidence
that our cause, which is that of right and of justice,
will triumph in the end. It is in this manner
that I invite you to explain the situation to the
minister of the court to which you are accredited,
and in whose hands you will place a copy of this
document. Accept, sir, the expression of my
high consideration.
" JULES FAVRE.
" Minister of Foreign Affairs,
" September 6, 1870."
This document attracted much notice. By the
journals of Paris and the people generally it was
received with great satisfaction, and it had a
favourable effect on the Bourse. But in all these
proceedings neutral nations saw little hope for a
peaceful solution of the quarrel. It was seen that
the republic could not avoid the responsibility
of the previous reign; that it was held to answer
for the acts of the imperial government, the war
among the rest; because, whatever the sentiments
of French republicans, the rule of the deposed
emperor had been accepted and maintained by
the majority of the French people. In the language
of the Siècle, he was the man " whom the mis¬
guided country had accepted as chief." Even the
democratic ouvriers of France, addressing their
brethren across the Rhine, did not scruple to
repeat the declaration made to the coalition of
Europe in 1793, that " the French people con¬
cludes no peace whatever with an enemy occupy¬
ing its territory." But the reference implied a
misapprehension of facts. The coalition marched
against France unchallenged and unprovoked, to
re-establish the ancient monarchy in all its pri¬
vileges. The German armies appeared on French
soil because they were attacked by the armies
of France, and with every demonstration of
popular enthusiasm. There were other difficulties
in the way of peace. The government undoubtedly
wished for peace, but it could not say so. In the
first place, an extreme republican party was pre¬
pared instantly to denounce any concession to the
enemy as treason, and would have been borne to
power in their stead had it promised an ever-
credulous public to bring victory back to the
standards of France. The government felt that,
the national honour would scarcely be safe if hard
conditions were accepted while Paris was unat-
tacked and Metz and Strassburg untaken ; and thus
the prospect of peace became increasingly doubtful.
The revolution in Paris was at once followed by
an impulse to the military spirit throughout the
country. In most of the provincial towns a nume¬
rous response was made to the levy en masse of the
provisional government, and squads of recruits, of
all ages and all ranks, assembled in the public
squares for the purpose of being drilled, but very
few had at this stage either arms or uniform. The
drill sergeants were generally old soldiers, who,
having retired from the army, were following vari¬
ous civil avocations.
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
29
The new régime, however, was not established
without more or less difficulty in some of the
larger cities, notably in Lyons. By stifling open
discussion the imperial system had driven the
people to seek political information in secret re¬
unions ; and many of the working men of Lyons
were deeply imbued with the spirit of Socialism
and Communism. The canaille of the city, more¬
over, had been reinforced by many of the danger¬
ous classes who had been expelled from Paris by
General Trochu. The news of the emperor's sur¬
render was fully known early on the morning of
the 4th of September, and at eight o'clock a large
crowd assembled in front of the Hôtel de Ville,
speedily invaded the edifice, arrested the prefect,
M. Sencier, constituted themselves a Comité du
Salut Public, and proclaimed the republic, thus
forestalling the capital by several hours. Happily
the day ended without accidents, and the bourgeoisie,
having formed themselves into a garde nationale,
ransacked the forts until sufficient arms had been
secured. When, however, the prefect appointed
by the provisional government, M. Lacour, arrived,
he found the Lyons committee comfortably in¬
stalled in the Hôtel de Ville, and little disposed to
resign their functions. He was informed that
these gentlemen considered their appointments to
be quite as valid as his own; and they retained a
body guard of chosen men at their disposal day and
night. In the course of a few days they abolished
the octroi, thus depriving the town of ten millions
of francs per annum. They also issued a decree
that priests should serve in the army like other
people, and no person was allowed to leave the
town without permission. Many gentlemen who
had filled public offices were arrested, although in
most cases they were not detained more than a
few hours. The patriotic citizens of the commit¬
tee, on the principle that services rendered to the
state should be paid for, generously voted them¬
selves a certain sum per day out of the public
purse. The prefect avoided a collision, and in the
meantime hastened forward the election of the
municipal council. The committee were induced to
quit the Hôtel de Ville and take up their posi¬
tion in the central bureau de police in the Rue
Luizerne; but the red flag, the emblem of the
advanced party, was still allowed to float over the
town-hall. After the municipal elections a certain
number of the more intelligent and respectable
members of the original committee were chosen,
and the council entered upon its duties under
the presidency of the mayor, M. Hénon, formerly
deputy for the Rhône; but the amateurs of the
Rue Luizerne were not disposed to part with the
sweets of office. M. Baudy, a former colleague,
was deputed to explain that their services could
now be dispensed with, as there was a regularly
elected council to do the work, and that in any
case their salary would be stopped. M. Baudy,
however, was reproached as a renegade, a traitor,
and a pickpocket, and put under confinement.
But the councillor's constituents having sent a
threatening message to the Rue Luizerne, he
was released. A few days later the Comité du
Salut Public ceased to exist ; but its members,
powerless in public, were indefatigable in secret.
They also received a powerful ally in the per¬
son of "General" Cluseret, an ex-officer of the
French army, who had been holding meetings,
accusing the existing administration of a want of
vigour, and calling upon the people to rise and turn
them out. At a meeting in the Rotonde, it was
resolved that all existing authority should be done
away with; that everything should be left to be
settled by the justice of the people ; that taxes
should be abolished ; that all moneys required for
the good of the country should be furnished by the
rich ; that the payment of private debts should not
be enforced by laws ; and that all the officers of
the army should be ejected! The inflammatory
speeches in which these resolutions were urged had
the desired effect. A demonstration was imme¬
diately got up ; the Hôtel de Ville was taken ;
the prefect arrested ; and the municipal council
abolished. The ringleaders then harangued the
crowd from the balcony. The Citoyen Saigne, a
plasterer, proceeded to appoint the Citoyen Cluseret
commander-in-chief of all the military forces of the
south of France; an appointment which M. Cluseret,
with becoming modesty, accepted—promising to
save the country. His first step was to call up the
Quartier de la Croix Rousse, and then to seize the
general in command at Lyons. The inhabitants
were in apprehension of disturbance. The assembly
was sounded all over the town, and the gardes
nationales flew to arms. The first battalion to
arrive was composed of Cluseret's friends of the
Croix Rousse ; but they proceeded to the town-hall
and set the prefect at liberty. Other bodies came
up with loaded rifles, when the "general" and his
colleagues retired, vowing to return with sufficient
30
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
strength to carry all before them, but in this
valorous intention they failed. The prefect subse¬
quently informed the garde nationale that he had
received unlimited powers from the government
over the regular troops, so as to be able to deal
effectively with any attempt at disturbance. He
was everywhere well received, and the soldiers
swore to support him to the utmost.
At Marseilles, also, great excitement followed the
news of the surrender of the emperor. The people
rushed en masse to the Bourse, decapitated the
statue of Napoleon, and derisively rolled the
trunk through the streets and flung the eagles into
the port. They pitched inkstands at the picture
of the imperial family, breaking furniture, tearing
curtains to shreds, and finally regaling themselves
from the cellars. The news was received at Bor¬
deaux with similar popular manifestations. An
equestrian statue of the emperor, erected in the
Allées de Tourny, was torn from its base, and in
falling broke into fragments. Thousands of people
then paraded the streets, and shouted " Vive la
Republique ! " before the Hôtel de Ville. Similar
proceedings took place at Toulouse, where an
informal committee was constituted in much the
same manner as at Lyons.
With the earliest days of the revolution re¬
appeared the extreme section of the press, which
had been suppressed during the Palikao ministry.
The Marseillaise attacked- the provisional govern¬
ment. The Reveil and the Rappel were moderate
in their tone, but enthusiastic in their praise of the
republic. In the latter journal, Victor Hugo, who
had returned to " save Paris," issued to the German
people a magniloquent address, which commenced
as follows:—" Germans, he who speaks to you is a
friend. Three years ago, at the epoch of the Exposi¬
tion of 1867, from exile, I welcomed you to our
city. What city? Paris. For Paris does not belong
to us alone. Paris is yours as well as ours. Berlin,
Vienna, Dresden, Munich, Stuttgard, are your
capitals ; Paris is your centre. It is at Paris that
one feels the heart of Europe beating. Paris is the
city of cities ; Paris is the city of men. There was
Athens, there was Rome, there is Paris. Paris is
nothing but an immense hospitality. To-day you
return there. How ? As brothers, like you did
three years ago ? No, as enemies. Why ? What
is this sinister misunderstanding ? Two nations
have made Europe. Those two nations are France
and Germany. . . . This war, does it proceed
from us ? It was the Empire which willed it.
The Empire is dead. It is well. We have nothing
in common with that corpse. It is the past, we
are the future. It is hatred, we are sympathy. It
is treason, we are loyalty."
M. Victor Hugo also addressed a long and
inflated epistle to the Parisians, for the purpose of
encouraging them under the anticipated hardships
of the siege :—" Two adversaries," said the writer,
" are in presence at this moment. On one side is
Prussia, with 900,000 soldiers ; on the other Paris,
with 400,000 citizens. On one side, force ; on the
other, will. On one side, an army ; on the other,
a nation. On one side, night ; on the other light.
It is the old contest between the Archangel and
the Dragon which is recommencing. It will have
now the same termination as before ; Prussia will
be cast down. This war, frightful as it is, has
hitherto been but trifling ; it is about to become
great. I am sorry for you, Prussians, but it is
necessary that you should change your method of
dealing."
Among the arrivals in Paris at this period were
the Orleans princes, the Due d'Aumale, the Due
de Chartres, and the Prince de Join ville, who
under the Palikao ministry had previously offered
their services, which were not accepted. On the
7th September they reached the capital from Brus¬
sels, and communicated with the government of
national defence ; presuming that, as exceptional
laws had been practically repealed by the revolu¬
tion, the decree which exiled them was also set
aside, and expressing their desire to be allowed to
serve their country in propria persona. The
government, however, apprehensive that their
presence might be misconstrued, declined their
offer; and in very courteous "and sympathetic
terms appealed to them, in the name of patrio¬
tism, to depart, upon which they immediately
left the capital. Meanwhile, the Legitimist candi¬
date for the French throne, the Comte de Cham-
bord, issued an address in which he said:—
" Amid all these poignant emotions, it is a great
consolation to see that public spirit, the spirit of
patriotism, does not allow itself to be cast down,
but rises with our misfortunes. Above everything
it is necessary to repulse the invasion, to save at
any price the honour of France, the integrity of
its territory. Every dissension must be forgotten
at this moment, every after-thought put aside. We
owe our whole energy, our fortune, our blood, to
THE FRANCO-PKUSSIAN WAR
31
the deliverance of our country. A true mother
will rather abandon her inlant than see it perish.
I experience the same feeling, and say incessantly,
May God save France, though I should die with¬
out seeing it again ! "
General Garibaldi also, writing from Caprera, Sep¬
tember 7, addressed the following to his friends :
—" Yesterday I said to you, War to the death to
Bonaparte ; I say to you to-day, We must help the
French republic by all possible means. I am an
invalid, but I have offered myself to the provisional
government of Paris, and I hope it will not be
impossible for me to perform some work. Yes, my
fellow-citizens, we should regard assistance to our
brothers of France as a sacred duty. Our mission
will not certainly consist in combating our German
brethren, who, being as the arm of Providence,
have overthrown in the dust the germ of the
tyranny which weighed upon the world; but we
should sustain the only system which can assure
peace and prosperity among nations."
To strengthen the authority of the provisional
government, the ministry, on the 8th of September,
issued in the Journal Officiel the following pro¬
clamation for the appointment of a Constituent
Assembly :—" Frenchmen,—In proclaiming four
days ago the government of the National Defence,
we ourselves defined our mission. Power was
lying in the dust. What had commenced by a
crime finished by a desertion. We simply grasped
the helm which had escaped from powerless hands.
But Europe has need to be enlightened. It is
necessary that she should know by irrefragable
testimonies that the entire country is with us. It
is necessary that the invader should meet on his
route not only the obstacle of an immense city
resolved to perish rather than yield, but an entire
people erect, organized, represented—an assembly,
in short, which can carry into all places, and in
spite of all disasters, the living soul of the country.
Consequently, the government of the National
Defence decrees :—Art. 1. The electoral colleges
are convoked for Sunday, the 16th of October, for
the purpose of electing a National Constituent
Assembly. Art. 2. The elections will be held by
collective voting, conformably to the law of the
15th of March, 1849. Art 3. The number of
members of the Constituent Assembly will be 750.
Art. 4. The minister of the Interior is charged
with the execution of this decree. Given at the
Hôtel de Ville of Paris, September 8, 1870."
This proceeding was regarded as of the first
importance, and subsequently the provisional gov¬
ernment fixed on the 2d of October for the elections.
M. Jules Favre issued a second diplomatic circular,
dated the 17th September, the language of which
was more moderate in its tone than that of the
document already quoted. The minister of Foreign
Affairs thus concluded—" I will sum up our entire
policy. In accepting the perilous task which was
imposed upon us by the fall of the imperial gov¬
ernment we had but one idea; namely, to defend
our territory, to save our honour, and to give back
to the nation the power emanating from itself, and
which it alone could exercise. We should have
wished that this great act might have been com¬
pleted without transition, but the first necessity
was to face the enemy. We have not the preten¬
sion to ask disinterestedness of Prussia. We take
account of the feelings to which the greatness of
her losses and the natural exaltation of victory
have given rise to her. These feelings explain
the violence of the press, which we are far from
confounding with the inspirations of statesmen.
These latter will hesitate to continue an impious
war, in which more than 200,000 men have
already fallen. To force conditions upon France
which she could not accept, would only be to
compel a continuance of the war. It is objected
that the government is without regular power to
be represented. It is for this reason that we
immediately summon a freely-elected Assembly.
We do not attribute to ourselves any other privi¬
lege than that of giving our soul and our blood
to our country, and we abide by its sovereign
judgment. It is therefore not authority reposed
in us for a day. It is immortal France uprising
before Prussia—France divested of the shroud of
the empire, free, generous, and ready to immolate
herself for right and liberty, disavowing all poli¬
tical conquest, and all violent propaganda, having
no other ambition than to remain mistress of
herself, and to develop her moral and material
forces, and to work fraternally with her neigh¬
bours for the progress of civilization. It is this
France which, left to her free action, immediately
asks the cessation of the war, but prefers its dis¬
asters a thousand times to dishonour. Vainly
those who set loose a terrible scourge try now to
escape the crushing responsibility, by falsely alleg¬
ing that they yielded to the wish of the country.
This calumny may delude people abroad, but there
32
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
is no one among us who does not refute it as a
work of revolting bad faith. The motto of the
elections in 1869 was peace and liberty, and the
plébiscite itself adopted it as its programme. It
is true that the majority of the Legislative Body
cheered the warlike declarations of the duke of
Gramont ; but a few weeks previously it had also
cheered the peaceful declarations of M. Ollivier.
A majority emanating from personal power be¬
lieved itself obliged to follow docilely and voted
trustingly; but there is not a sincere person in
Europe who could affirm that France freely con¬
sulted made war against Prussia. I do not draw the
conclusion from this that we are not responsible.
We have been wrong, and are cruelly expiating
our having tolerated a government which led us
to ruin. Now we admit the obligation to repair
by a measure of justice the ill it has done; but if
the power with which it has so seriously compro¬
mised us takes advantage of our misfortunes to
overwhelm us, we shall oppose a desperate resist¬
ance ; and it will remain well understood that it
is the nation, properly represented in a freely-
elected Assembly, that this power wishes to destroy.
This being the question raised, each one will do
his duty. Fortune has been hard upon us, but
she is capable of unlooked-for revolutions, which
our determination will call forth. Europe begins
to be moved; and sympathy for us is being re¬
awakened. The sympathies of foreign cabinets
console us and do us honour. They will be
deeply struck by the noble attitude of Paris in
the midst of so many terrible causes for excite¬
ment. Serious, confident, ready for -the utmost
sacrifices, the nation in arms descends into the
arena without looking back, and having before
its eyes this simple but great duty, the defence
of its homes and independence. I request you,
sir, to enlarge upon these truths to the repre¬
sentative of the government to which you are
accredited. He will see their importance, and
will thus obtain a just idea of our disposition."
In the previous chapter we recounted the ener¬
getic measures of the authorities for the defence
and provisioning of the capital. On the morning
of the day (September 4) when the republic was
proclaimed, the Crown Prince of Prussia and the
Crown Prince of Saxony, accompanied by the
king of Prussia and Count von Bismarck, started
on their march to Paris. As the German armies
drew nearer day by day, unremitting exertions,
which had been commenced by the Count de
Palikao, were continued to man and provision the
city, and to put the enceinte and the detached forts
in a condition to sustain a lengthened siege,
while the surrounding belt of country was cleared
of its inhabitants. The completeness of these
preparations was amply attested by subsequent
events, and the prolongation of the siege.
On the 14 th September a grand review of the
whole armed force in Paris was held by General
Trochu. Apparently the spectacle was one of the
most stirring on record, and for the first time
in twenty years Paris appeared openly and fully
armed. The troops consisted of soldiers of the
regular army, national guards, and the garde
mobile, to the number of 300,000, who were
drawn up in line, extending from the Place de
la Bastille to the Arc de Triomphe. The number
of regular troops was considerably increased by
the return of General Vinoy and his army, who
had failed to join MacMahon before the battle of
Sedan, and also by the scattered remnants of de¬
feated soldiers who had managed to make good
their escape. As General Trochu, accompanied by a
brilliant staff, rode along the ranks, he was re¬
ceived with great enthusiasm, amid cries of "Vive
Trochu ! " and " Yive la Republique ! " The feeling
of the troops was admirable ; but, beyond the
regulars, few were armed with the Chassepot,
and the uniform of many consisted only of the
kepi. While the troops marched back to their
quarters after the inspection the air resounded
with patriotic songs, and the muzzles of many
of their muskets were ornamented with bouquets
and tricoloured flags, which gave a lively and
brilliant appearance to the scene. The governor
subsequently issued the following general order :—
"To the National Guards of Paris and the Gardes
Mobiles of Paris and the Departments, — Never
before has any general witnessed so grand a spec¬
tacle as that which you have presented ; three
hundred battalions of citizens organized and armed,
enveloped by the entire population of the city,
unanimously proclaiming the determined defence
of Paris and of liberty. If those foreign nations
which doubt you, if the armies which are march-
ing upon you, could only have heard that, they
would have understood that misfortune has done
more in a few weeks to rouse the soul of the
nation than long years of prosperity have done to
abase it. The spirit of devotion and of sacrifice
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
33
has infused itself into you, and to it you owe that
hearty union which will prove your safety. With
our formidable effective force the daily guard of
Paris will be 70,000 men. If the enemy by a
fierce attack, or by a surprise, or by effecting a
breach, should pierce our protecting fortifications,
he would encounter barricades which are being
prepared, and his columns would be driven back
by the successive attacks of ten reserves stationed
at different points. Remain, therefore, perfectly
assured, and know that the enceinte of Paris, de¬
fended as it is by the persevering efforts of public
spirit, and by 300,000 muskets, is impregnable.
National guards of the Seine and gardes mobiles,
in the name of the government for the National
Defence, of which I am towards you but the repre¬
sentative, I thank you for your patriotic solici¬
tude for the cherished interests which you have
in chargé. Now let us proceed to work in the
nine sections of the defence. Let there be every¬
where order, calmness, and devotion ; and remem¬
ber that you are charged, as I have previously
informed you, with the police of Paris during this
critical period. Prepare to bear your task with
constancy, and then you will not fail to conquer."
The provisional government meanwhile com¬
pleted its preparations against the impending in¬
vestment of the capital. Communications with
the departments were abandoned, bridges were
destroyed, sometimes too hastily, telegraphs severed,
obstacles placed in the path of the advancing
enemy, and the woods near Paris filled with com¬
bustibles. In the beautiful woods of the Seine
and Marne, the forests of Lagny, De Ferriéres,
Clamart, Bellevue, Bondy, and the woods around
St. Cloud, openings were effected by the axe
of the garde mobile and francs-tireurs, large num¬
bers of whom were told off for the service. The
Journal Officiel published decrees authorizing the
minister of justice, M. Crémieux, to transfer the
criminal chamber to Tours; and placing 40,000
francs at the disposal of the Scientific Committee
of Defence. All legal appeals were suspended,
together with the octroi duties upon the importa¬
tion of goods. The government further decided
to sit at a town in the interior of France during
the siege ; and besides M. Crémieux, the minister
of Marine and M. Glais-Bizoin established them¬
selves at Tours, where they were joined by Lord
Lyons and several other foreign ambassadors.
The envoys of the United States, Belgium, and
VOL. II.
Switzerland resolved, however, to remain in
Paris.
While the government were thus taking their
measures of defence, M. Thiers was sent to Eng¬
land, and thence to Vienna and St. Petersburg,
charged with a diplomatic mission. But the diffi¬
culties in the way of the veteran statesman were
insurmountable. Count von Bismarck had deter¬
mined to decline all intervention, and the courts
of Europe, to whom M. Thiers was delegated, thus
found no favourable opportunity to enter upon
negotiations.
It is worthy of notice, too, that before the
government had been in existence a fortnight they
had the courage to abolish the entire system of
police surveillance. A short time before the Prus¬
sians finally invested the capital, M. de Keratry,
the prefect of police, addressed to the pro¬
visional government a report recommending the
suppression of an institution which had proved a
ready and efficient instrument in the hands of
successive governments for seventy years. The
system had been most abused under Napoleon I.,
by whom it was founded in 1800, and who had
extended its powers during his reign. So great
was the importance attached to it, that at the
change of each régime the first care of the victors
was to secure its influence.
A brief review of the financial condition of the
country, prior to the final investment of Paris,
will be found suggestive. The trade bills under
discount at the bank of France amounted at the
close of June to £26,000,000. On the 8th of
September they had increased to £57,000,000,
or nearly 120 per cent.; and while the aggregate
of cash and bullion in the bank continually di¬
minished, the paper circulation increased. The
weekly drain of the precious metals is represented
by the following table:—
Cash and Bullion in
Bank of France.
French Bank Notes in
Circulation.
Amount.
Weekly
Decrease.
Amount.
Weekly
Increase.
July . . 7
" . . 14
" . . 21
" . . 28
August . 4
" . 11
. 18
" . 25
September 1
" 8
£50,723,000
49,809,000
48,590,000
45,775,000
43,875,000
41,142,000
36,244,000
34,742,000
33,764,000
32,320,000
£914,000
1,219,000
2,815,000
1,900,000
2,733,000
4,898,000
1,502,000
978,000
1,444,000
£57,557,000
58,209,000
58,808,000
61,092,000
61,044,000
61,344,000
66,705,000
68,340,000
69,206,000
69,800,000
£652,000
599,000
2,284,000
48,000*
300,000
5,361,000
1,635,000
866,000
594,000
* Decrease.
E
34
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
On the 12th August the bank suspended pay¬
ments in specie, and the following week nearly
£5,000,000 was withdrawn. At the same time
the note circulation was increased by upwards of
£5,250,000.
With regard to the foreign relations of the pro¬
visional government, it may be stated that the
republic was early recognized by the United
States of America. On the 5th of September
M. Favre officially notified its institution to
the American ambassador, Mr. Washburne, who,
on the day following, replied : — "I have the
satisfaction of announcing to you that I have
received from my government a telegram em¬
powering me to recognize the government of
the National Defence as the government of
France. I am consequently ready to enter into
relations with the government, and, if you wish
it, to treat with it on all the matters arising out
of the functions with which I am invested. In
making this communication to your excellency,
I beg to tender to yourself and to the members
of the government of the National Defence the
congratulations of the government and people of
the United States. They will have learnt with
enthusiasm the proclamation of the republic which
has been instituted in France without the shed¬
ding of one drop of blood, and they will respond
heartily and sympathetically to the great move¬
ment which they hope and believe will be fertile
in happy results for the French people and for
humanity at large. Enjoying for nearly a century
immeasurable benefits from a republican govern¬
ment, the people of the United States cannot but
witness with the deepest interest the efforts of the
French people, attached to them by the bonds
of a traditional amity, who seek to found institu¬
tions by which will be assured to the present
generation, as well as to posterity, the invaluable
right of living, by working for the welfare of all."
M. Jules Favre, in acknowledging this letter,
hailed as a happy augury for the French republic
that the American government should have been
the first to recognize and countenance it. Sub¬
sequently a large gathering of citizens visited
the American legation, and gave enthusiastic
cheers for the United States. The crowd then
waited on M. Jules Favre, who replied, " I am
happy to hear of your demonstration. I am, as
you know, the personal enemy of war, which
divides and tears in pieces mankind. I retain the
hope of an honourable peace ; but if it is necessary,
we will sacrifice everything to the very last for
the defence of the country."
In the United States the successes of the German
arms, and the surrender of Napoleon, caused exu¬
berant rejoicings among the German population
and those of Teutonic origin, as well as among a
large part of the nation itself, whose sympathies
were against the French empire. In Philadelphia
long processions, bearing torches and transparencies,
and led by the German musical societies, went
singing through the streets, while the offices of
the newspapers favourable to the German cause
were serenaded, as well as the residence of the
German consul. With this feeling throughout
the country, there was a general hope of a speedy
peace. On the intelligence of Napoleon's downfall,
the premium on gold fell from above 117 to 113f.
The news of the establishment of the republic
in Paris, however, caused a sensible diminution of
the sympathy with the Germans, and, combined
with the overwhelming defeats inflicted on the
French, excited a general desire for peace on
moderate terms. France was more frequently
spoken of as " our ancient ally," and, as already
stated, the government promptly recognized the
republic. Nevertheless, with France as a military
nation, or with her military standards of morality,
there was little sympathy. The democrats, how¬
ever, gained courage in their denunciations of
Germany from the French defeats, and the Irish
grew more noisy than ever in their demonstrations
of fellow-feeling, especially with the disasters of
MacMahon, who was generally believed amongst
them to be the lineal descendant of an Irish king.
There was undoubtedly a strong dislike of the
Germans in the country.
The new government in Paris was also acknow¬
ledged by Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, and
Portugal. Switzerland expressed a hope that the
republic " would be able shortly to procure for
France the blessings of an honourable peace, and
to consolidate for ever liberty and democratic in¬
stitutions." Chevalier Nigra informed M. Jules
Favre that he had received instructions from
Florence to keep up relations with the provisional
government in every way conformable to the sym¬
pathies existing between the two countries. A
similar statement was made by Senor Olozaga, the
Spanish ambassador, to whom M. Jules Favre
replied, " It is precisely at this cruel moment for
TTBOIE IK? M PL WÛILUAIM EMB8T (SUMMIT (ID WE, Rfl.O®,
William Mackenzie. Glasgow Edinburgh & London
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
35
France that we see clearly manifested the wisdom
which would join in one single tie three nations
that really form but one family, and awaiting only
the signal of liberty to recover their family titles."
The action of the British government at this
juncture caused considerable discussion both inEng-
land and France. The fall of the empire and the
proclamation of a republic gave a new character both
to the French resistance and the German invasion,
which greatly influenced opinion in England, parti¬
cularly amongst the political leaders of the working-
classes, in relation to the war. While up to Sedan
the public sympathies generally were with the
German cause, a change of phase in the politics of
the war wrought a change of feeling in English
working men. Mass meetings were held in favour
of the French, and an address was issued by
the International Working Men's Association
with the same object. On the evening of the 10th
September a large gathering of the working classes
took place under the presidency of Mr. Edmond
Beales. While France was blamed for the initia¬
tion of a war of conquest, Germany was called upon
by the meeting to exercise moderation and magna¬
nimity in her hour of triumph, especially as the
republican government then in power was composed
of the very men who had protested against and
denounced the imperial policy. The English
cabinet was also urged to use every effort to pro¬
cure the cessation of hostilities, and to prevent the
territorial spoliation of France. Again, on the
13th September, a deputation, organized by the
Labour Representation League, waited upon the
Right Honourable W. E. Gladstone. The deputa¬
tion, which consisted of about 100 representatives
of the leading London and provincial trade societies
and industrial organizations, expressed to him that
great dissatisfaction existed throughout the country,
and especially amongst the working classes, at the
non-recognition of the French republic by her
Majesty's government, and urged that the spoliation
of France by any annexation of her territory by
Germany would sow the seeds of a future war, and
lead to complications dangerous to the peace of the
whole of Europe. They therefore prayed her
Majesty's government to use their influence with
the German government not to insist upon any
annexation of territory as the terms of peace.
By this course, the deputation believed that the
terrible war might be brought to a speedy and
honourable termination, without further humilia¬
tion to the French nation. In the course of
an elaborate reply, Mr. Gladstone said that her
Majesty's government had acted on the principle
of international arbitration when the war was
on the point of breaking out, and had done their
utmost to prevent it. But although he shared
the desire of the deputation that bloodshed should
cease, they must expect great nations to claim for
themselves to be in the first instance, and in the
last resort, the proper judges of their own affairs.
Any opportunity for mediation, however, would be
eagerly seized by her Majesty's government. With
regard to the recognition of the provisional govern¬
ment the premier continued :—" Even if the men
who constitute that government were questionable
in point of character, I do not think it would be
for us to criticize them ; but, on the contrary, I
believe them to be men of honour, character, and
intellect. Therefore do not suppose anything like
a cessation of intercourse is signified by the fact
that official recognition has not taken place. I am
far from saying that the great question of recogni¬
tion is unimportant ; because undoubtedly the ques¬
tion of recognition is an acknowledgment that a
combination of men has acquired a certain position,
and that recognition undoubtedly strengthens
them. I think we have no business to inquire
whether France prefers one government or another.
If it could be shown we are proceeding on prin¬
ciples less favourable to the government of France
than any other government, we should be adjudged
wrong in the face of the whole world. Our busi¬
ness is to proceed upon principles of perfect equality,
and look impartially upon any government that
may be established in France, independently of its
being democratic, parliamentary, monarchical, or
whatever it may be. Then what is the principle
on which we are to proceed ? That we acknowledge
it as the government of France which France
chooses to accept for herself. But, as it is not our
business to lag behind in that respect, so it is not
our business to go before France. Before the
government exercising power in France has been
recognized, are we to be expected to pronounce an
opinion which France has not expressed ? What is
the position of the French government exercising
power in Paris and Tours ? How did they describe
themselves ? They are not themselves carrying out
the government. They have been appointed for
the calling together of some body—referring their
case to that body, and deriving their title from the
36
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
approval of that body. Now, surely it is plain that
we cannot travel faster than France in this matter ;
and we cannot travel faster than the present govern¬
ment of France. The recognition of the late
empire of France did not take place until after the
vote of the people. The vote of the people took
place on the 1st of the month, and the recognition
took place on the 4th. We were in hopes the vote
of France was going to take place on Saturday
next ; and if it did take place, we would not have
been less prompt than any former government has
been to recognize that which lias been established.
But if you step in before the judgment of the
people, you are really recognizing that which the
great, high-minded, and civilized people of France
have not recognized themselves."
The general feeling amongst moderate and in¬
telligent Frenchmen at this time was admirably
expressed in a letter from the veteran statesman,
M. Guizot, to an English friend, in the course of
which he said—" If we were only beginning this
unhappy war, I would tell you frankly what I
think of its evil origin and its lamentable errors;
and I am sure that a large majority of the French
nation think as I do about it. But we are not
beginning the war. The opinion of the French
nation on the main points of the question is
unchanged; but no one thinks about them now,
and, indeed, we cannot and ought not to think
about them. For the present we ought to occupy
ourselves—and, in fact, we do occupy ourselves
—with war, and war only. We are engrossed by
it, not only because of the unexpected reverses
which we have experienced, but also, and above
all, because of the designs which the Prussians
manifest, and the character which they have
stamped upon this war. On their part it is mani¬
festly a war of ambition and for the sake of con¬
quest. They proclaim loudly that they intend to
take back Alsace and Lorraine, provinces which
have been ours for two centuries, and which we
have held through all the political vicissitudes and
chances of war. The Prussians do more even
than this. Although they occupy these provinces
very partially and only temporarily, they already
presume to exercise the rights of sovereignty over
them. They have issued a decree in Lorraine
abolishing our laws of conscription and recruiting
for the army. Ask the first honest German whom
you meet if this is not one of those acts of vic¬
torious ambition which pledge a nation to a
struggle indefinitely prolonged, a struggle which
can only be terminated by one of those disasters
that a nation never accepts—one that if it experi¬
ences it never forgives. Be sure that France will
never accept the character and consequences
which Prussia desires to give to the war. Because
of our first reverses we have our national honour
to preserve, and because of the claims of Prussia
we have to defend and keep our national territory.
We will maintain these two causes at any price
and to the very end. And let me tell you, and
that without presumption, that, being as resolute
as we are, we are not seriously uneasy as to the
result of this struggle. At the very beginning
the Prussians made an immense effort; there is
another effort yet to be made; it is on our part,
and it has, as yet, scarcely begun. We were
greatly to blame that we were not better prepared
at first; but with all our shortcomings we have
seen what our troops are worth, and this will be
seen and felt more and more as time goes on. We
are superior to the Prussians in men, money, and
territory, and we will equal them in perseverance,
even should they persevere, as they will need to
do if their projects are to have any chance of
success. The age is with us, and we will not fail
the age. This, I tell you in all frankness and
sincerity, is the actual condition of facts and of
men's minds in France. I am very anxious that
it should be known in England, and that there
should be no mistake there as to our national
sentiments and the possibilities of the future. I
devoted my whole political life to creating and
maintaining bonds of friendship and unfettered
alliance between France and England. I thought,
and I still think, that this alliance is a pledge of
the moral honour of the two nations, of their
material prosperity, and of the progress of civiliza¬
tion throughout the world. I can recall the sorrow
and apprehension which I felt in 1857, when I
thought that the power of England was endangered
by the great Indian mutiny. I remember also
that the sentiments of France at that time were in
complete harmony with my own. It is therefore
with sorrow, not unmixed with surprise, that I
now see many Englishmen so openly hostile to
France."
We have already described the jubilation of
the German people after the news of Napoleon's
surrender. But their satisfaction was somewhat
modified by the proclamation of the republic, and
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
37
especially by the tone of Jules Favre's first cir¬
cular, which presented terms of peace that could
not be conceded. The German press insisted
that the altered circumstances could not affect
these terms, and "trusted that the German giant,
who so long had had nothing but his head free
to think and dream with, while his hands and
feet were fettered, would now, when for the first
time free and conscious of his strength, make a
right use of it by retaining Alsace and Lorraine,
no matter how ' unstatesman-like ' that might ap¬
pear to his neutral friends, patrons, and advisers."
Considerable dissatisfaction was felt at the
promptitude with which the French republic
was recognized by the United States, and still
more by the heartiness of the letter of the Amer¬
ican minister to Jules Favre. " Mr. Wasbburne,"
said the National Zeitung, " doubtless is a sound
republican, but he is deemed a weak politician;
and the fate of the Germans in Paris should have
been placed in abler hands by the German govern¬
ments. He simply received from Washington by
telegraph authority to recognize the new republic,
which was a matter of course in regard to the
views and principles prevailing there. The rest
are his own personal sentiments. Of these he
would have done well to address a share to the
Germans, whose protection he has taken upon
himself, and who are persecuted and put under
ban by Monsieur Garnbetta more cruelly than
they were before."
The action of England was treated with something
like indifference in Germany. It was generally
thought Great Britain might, by a timely and ener¬
getic interference, have prevented the breaking out
of the war; but since nothing had been done to avert
the storm, the Germans were not disposed to admit
any interference in ulterior negotiations, or regard¬
ing their dictation of the conditions of a peace so
dearly purchased. Confident of victory, exasperated
by the cruel sacrifices to which the country had
been subjected, and naturally indignant at the
unwarrantable and unprovoked attack made upon
NOTE.
In his celebrated "Defence Speech," before the National Assembly,
at Versailles, in Jnne, 1871, to which we allnded at the end of the
previous chapter, General Trochu gave the following account of the
transactions of this memorable 4th of September, so far as he was
personally concerned:—"In the morning I went to the Tuileries. I
saw tho empress regent surrounded by many anxious persons. She
herself was perfectly calm. I addressed to her these few words:—
' Madam, the hour of great dangers has arrived. Strange things are
it, they regarded the exactions proposed by their
rulers as a minimum which could not be reduced
by an iota. They were also somewhat indignant
at the treatment accorded to the captive emperor
at Wilhelmshôhe, where he could not, they alleged,
have received more attention had he been a guest
instead of a prisoner. In the endeavour to tone
down this feeling, the semi-official journals indi¬
cated that Count von Bismarck had not wholly
given up the Bonapartist dynasty.
An immense impulse was given to the cause of
German unity by the events of the war. With
the accounts brought to Berlin of general rejoicings
for victories, came announcements of meeting after
meeting, and resolution after resolution, all tending
to show the united spirit of the nation, north and
south. At a cabinet council, held on the 9th Sep¬
tember, the Bavarian government decided on taking
the initiative in opening negotiations with Prussia,
with a view to accession to the North German
Bund. After a warm expression of thanks to the
army and its leaders, and of confidence in those at
the head of affairs, it was declared that Germany,
now united as she had never been before, had fought
her battles and beaten the enemy without allies,
and would therefore conclude a peace without the
interference of neutrals. The French must be
brought to feel themselves defeated before lasting
peace could be hoped for; and a false generosity
would only encourage fresh aggressions. The
recovery of Alsace and Lorraine held out the only
guarantee against that hankering after German ter¬
ritory which had been displayed under every new
government in France. As the Germans went
united to the war, so should peace also find them
united, by the fusion of the southern and northern
states, and the acquisition of long-lost territories.
One people, one army, one Diet, one constitution,
were the guarantees of lasting peace for Germany
and for Europe. These sentiments found ready
assent amongst the various other states, and thus
were the shadows broadly cast of important com¬
ing events.
taking place here, but this is not a time for recrimination. I remain
at my post, but be assured that the crisis is a serious one.' I received
neither from the War Office nor the Tuileries any orders, news, or
notice of any kind. About one o'clock in the afternoon I saw General
Lebreton, the questeur of the Corps Législatif. He said to me :
General, the peril is at its height ; there is a tremendous crowd
on the quay about to break into the House—the troops have allowed
the mob to break through their lines. You alone, by a personal
effort, may perhaps stave the danger off.' I replied, ' General, I am
the victim of an unprecedented situation. In fact, I have no com-
38
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
mand; I did not order the troops you mention to be posted where
they were.' Here, gentlemen, I beg to say that I am thoroughly
convinced that if I had been in command the case would have been
precisely the same. I further said to General Lebreton, 'Look here,
general, you want me single-handed to stop the advance of half a
million of men who are surging up towards the Assembly; and yet
you must know as well as I that it cannot be done ; but as you make
this demand in the name of the Corps Législatif, I will attempt the
effort, though I am well assured of its failure.' Ten minutes later I
was on horseback, on my way to the Corps Législatif. At the same
moment I despatched General Schmitz to the Tuileries to inform the
empress of what I was going to do. I was accompanied by two aides-
de-camp, and had no difficulty in getting through the Carrousel,
though the place was crowded, because nobody seemed to want to
penetrate into the Tuileries; but when I got to the quay I had
great difficulty in moving through the huge mass, which stretched
from a long way beyond the Pont Neuf, far up in the Champs Elysées.
I witnessed, not without fear or emotion, such a sight as I had never
beheld, although I had seen both 1830 and 1848. An immense
multitude of men, women, and children, wholly unarmed, and in which
kindliness, fear, anger, and good nature were oddly mingled, surged up
all around me and wholly prevented my advance ; men with sinister
faces threw themselves on my horse's reins, and shouted, ' Cry " Vive
la Sociale ! " ' Yes, gentlemen, 1 Vive la Sociale.' I said to them, ' I
will not cry anything at all; you want to bind my free will—you
shall not do it' Other men, understanding my position, remonstrated,
and shouted, ' He's right.' It took me nearly an hour to get to the
corner of the Pont de Solferino. There I was compelled to come to a
stand-still. I had long since lost my two aides-de-camp, and could
neither go forward nor back. I kept parleying with the crowd, trying
to get them to open a way for me, when a tall man elbowed himself
up. I did not know him ; he was under the influence of great emotion.
He said, 'General, where are you going?' 'I am going to try and
save the Corps Législatif.' 'The Corps Législatif has been invaded.
I was there—I saw it. I give you my word it is so. I am M. Jules
Favre.' M. Jules Favre added, 'That is the culminating disaster;
here is a revolution being consummated in the midst of the disasters of
our armies. You may be sure that the demagogues who are going to
try and turn it to account will give France her death-blow if we don't
prevent it. I am going to the Hotel de Ville : that is the rendezvous
of the men who wish to save the country.' I replied, ' Monsieur, I cannot
take such a resolution at present ; ' and we parted. It took me about
an hour longer to get back to the Louvre. Whilst these events were
taking place, the empress had left the Tuileries. General Schmitz
had found her gone, and had been received by Admiral Jurien de
la Gravière, who had remained at the palace. The official historio¬
graphers, whose narratives I have read, generally add—'The principal
functionaries of state crowded round the empress to take leave of her ;
alone General Trochu did not appear.' No, I did not appear, because
at that time, instead of paying compliments of condolence to the
empress, I was making an attempt personally to protect the Corps
Législatif, at the request of General Lebreton. A little after my
return to the Louvre a group of persons, utterly unknown to me, pre¬
sented themselves. The person who led them said, ' I am M. Steen-
ackers, a deputy. I am sent to you with these gentlemen to tell you
that a real drama is being enacted at the Hôtel de Ville; it is sur¬
rounded by the mob ; deputies have met there to form a Provisional
Government ; but there are no troops ; there are no soldiers ; there
are no means of enforcing any decision that may be arrived at ; they
imagine that your name will be a kind of sanction, and that the troops
dispersed all over Paris would rally round you.' I asked for five
minutes to see my family, and went to the Hôtel de Ville. What I
saw there was striking enough. There were the same enormous crowds
as during the morning, but very much more mixed. Shouts, clamours,
and threats arose on every side. The Hôtel de Ville itself was filled
with so dense a crowd that it was only by devious ways that I was
able to reach a closet, about four times the size of this tribune, in
which the Provisional Government had stationed itself by the light of
a solitary lamp. I didn't know whether the men I saw there for the
first time—with the exception of M. Jules Favre, whom I had seen
during the day—were really usurpers, vultures soaring down on power
as a prey ; but they did not look like it. I felt that they and I were
exposed to a great peril. One of them said, ' General, in this formid¬
able crisis we are especially anxious that the government should not
fall into the hands of the people in the next room. Just now, taken
aback by the suddenness of events, they are assembled, but they are
not yet armed ; but they will be to-morrow. If you consent to be the
minister of War of the Provisional Government to-morrow, the officers
and soldiers in Paris will gather round your name, and there will be
some means of enforcing the measures that must be taken for the
preservation of order in Paris.' I replied, 'Before making up my
mind it is my duty to go to the War office and acquaint the minister,
who is my chief, of what is going on here.' I went and found General
Palikao in his office a prey to intense grief; he thought that his son,
a clever young officer, had been killed at Sedan. On this occasion he
received me with the greatest cordiality. ' General,' he said, ' the
revolution is a fait accompli ; if you don't take the direction of affairs
it is all up with us; if you do, probably the result will be just the
same ; but the soldiers will rally round you.' I returned to the Hôtel
de Ville, where I found the Provisional Government had received during
my absence an addition to its numbers in the person of M. Eochefort.
I told them, ' If you want me to be of any use at this fearful crisis I
must be at the head of affairs. M. Jules Favre is president; I must
be president in his place.' Such, gentlemen, in a very condensed form,
is the history of September 4."
In his letter to the President of the National Assembly, referred to
at the end of the previous chapter, Count Palikao, referring to this
part of General Trochu's defence, said:—"On the morning of the 4th
the council met as usual, and oniy broke up at half-past eleven, as the
ministers had to go to the Chamber ; none of the persons whose duties
called them elsewhere were therefore with the empress—we all knew
the dangers of the situation as well as the governor of Paris. I was
the last to leave the Corps Législatif. I had strenuously contended
with the insurgents in the Salle des pas Perdus until the very last
moment, exposed to the brutality of an infuriated mob, excited against
me by a member of the Extreme Left ; and was only rescued from the
hands of these misguided men by my aide-de-camp, Lieutenant-colonel
Barry, and Captain de Brimont, my orderly officer. I had one last
duty to fulfil—to wait upon the empress. It was three o'clock when
I got to the Tuileries ; at that hour the guard were leaving their posts
and the mob had invaded the palace. The empress had gone, no one
knew whither. It was therefore impossible for me to take her orders.
I returned to the ministry at four o'clock; the Revolution had con¬
quered through an insurrection doubly criminal, from the fact of its
taking place before a victorious enemy. At five o'clock General Trochu
called upon me, to inform me that he had replaced me at the War
Office ; he wished to know my opinion as to what he had to do. He
did not mention his meeting M. Jules Favre, nor what he had done
during the day. I replied, that as disturbances might entail the greatest
calamity, the presence of men of order such as he could not but be
useful. He could not ask me—nor could I give him—advice as to
what his conscience might dictate. I have not seen him since."
CHAPTER XVII.
The Situation and Possibilities on both sides after the Battle of Sedan—The great mistake of the French in not constructing Intrenched Camps
and making the Sea the Base of their Operations for the relief of Paris—Commencement of the March of the Germans on Paris the day
after the Battle of Sedan—Their Forethonght and Organization—The Routes taken and System adopted by the Armies in their March to
the Capital—Escape of a French Corps which had been sent to assist MacMahon—No resistance offered to the Germans—Their Arrival at
Rheims, and Surrender of the City—Catastrophe at Laon, which caused the Explosion of the Powder Magazine in the Citadel—The Commandant
declared innocent by the Germans—Letter from him to his Wife on the General State of Affairs—Description of Laon and its History
Skirmishes as the Germans approached nearer to Paris—Their Investment of the City—General Trochu's Plans—Engagement between the
French under General Ducrot and the Germans under the Crown Prince of Prussia, on September 17—The French are completely defeated—
A more severe Engagement on the 19th, in which the Germans are again Victorious—Disgraceful Conduct of part of the French Troops—
Manifesto of General Trochu on the Subject—Entry of the Germans into Versailles—Sketch of the Palace, in which their Headquarters
were established, and Town—Negotiations for an Armistice—Count von Bismarck's opinion on the general Situation—His difficulty in
dealing with "the Gentlemen of the Pavement"—The German intention of starving the City out, and the only Terms on which Germany
could consent to Peace—Meeting between Jules Favre and Count von Bismarck at Ferrières—Epitome of the Reports issued by each on
their Interview—The French Government reiterate their Determination not to cede " an Inch of their Territory, or a Stone of their Fort¬
resses"—The Action taken by the English Government between both Belligerents—The Operations of the Besiegers up to the end of
September—The Feeling in Germany—Speech and Imprisonment of Dr. Jacoby—Events in Italy—The French Troops withdrawn from
Rome on the outbreak of the War, and the Italians at once determine to take possession of the City—Enthusiasm in the Army—Triumphant
Entry of the Troops on the 20th of September, after three hours' fighting—The Fall of the Temporal Power proclaimed—A Plebiscitum
declares unmistakably in favour of the New Order of Things.
Before proceeding further, it may be of service that
we pass in brief review the situation and possibili¬
ties on both sides, at the time to which our narra¬
tive now reaches, as they were estimated by an able
writer in the Quarterly Review for January, 1871.
First, as to France. Starting with the assump¬
tion that Paris could resist for three months, we
find the French bent on continuing the struggle—
a determination which appears to have been inten¬
sified by every fresh disaster ; but the only elements
of success were supplied by the superior numbers
and wealth of the defenders. Of able-bodied men
there was no lack ; but they were at first without
arms and without officers to organize them.
Especially were they deficient in field artillery, a
deficiency for which no amount of courage or num¬
bers could make up. The action of the civilian
prefects in many cases disgusted the officers of the
regular army ; and the hoisting of the red flag at
Lyons and Marseilles, referred to in the previous
chapter, threatened at one time to divide the
French people into two hostile camps.
While such was the state of affairs without the
city, the temper of the Parisian populace could not
be counted on. Dissensions were known to exist,
and the Belleville clique, headed by Flourens, were
noisy and violent. As already stated, the armed
force at the disposal of Trochu was of a mixed
character, consisting of regular troops, mobiles, and
national guards ; the regulars greatly disheartened
by the events of the war. This force too, wanted
organization, and was very imperfectly armed.
The garrison was almost destitute of field artillery.
Guns had to be cast, and the horses and gunners
trained, while the enemy was thundering at the
gates. Until this was effected, sorties in force,
though the soul of the defence, could not be suc¬
cessfully undertaken.
Thus the composition and equipment of the
garrison were in every respect so inferior to those
of the approaching besiegers, that the salvation of
the city depended absolutely on the formation of
such an army without the walls as, in co-operation
with the army within, might be able to drive the
Germans from their prey. Now, the organization,
arming, and provisioning of such a force required
both time and a place where, secure from moles¬
tation, it might be drilled, and disciplined, and
supplied with all the matériel and provisions neces¬
sary to enable it to take the field with any prospect
of success. Such a place the sea alone could fur¬
nish. During the whole war the sea was at the
command of France, and should have constituted
the base of operations for the relief of Paris. Three
harbours, Bordeaux and Havre being two of them,
might have been fixed on as the rallying points for
the whole of the French levies ; by united and
ceaseless effort on the part of all who were able to
40
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN AVAR.
labour, entrenched camps might have been con¬
structed round those ports, the flanks resting on
the sea ; and the works armed with heavy guns
from the fleet, which should have been recalled
to the defence of France and divided between the
three ports, to which the whole available merchant-
marine should have been constantly employed in
bringing field-guns and breech-loading rifles for
the equipment of the armies, as well as the stores
of food and forage required for their maintenance
in an advance on Paris. The three camps, each
garrisoned by 150,000 fighting men, and armed
with guns very superior to any the Germans could
bring against them, would easily have defied attack,
and divided the operations of the enemy. To assail
them, indeed, it would have been necessary to
employ three powerful armies, so widely separated
from each other in a hostile country as must have
rendered intercommunication tedious and difficult;
and those armies could not even have been brought
into the field, and provided with the requisite
heavy guns, except by abandoning the siege of
Paris.
The defence of the three camps, on the other
hand, might be considered as one; since they
could have maintained constant and rapid com¬
munication by steam, and reinforced each other
according to need. As soon as they were ready
to take the field, the French marine could have
easily transported the armies of the two southern
camps to Havre, from which an united army of
450,000 men might have marched to raise the
siege of the capital. To the last a screen of troops
should have been maintained as far as possible in
advance of the two camps ; but all serious engage¬
ments in the open country, where success might
be doubtful, and especially all attempts to defend
open towns, should have been avoided.
After Sedan the only organized army remaining
to France was shut in at Metz, under Bazaine, and
consisted of 150,000 men, exclusive of the regular
garrison of the fortress. This force was now
hemmed in by strong lines of circumvallation, and
invested by the first and second German armies
under General Manteuffel and Prince Frederick
Charles, consisting of seven corps and three
divisions of cavalry, reinforced later by one infan¬
try division. Thus, a German force, never pro¬
bably exceeding 210,000 men, spread over a
circumference of twenty-seven miles, which was
divided into two parts by the Moselle, was found
sufficient to hold fast 150,000 French occupying
the centre of the circle, and with every strategical
advantage in their favour.
At Strassburg a French garrison of 19,000 was
besieged by 70,000 Germans. By one Prussian
division, under the grand duke of Mecklenburg,
a garrison of 2000 mobiles was besieged at
Toul, whose cannon, commanding the railroad
from Nancy by Châlons and Epernay to Paris,
compelled the Germans to unload their trains
some distance east of the town, to transport
their supplies on wheels by a long detour,
and to reload them on trains to the west of
the fortress. Thus the persistent defence of the
garrison, which only surrendered in the last days
of September, contributed largely in delaying
the operations of the besiegers of Paris. Thion-
ville, Longwy, Montmèdy, and Mézières, all held
French garrisons, and prevented the Germans
from using the railroad passing by these places
to Rheims and Paris. Thionville and Montmèdy
were blockaded, and the blockades of Bitsche and
Phalsburg were continued ; they were defended
chiefly by mobiles, and occupied about 18,000
German troops.
To compensate somewhat for their inferiority in
the field, the French, as fighting in defence of their
own soil, had this advantage, that instead of being
limited to one general line of retreat, they could,
in the event of defeat, retire in any direction save
the one barred by the enemy. With such an ex¬
tent of seaboard and a powerful fleet they would
have been secure of finding safety and support on
reaching any point on the coast where local con¬
ditions were favourable ; and this circumstance
would evidently give them a real tactical advan¬
tage in battle.
Turning, now, to the Germans. The capture of
Paris was the one great object they proposed to
themselves in continuing the war, as its attainment,
they considered, would lead to the immediate
submission of France. The siege of the capital,
therefore, was the one great central operation to
which all the other military movements were
accessory. Had the Germans foreseen the resistance
they would have to encounter, it is not improbable
that, after Sedan, they would have offered terms
of peace which the French might have accepted ;
but they were under the impression that Paris
would yield on the mere appearance of their forces
before it, and thus they were committed to a
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
41
tedious and difficult enterprise, the duration of
which gave France all the chances arising from
the mutability of human affairs in general, and the
changes which time might work in the opinions
and conduct of the other European powers.
Destitute as France was at this period of any
organized military force in the field, the most
obvious way of reducing her to subjection was
to prevent the assembling and training of such a
force, by sending strong movable columns of the
three arms into every district. But from the
large extent of France it was impossible, even
with the overwhelming numbers at the dis¬
posal of the Prussian monarch, to coerce in that
manner more than a small portion of her area.
The German columns could command only the
ground on which they encamped, with a certain
zone around it; and the fire of hatred and resistance,
smouldering over the whole surface of the country,
would thus be stamped out in one quarter only to
burst forth with increased violence in another.
To this it was owing that the French government
was left so long unmolested at Tours, as it would
have been hazardous, in view of the strength of
the garrison, to detach to so great a distance from
Paris a large force from the investing armies,
and a small one would have run the risk of being
overpowered.
The base of operations for all the German forces
was formed by the line of frontier extending from
Saarbriick on the north to Basle on the south,
and all their movements were necessarily regulated
by that consideration.
The lines of communication for the army en¬
gaged in the primary operation of the siege of
Paris took their departure from the northern half
of this base ; and on these lines were situated
all the strong places excepting Strassburg, such
as Thionville, &c,, which the Germans were
besieging at the period of the fall of Sedan.
The southern half formed the base of operations
for the troops engaged in the siege of Strassburg,
and for those subsequently employed in reducing
Sclilestadt, Neu Brisach, Bclfort, &c. ; as well as
for the armies operating by Dijon towards Lyons,
and to the south of Belfort towards Besançon.
The position of the investing army at Paris
formed a secondary base, from which radiated the
different columns acting towards Orleans, Chartres,
Dreux, Evreux, Amiens, St. Quentin, &c. ; the
capital being, as it were, the centre of the wheel,
VOL. II.
of which these columns represented the spokes.
The object for which they were employed, was the
collecting of supplies, and preventing the siege
from interruption by the different bodies of French
troops which were organizing all over the country.
With these explanations clearly apprehended,
the movements of the German forces, which other¬
wise would appear confused, will assume in the
mind of the reader a methodical and symmetrical
arrangement.
On the evening of the 2nd September, the day
on which the surrender of Sedan was consum¬
mated, the German armies received their march¬
ing orders, and on the morning of the 3rd broke
up in different directions, en route for Paris. The
readiness and rapidity with which they resumed
their march were noteworthy. An army of 120,000
prisoners, with their personal arms, artillery, camp
baggage, ammunition, military train, and military
stores, had to be received and transported on a
sudden emergency. The transport, store, and
commissariat services were thus put to a severe
strain; and the victors were hampered in propor¬
tion to the magnitude of their victory. The men
and horses which came into their hands required
to be fed, and the sick to be provided for. The
ease, however, with which all this was accomplished
was equally astonishing with the victory itself,
and showed extraordinary forethought and organ¬
ization. The demolition of the French army and
capture of the emperor seemed only a little episode,
by which the stern purpose of the invaders re¬
mained unshaken and unaltered. Their goal was
Paris; and orders were issued that by the 14th of
September the battalions were to be each in posi¬
tion at a distance of ten leagues from the city.
The eleventh corps and first Bavarians, both
belonging to the third Prussian army, were de¬
tailed to escort the prisoners to Pont-à-Mousson,
whence, having handed over their charge to the
tenth corps, employed before Metz, they were to
make all speed to join the Crown Prince of Prussia
in his march to Paris.
The third and fourth armies marched on the
capital by two different routes. The third, under
the Crown Prince of Prussia, passed by Bethel,
Bheims, and Epernay, to the south bank of the
Marne; and continued its march by Montmirail to
Coulommiers, whence the different corps diverged
to take up their respective investing positions from
Lagny, on the Marne, towards Versailles. The
F
42
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
Crown Prince of Saxony, with tlie fourth army,
moved his columns to the south-west, but without
encroaching on the roads to the west of the line
formed by Remilly, La Besace, and Le Chêne.
They passed by Youziers, Rheims, and generally
by the north bank of the Marne to Claye, whence
the several corps diverged to their respective posi¬
tions for continuing the investing line from Lagny
on their left, round by Gonesse to St. Denis and
Argenteuil, north of the city. The tracks of the
two crown princes intersected each other at
Rheims. That one army of 80,000 men, with all
its trains and impediments, should, without serious
inconvenience, have been able to cut across the
march of another numbering 120,000, added
another proof to the excellence of the working
staff amongst the Germans.
Each army marched in parallel columns, the
lateral communication between which, as well as
between the two armies, was kept up by the
cavalry; and in particular, the outward flanks of
both were protected by strong bodies of mounted
troops. Their front was, at the same time, covered
by a chain of advanced guards, at a distance of
from twenty to thirty miles, in communication
with each other by means of cavalry patrols, thus
forming a continuous circle, either for protection
or conveying information, enveloping the head of
the line of march of both armies.
A new French corps d'armée, which had been
formed in Paris, under the command of General
Yinoy, was despatched by rail to Soissons, Laon,
Marie, Yervins, &c., to join MacMahon on his
way from Rheims to Stenay, to attempt the relief
of Bazaine at Metz. This thirteenth corps consisted
of the four last regiments of infantry and two of
light cavalry that had arrived from Algeria, and the
débris of one of MacMahon's cuirassier brigades;
to which were added regiments de marche com¬
posed of fourth battalions and dépôts. The corps,
however, did not get beyond Mézières ; but retreat¬
ing as quickly as possible, escaped by rail, via
Laon, Soissons, and Villers-Cotterets, to Paris,
before the first-named town surrendered to the
cavalry division of Duke William of Mecklenburg.
The march of the Germans met with little
opposition. After the defeat at Sedan, although
France still had considerable elements of mili¬
tary power, they were for a time so disorganized
that they could offer but a feeble resistance to
the advance of the enemy. As yet, however,
hardly a single fortress of the invaded country
had fallen ; and Bazaine was still in occupation
of Metz with an immense force. The Germans
had not, indeed, mastered even one of the main
roads or railways necessary to maintain their com¬
munications with the interior and with the frontier
of Germany, but they still pressed forward, not
doubting that Paris would soon be within their
reach. Their march was well described by a
correspondent of the Daily News:—" All through
the fertile province of Champagne, down the
straight roads, with their lines of poplar trees, and
among the pleasant villages on the vine-covered
slopes, the Prussians advanced towards Paris.
There was a great bend to the northward when
the Crown Prince swu. y round upon MacMahon,
and pinned him in against m. Relgian frontier at
Sedan. There was a momentary p. "e after the
success of September—a pause merely to . the
exhausted troops ; then a second movement,
decided and almost as rapid as that of the shutting
in of MacMahon. The German forces returned
to the main road to their promised goal. They
came slanting back to the line of the Marne, and
occupied village after village and town after town,
with astonishing quickness. The French had no
time to prepare a systematic defence. Before the
national guard could even be armed, far less ex¬
ercised, those fluttering pennants of black and
white which told of the Prussian lancers, or those
spiked helmets of the Prussian dragoons, were
seen approaching. Everything had to be aban¬
doned. The armed force, such as it was, dispersed
or retreated, and the people submitted themselves
to the inevitable in the way of war contributions."
On and on marched the invaders. Heralded by
their trusty cavalry, the immense armies moved in
open order, although never beyond the reach of
their prescient strategist, who required but a few
hours' notice to mass them for any possible con¬
tingency. Dr. Russell also wrote as follows to the
Times on the subject:—" One thing which causes
astonishment to me is the perfect impunity with
which the Prussian communications have been
preserved. Their military administration is most
vigorous, and its apparent severity prevents blood¬
shed and secures their long lines against attack.
It is ' Death ' to have any arms concealed or
retained in any house. It is ' Death ' to cut a
telegraph wire, or to destroy anything used for the
service of the army. What can a disarmed popula-
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
43
tion, however hostile and venturesome, attempt
even against small bodies of armed men who always
move with caution, and against troops who do not
make night marches unless in large bodies ? The
Prussian cavalry are everywhere. There is no
neglect, no insouciance. Nothing is taken on
trust. The people in the towns and villages are
quite aghast."
On the 5th of September the Germans entered
the ancient cathedral city of Rheims. In the
morning a few cavalry soldiers entered the town,
one of whom was attacked by an old Frenchman ;
the hussar fired his pistol, wounded his assailant,
and then, with his companions, galloped out of the
city. In the afternoon a large body of troops
appeared, followed by the main army, whereupon
the mayor formally surrendered the town, and the
king of Prussia's headquarters were established in
the episcopal palace.
A notable incident occurred when the Germans,
under the Duke William of Mecklenburg, arrived
at the fortress of Laon, which General Yinoy's
corps left early on the morning of the 6th
September. On the evening of that day three
uhlans presented themselves at the gate, and
demanded admission ; but the gardes mobiles
fired on them, and they were dismounted and
made prisoners. On the following day three
more uhlans arrived with a flag of truce. One
was admitted, after having had his eyes bandaged;
but General Theremin d'Hame, the commandant
of the citadel, would not treat with him on account
of his inferior rank. On the 8th of September
more Prussians appeared ; a lieutenant-colonel
presented himself as parlementaire, and was
received by General d'Hame, who refused to
surrender the citadel, but the maire came to terms
for the town. On the 9th, however, the general
received a telegram from the War minister to
surrender, as the place was not in a state to defend
itself. Two officers of the mobile were sent to
the Prussian camp to make the announcement ;
and accordingly, towards noon a corps of Prussian
infantry, a thousand strong, preceded and followed
by cavalry, escorting a group of superior officers,
entered the town with their band playing. A
portion of this force immediately marched to the
citadel, just before occupied by the mobiles, who
laid down their arms and were declared prisoners
of war on parole. At the moment the mobiles
were defiling the powder magazine exploded,
causing fearful consternation in the ranks both of
friends and foes. Fifty Germans and 300 gardes
mobiles perished in the catastrophe, and several
hundred soldiers and civilians were more or less
severely wounded. Roofs were blown off the
houses and windows broken, both in Laon and the
neighbouring village of Vaux. This sanguinary
incident naturally caused great irritation among the
Germans, who immediately placed the command¬
ant under arrest. The king of Prussia ordered
a judicial investigation to be made into the cause
of the explosion, which resulted in establishing
the complete innocence of General Theremin
d'Hame, who died shortly after of his own injuries.
The perpetrator was declared to be a certain
inspector of artillery, missing after the catastrophe,
and believed to have had no accomplices. By
a portion of the French press the perpetrators of
the barbarous deed were eulogized as devoted
patriots, who preferred death to dishonour. The
following abbreviation of a touching letter, written
by the unfortunate General to Madame d'Hame
shortly after the explosion, shows that he held
a contrary opinion, and gives a glimpse of the
condition of affairs at the period of which we are
writing :—"You will be in great anxiety on my
account, beloved. To-day I am able to write
and comfort you, which the injuries to my head
would not let me do before. A hard trial has
fallen on me. You know that sixteen days since
the command of this department was assigned to
me, without staff, or a single man or officer of the
regulars. I was left alone with a battalion of
mobiles, who had been called out on the 8th of
August. The men, terrified at the rumours flying
about, deserted wholesale, and were reduced one
half. We had no means of resistance, and a
telegram from the minister told me, if necessary,
to fall back on Soissons. Unhappily this came
too late. The Prussian summons to surrender
arrived soon after it, and there was no means of
withdrawal. After two days of parleying, I was
obliged to surrender, the citadel being in face
of a whole army corps. When the duke of
Mecklenburg entered he was astonished to see
who had defended the place—mere peasants in
blouses, many of them without a cartridge-box.
The duke had asked me whether I was related
to F. Theremin, formerly of our foreign office,
and I had scarcely answered this, and one or two
other friendly questions, when a terrific explosion
44
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
covered the ground with dead and dying. The
event was so surprising that one could only
attribute it to treason, and to-day it is manifest
to all that the garde d'artillerie is alone responsible
for it. Yet all my life long I shall be grieved that
so rascally a deed was perpetrated where I had
the command. Happily the duke and his brigadier,
Count Alvensleben, are only slightly wounded.
I was to have had my freedom, and my sword had
been given back to me. All is changed now. I
am a prisoner and in hospital, and know not when
I may be well and free again. But as soon as
permitted I will, by a pass, hasten to you and
my daughter, who must, for the present, use her
Christian faith to bear the trial that has come upon
us." A month after the above was written
General d'Hame died of his wounds.
The town of Laon is situated seventy-five miles
north-east of Paris, and is the capital of the
department of the Aisne. Its traditionary history
extends back to the reign of Clovis, and during
the Carlovingian dynasty it formed a part of the
possessions of the crown. The city was surrounded
by an ancient wall, and possessed a handsome
cathedral dating from the twelfth century. The
fortress had sustained frequent sieges, and in 1594
was taken from the League by Henry IV. During
the campaign of 1814 it «was the scene of a
sanguinary engagement between Napoleon I. and
Marshal Bliicher, in which, after a conflict of
great obstinacy and varying success, the French
were finally beaten, with a loss of forty-eight guns
and between 5000 and 6000 prisoners.
After the affair at Laon the German armies
continued to advance uninterruptedly (with the
exception of a few futile attempts at obstruction
by the felling of trees and the blowing up of
bridges) towards Paris, which, as previously
arranged, they approached by three main roads,
the one from Soissons, through Villers-Cotterets
and Dommartin ; the second from Meaux, through
which they had come from Epernay and Château-
Thierry; and the third from Provins, through
Brie, which leads to the junctions of the rivers
Seine and Marne, close to Paris on its south-east
side. When they reached so near the capital their
progress was not allowed altogether undisputed.
At Chateau - Thierry a Prussian reconnoitring
party was driven back by a body of French
cavalry. At Montereau and Melun engagements
took place between uhlans and francs-tireurs, and
heavy fighting occurred near Colmar between these
irregulars and the Germans, in which the French
sustained defeat and lost several prisoners.
It was in the suburban village of Créteil, on
the Marne, two miles in front of the Fort de Char-
enton that the Prussian scouts made their first
appearance on the 16th September. Two days
before, the main body of the German armies had
reached the streams which fence Paris on its east¬
ern front. The Crown Prince of Saxony was
posted at Meaux, on the Marne, and the Crown
Prince of Prussia at Melun, on the Seine, with
the design of converging from those points on
their destined prize. The fortifications of the
city, however, saved it from a sudden attack,
although, as yet, they were comparatively ill
armed, and had not the support of an army out¬
side. Their unprotected state enabled the invaders
from the first to seize positions which gave them
the power of effectually investing the capital, and
which never could have been occupied had the
French possessed an army of such strength as that
with which MacMahon undertook his fatal march
to Sedan.
General Trochu, who well knew the importance
of preventing the enemy from closing in on the
city, had endeavoured, as far as was in his power,
to retard the investment, and to strengthen the
external line of the defences where they were
weakest. With this object he had stationed troops
outside the eastern and southern forts, with orders
to attack the Germans in flank as they advanced,
and, if possible, to drive them back; and he had
constructed, and partly armed, works on the
heights which, from Clamart to Chatillon, com¬
mand the forts of Issy, Yanves, and Montrouge,
along the southern verge of Paris.
With any considerable number of good troops
and an adequate field artillery, General Trochu
would at this time have made it impossible for the
Germans to take up their investing line on such
an enormous circumference without defeating
again a French army. The French, holding
the centre, might have struck vigorously at differ¬
ent portions of the force closing round the city,
and might have cut it into fragments before it
found time to construct entrenchments and bat¬
teries, to tighten its hold upon its victim.
On the 18 th September, a feeble fragment of
the French regular army, under General Vinoy, at¬
tacked the leading columns of the Crown Prince
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
45
of Saxony as they debouched into the valley of
the Marne; but it was soon forced to fall back
before them. The next day another attack was
made by the French between St. Denis and Gonesse
with a similar result; in the evening, on the
southern side, they put forth an effort more vigor¬
ous and protracted, but still fruitless. On the
17th, the third army, under the Crown Prince of
Prussia, was headed by the fifth corps, which, at
Villeneuve St. George threw pontoon bridges
over the Seine, by which the fifth, sixth, and
second Bavarian corps passed, to take up their
positions in the investing line from the Seine
westward by Sèvres to Bougival, north-west of
the city. To cover this operation, the seven¬
teenth infantry brigade of the fifth corps, sup¬
ported by two squadrons and two batteries,
occupied a strong position on the heights of
Limeil, extending across the high road to Melun
and the Lyons railway, to Boissy St. Leger. Five
companies occupied the woods of the Chateau
Brevannes, at the foot of the hill on the Paris side of
the position. At two p.m. eight battalions of French
regulars, and two batteries, under the command
of General Ducrot, debouched from Charenton on
the tongue of land lying between the Seine and
Marne. The ground was admirably chosen, as
both flanks of the attacking force were covered
by rivers; but notwithstanding the advantage of
their position, the French were defeated and driven
back in wild confusion by the five German com¬
panies posted in the woods of Brevannes, aided by
the two batteries on the heights of Limeil. On
the 18th, the fifth German corps, covered by a
squadron of cavalry on the side towards Paris,
advanced with its leading division (ninth) to
Bièvre, and the tenth division to Palaiseau. The
head of this column had a slight skirmish with
some French troops posted to the north of Bièvre,
near Petit Bicêtre, in the afternoon. On the same
day the second Bavarian corps had crossed the Seine
and occupied Longjumeau (on the left bank),
while the head of the sixth corps arrived at the
bridge, and prepared to pass it early the next morn¬
ing, in the meantime constructing another bridge.
On the morning of the 19th the following corps
commenced their march: the fifth on Versailles,
in two columns, by Bièvre and Jouy ; the Bavarians
on Chatenay, by Palaiseau ; the sixth on Chenilly,
by Villeneuve le Roi and Orly. The head of the
ninth division (fifth corps), after debouching from
Bièvre, was again attacked by a French force in the
fortified position at Petit Bicêtre, but the attack was
soon repulsed. The division was about to resume
its march on Versailles when it was once more at¬
tacked, and this time so vigorously and by so large
a force (the whole of the French fourteenth corps),
that it was very hard pressed. But one Bavarian
brigade, which had reached Chatenay, came to
its assistance at Villa Coublay (on the summit of
the plateau) ; and another, advancing on Sceaux,
threatened the enemy's flank, whilst a third marched
on Bourg-la-Reine, to cut off his retreat ; the re¬
maining brigade of the Bavarian corps meanwhile
occupying Croix de Bernis. The tenth division,
fifth corps, arriving on its march from Palaiseau,
at Jouy, at this time, was, with the reserve artillery,
also directed on Villa Coublay, and the fire of the
latter, from the plateau, caused the French to
evacuate their position at Petit Bicêtre, and retreat
rapidly on Chatillon, so that the fifth German corps
was enabled to resume its march on Versailles soon
after eleven o'clock a.m. By their retrograde
movement the French were brought into closer
contact with the advance of the Bavarians at Bourg.
To gain time to carry off the guns which had been
placed in the earthworks near Chatillon, they occu¬
pied a strong position along the edge of the plateau
and towards Meudon, bringing twenty-six field guns
into battery, and even threatening Fontenay and
Plessis with attacks which seemed sufficiently
serious to cause the Bavarian general, Von Hartmann,
to suspend the advance of the two brigades in front
until he could bring the other two up to their sup¬
port. A pause thus ensued in the fire on both
sides. About an hour after, it was again opened
with renewed vigour by the Bavarians, who,
perceiving that the enemy was withdrawing his
"position" guns and preparing to retreat, made a
general attack and carried the redoubt at three p.m.,
capturing eight pieces of artillery, and driving
the French under the guns of forts Vanves and
Montrouge. During these proceedings the sixth
corps crossed the river, and advancing on Villejuif
and Vitry, by Choisy, Orly, and Thiais, came up
on the right of the Bavarians ; but its further pro¬
gress was arrested by the fire of a large French
redoubt on the heights above Villejuif. On the
evening of the 19th the third army occupied the
line of Bougival, Sèvres, Meudon, Clamart, Bourg-
la-Reine, L'Hay, Chevilly, Choisy-le-Roi, and, in
conjunction with the Wurtemburg division, the
46
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
space between Choisy-sur-Seine, and Monneuil-sur-
Marne. On the morning of the 20th the city was
thus invested on all sides.
The behaviour of a part of the French troops
engaged in the combats around the city rendered
of no effect the superior advantages of their posi¬
tion. They had belonged to regiments of Mac-
Mahon's own corps ; but demoralized through
repeated defeats, they fled panic-stricken from the
field at the first appearance of danger, and refused
to renew the contest. The losses of the French
were few in killed and wounded, but the number
of prisoners was variously estimated at from 2000
to 3000, besides the eight guns captured in the
redoubt, as already mentioned. On the German side
the Crown Prince of Prussia reported that the
investing of the city had been effected with little
loss—the chief casualties occurring in the seventh
regiment. In Paris the establishment of a court-
martial for the trial of "cowards and deserters"
was proclaimed by the minister of War ; and General
Trochu issued to the garrison of the capital a mani¬
festo containing the subjoined passage, which
strikingly illustrates some of the difficulties with
which the French military leaders had to contend:
—" In the fight of yesterday, which lasted during
nearly the whole day, and in which our artillery,
whose firmness cannot be too highly praised, in¬
flicted upon the enemy enormous losses, some
incidents occurred which you ought to be made
acquainted with, in the interest of the great cause
which we are all defending. An unjustifiable panic,
which all the efforts of an excellent commander and
his officers could not arrest, seized upon the pro¬
visional regiment of zouaves which held our right.
From the commencement of the action the greater
number of those soldiers fell back in disorder upon
the city, and there spread the wildest alarm. To
excuse their conduct the fugitives have declared
that they were being led to certain destruction,
while, in fact, their strength was undiminished,
and they had no wounded ; that cartridges were
deficient, while they had not made use, as 1
ascertained for myself, of those with which they
were provided ; that they had been betrayed by
their leaders, &c. The truth is, that these unworthy
soldiers compromised from the very beginning an
affair from which, notwithstanding their conduct,
very important results were obtained. Some other
soldiers of various regiments of infantry were simi¬
larly culpable. Already the misfortunes which we
have experienced at the commencement of this
war had thrown back into Paris undisciplined and
demoralized soldiers, who caused there uneasiness
and trouble, and who from the force of circum¬
stances have escaped from the authority of their
officers and from all punishment. I am firmly
resolved to put an end to such serious disorders. I
order all the defenders of Paris to seize every man,
all soldiers and gardes mobiles, who shall be found
in the city in a state of drunkenness, or spreading
abroad scandalous stories and dishonouring the
uniform which they wear." The misfortunes caused
by these panic-stricken troops were increased by the
French engineering department having constructed
the redoubt captured by the Germans between the
villages of Chatillon and Clamart, apart from the
permanent defences of the city. When the Germans
crossed the Seine the work was unfinished, and
should have been dismantled and destroyed ; but
was left, armed, to fall into the hands of the enemy,
who immediately transformed it into a redoubt
facing towards forts Yanves and Montrouge. Cap¬
tain Bingham, in his " Siege of Paris," says, that
had the Prussians followed up their advantage the
city would have been at their mercy—the regular
troops being demoralized and the mobiles and
national guards being quite untrained. The people
felt highly indignant that after so many lessons their
soldiers should again have allowed themselves to
be so ignominiously routed ; and there was a loud
outcry against the Zouaves especially, who, as
representatives of the late régime, were denounced
as dastardly praetorians, fit to act against unarmed
citizens, but useless when opposed to armed troops.
The entry of the Germans into Versailles may
be noticed in a few sentences. On the 18th of
September three death's head hussars presented
themselves at one of the town gates and demanded
a parley with the authorities, but the maire refused
to treat with any soldier under the rank of a general,
or who was not furnished with full powers. The
next morning the demand was renewed by an aide-
de-camp, followed by a single cavalry soldier, and
a long discussion ensued. Since six o'clock the
cannon had been booming on the road from Ver¬
sailles to Sceaux, about three miles from the town.
The aide-de-camp required accommodation for the
wounded, and the keys of all forage stores. These
demands having led to a warm debate, the officer
departed to consult his general. In less than an
hour an aide-de-camp to the general commanding
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
47
the fifth corps arrived, and the discussion was
renewed. At a quarter past eleven a.m. M. Ram¬
eau, the newly-appointed maire, taking his station
at the Paris gate, read the conditions of capitulation
at last agreed to, which were :—" 1. That property
and person should be respected, as also public
monuments and works of art. 2. The confederate
German forces should occupy the barracks with
their soldiers, but the inhabitants were to lodge
the officers, and soldiers also, if the barracks should
afford insufficient accommodation. 3. The national
guard should retain its arms, and, for the common
interest, should be intrusted with the internal
police of the town, except that the confederates
should occupy at their discretion the gates at the
barriers. 4. There should be no requisition for
money, but the town should supply at money rates
all that might be needed for the passing or sta¬
tionary forces. 5. On the same day the Grille des
Chantiers would be opened to allow the fifth corps
to enter." Shortly before ten o'clock the German
columns began to defile through the Rue des
Chantiers. The procession lasted until past five
•o'clock in the afternoon, the total number of troops
being variously estimated at from 25,000 to 40,000
men. Versailles was immediately fixed on as the
headquarters of the Crown Prince and king of
Prussia, and so remained till the end of the siege.
The palace of Versailles, in which the German
headquarters were established, was founded in 1661
v Louis XIV., being erected on the site of an old
hu fing lodge of Henry IV., situated in the midst
of a x "ge forest. The timber, however, was soon
cleared, and a splendid park formed twenty miles
in circumference, the grounds laid out in a style
of great magnificence, and a supply of water
obtained for the ornamental fountains at an enorm¬
ous outlay. It is reported that the palace, grounds,
and waterworks cost upwards of £40,000,000
sterling, and an outlay of 10,000 francs has to be
incurred every time the whole of the fountains are
played. The palace itself is in the Ionic style,
and more remarkable for its vastness than its archi¬
tectural beauty ; but the rooms and galleries are
most elaborately decorated, and stored with the
choicest works of art. Versailles had always been
a favourite residence of royalty ; and although the
palace and gardens suffered considerably during
the first revolution, they were fully restored and
improved by Louis Philippe, whose object was
to make Versailles a grand historical museum.
The town of Versailles itself has an interesting
history, and contains several handsome monuments
and an old cathedral dedicated to Our Lady. In
1815 it was occupied by the Prussians under
Bliicher, and pillaged by the troops.
Previous to the investment of the capital nego¬
tiations had been entered into for an armistice.
Even before the German headquarters had arrived
at Rheims, on its march to Paris, Earl Granville,
the English Foreign minister, had conveyed inti¬
mations to Count von Bismarck that the provisional
government were anxious to discuss terms of peace.
The proclamation of the republic, however, and
the institution of the provisional government, were
viewed with little favour by the German chancel¬
lor, and he intimated that he could not recognize
M. Favre as minister of Foreign Affairs for France,
or as capable of binding the nation. In the course
of a conversation, reported about this time by a
correspondent of the Standard, Count von Bismarck
observed:—"When I saw the emperor, after his
surrendering himself a prisoner, I asked him if he
was disposed to put forward any request for peace.
The emperor replied that he was not in a position
to do so, for he had left a regular government in
Paris, with the empress at its head. It is plain
therefore that, if France possesses any government
at all, it is still the government of the empress as
regent, or of the emperor." When asked if the
flight of the empress and of the prince imperial
might not be regarded as an abdication, he said
very positively he could not so construe it. The
empress had been forced to go by the " gentlemen
of the pavement," as the Corps Législatif had been
obliged to suspend its sittings, but the actions of
these " gentlemen" were not legal. They could
not make a government. " The question was,"
continued the count, " Whom does the fleet still
obey? Whom does the army shut up in Metz
still obey? Perhaps Bazaine still recognizes the
emperor. If so, and we choose to let him go to
Paris, he and his army would be worth consider¬
ably more than the gentlemen of the pavement and
the so-called government. We do not wish to
dictate to France her form of government : we
have nothing to say to it ; that is her affair."
Count von Bismarck also significantly added :
" The present is the twenty-fifth time in the space
of a hundred years that France has made war on
Germany on some pretext or other. Now, at least,
our terrible disease of divided unity being cured,
48
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
we have contrived, by the help of the hand of
God, to beat her down. It is idle to hope to
propitiate her."
A large section of the German people thought it
highly improbable that Paris could withstand the
rigours of a siege ; and Colonel von Holstein took a
bet of 20,000 francs with M. de Girardin that the
Prussian army would defile before his house in the
Avenue du Roi de Rome by the 15th of Septem¬
ber. This, however, was not the opinion of Count
von Bismarck, who publicly declared that the
German policy was not immediately to attack the
capital. " We shall," said he, " enter the city
without attacking it; we shall starve it out." He
is also credited with having used the expression,
that the Parisians would be made " to stew in
their own juice." In the conversation to which
we have just alluded the conditions of peace
were freely canvassed. " For the improvement
of the frontier," said the German chancellor,
" we must have Strassburg, and we must have
Metz ; and we will fight ten years sooner than
not obtain this necessary security." Count von
Bismarck admitted that the French would regard
with a rancorous hatred the possession of these
two fortresses ; but he suggested that, as it was
already, France would never forgive the Germans
for the complete overthrow of their grand army.
They must therefore secure material guarantees
against future attack. The above conversations
were generally confirmed by official circulars issued
by Count von Bismarck from Rheims on the 13th
and Meaux on the 16th of September, in which
he threw the entire responsibility of the war upon
France, and assumed that Prussia was a highly
pacific and ill-used nation. But these sentiments
appear to have been used, in every case, simply
as a preface to the fact that Germany was now
determined to " strengthen her frontier," which
she could not adequately do till Metz and Strass¬
burg were in her possession.
Previous to the final investment of the capital,
and while the German armies were on the march,
negotiations of an official character were, however,
entered into. The report of M. Jules Favre,
issued on the 21st September, stated that the day
after it was established the provisional govern¬
ment received the representatives of all the powers
in Paris. North America, Switzerland, Italy,
Spain, and Portugal officially recognized the French
Republic, and the other powers authorized their
representatives to enter into semi-official relations
with the new government. On the 10th of Sep¬
tember M. Favre asked Count von Bismarck if
he was willing to enter into negotiations as to the
conditions of an arrangement. He replied that he
could not entertain any proposal in consequence of
the irregular character of the provisional govern¬
ment, but asked at the same time what guarantees
that government could offer for the execution of
any treaty that might be concluded. Earl Gran¬
ville, who had acted as intermediary, considered
it desirable that M, Favre should proceed to the
Prussian headquarters ; and on the 16th September
Count von Bismarck decided to receive him, first
at Meaux, and subsequently at Ferrières. In the
course of these interviews, M. Favre declared the
fixed determination of France to accept of no
condition which would render the proposed peace
merely a short or precarious truce. Count von
Bismarck said that, if he believed a permanent
peace possible, he would conclude it without
delay ; but he thought the provisional government
was not to be depended on, and that its overthrow
by the populace, should Paris not be captured
in a few days, was a very probable event.
" France," he added, " will as little forget the
capitulation of Sedan as Waterloo or Sadowa,
which latter did not concern you." On being
pressed by M. Favre to state exactly his condi¬
tions of peace, he replied that the possession of
the departments of the Upper and Lower Rhine,
of the Moselle, with Metz, Chateau-Salins, and
Sonines, was indispensable, as a guarantee for the
security of his country, and that he could not
relinquish them. He acknowledged the force of
the objection, that the consent of the people of
those districts to be thus disposed of was more
than doubtful, and that the public law of Europe
would not permit him to act without that consent;
but he added, " As we shall shortly have another
war with you, we intend to enter upon it in
possession of all our advantages." M. Favre
urged that the European powers might regard the
claims of Prussia as exorbitant, and that France
" will never accept them. We can perish as a
nation, but we cannot dishonour ourselves. The
country alone is competent to decide upon a
cession of territory. We have no doubts as to
its sentiments, but we will consult it." The
charge that Prussia, carried away by the intoxica¬
tion of victory, desired the destruction of France,
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
49
Count von Bismarck utterly denied; but to a
demand for time to allow of the meeting of the
Constituent Assembly, he, according to M. Favre,
replied that for the purpose an armistice was
necessary, which he could on no account grant.
At the second interview, however, on the evening
of the 19th of September, at Ferrières, he appeared
to consent to an armistice of fifteen days; and
next day, at eleven a.m., he sent M. Favre the
following conditions, namely, the occupation of
Strassburg, Toid, and Phalsburg; and as the
French minister had stated that the Assembly
would meet in Paris, one of the forts commanding
the capital—Mont Valérien, for instance—must
be placed in the hands of the Germans. M. Favre
said that it would be a more simple arrangement
to give up Paris at once. Count von Bismarck
replied, " Let us seek some other combination."
M. Favre then proposed that the Constituent
Assembly should meet at Tours, in which case
no guarantee relative to Paris would be required.
Against a further demand that the garrison of
Strassburg should surrender as prisoners of war,
M. Favre expressed himself in terms of strong
indignation. Upon this Count von Bismarck
went to consult the king, who accepted the second
combination, but insisted on the surrender of the
garrison of Strassburg as proposed." " My powers
were now exhausted," continued M. Favre; "I
rose and took my leave, expressing to him my
conviction that we should fight as long as we
could find in Paris an element of resistance." On
his return to the capital he forwarded to Count
von Bismarck the following despatch :—
" M. le Comte,—I have faithfully expressed to
my colleagues in the government of National
Defence the declaration that your excellency has
been good enough to make to me. I regret to
have to make known to your excellency that that
government has not been able to accept your
propositions. They will accept an armistice hav¬
ing for its object the election and meeting of a
National Assembly; but they cannot subscribe to
the contingent conditions. As to myself, I can
say with a clear conscience that I have done my
utmost to stop the effusion of blood, and to restore
peace to two nations which would be so much
benefited by that blessing. I have only been
stopped by an imperious duty, which required me
not to yield the honour of my country, which has
VOL. II.
determined energetically to resist such a sacrifice.
I and my colleagues associate ourselves without
reserve in that determination. God, our judge,
will decide on our destinies. I have faith in his
justice.—I have, &c.
" (Signed), JULES FAVRE.
" Sept. 21, 1870."
The French minister concluded his report to his
colleagues, with regard to the whole negotiations,
as follows:—"I have done, my dear colleagues;
and you will think with me that, if I have failed
in my mission, it has still not been altogether
useless. It has proved that we have not deviated.
From the first we have conducted a war which we
condemned beforehand, but which we accepted in
preference to dishonour. We have done more;
for we have laid bare the equivocation on which
Prussia relied, and let Europe now assist us in dis¬
sipating it altogether. In invading our soil, she
gave her word to the world that she was attacking
Napoleon and his soldiers, but would respect the
nation. We know now what to think of that
statement. Prussia requires three of our depart¬
ments: two fortified cities—one of 100,000, the
other of 75,000 inhabitants ; and eight or ten
smaller ones, also fortified. She knows that the
populations she wishes to tear from us repulse her ;
but she seizes them nevertheless, replying with the
edge of the sword to their protestations against
such an outrage on their civic liberty and their
moral dignity. To the nation that demands the
opportunity of self-consultation she proposes the
guarantee of her cannon planted at Mont Valérien,
and protecting the scene of their deliberations.
That is what we know, and what I am authorized
to make public. Let the nation that hears this
either rise at once or at once disavow us when we
counsel resistance to the bitter end."
This memorandum of M.Jules Favre drew forth
a reply from Count von Bismarck, addressed to the
North German embassies and legations. The lan¬
guage of this document approached the extreme of
curtness, not unmixed with a tone of scorn. On
the whole, however, the German chancellor admitted
that M. Favre had endeavoured to convey an accu¬
rate account of the transaction, although the drift
of his entire argument was not the conclusion of
peace, but of an armistice which was to precede it.
Count von Bismarck continued :—" As to our terms
G
50
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
of peace, I expressly declared to M. Favre that I
should state the frontier we should claim only after
the principle of cession of territory had been pub¬
licly conceded by France. In connection with
this the formation of a new Moselle district, with
the arrondissements of Saarbriick, Château Salins,
Saargemund, Metz, and Thionville, was alluded to
by me as an arrangement included in our inten¬
tions ; but I have not renounced the right of
making such further demands as may be calculated
to indemnify us for the sacrifices which a con¬
tinuance of the war will entail. M. Favre called
Strassburg the key of the house, leaving it doubtful
which house he meant. I replied that Strassburg
was the key of our house, and we therefore objected
to leave it in foreign hands. Our first conver¬
sation in Château Haute Maison, near Montoy, was
confined to an abstract inquiry into the general
characteristics of the past and present ages. M.
Favre's only pertinent remark on this occasion was
that they would pay any sum, ' tout l'argent que
nous avons,' but declined any cession of territory.
Upon my declaring such cession to be indispen¬
sable, he said, in that case, it would be useless to
open negotiations for peace ; and he argued on the
supposition that to cede territory would humiliate
—nay, dishonour—France. I failed to convince
him that terms such as France had obtained from
Italy, and demanded from Germany, without even
the excuse of previous war—terms which France
would have undoubtedly imposed upon us had we
been defeated, and in which nearly every war had
resulted down to the latest times—could have
nothing dishonourable in themselves to a nation
vanquished after a gallant struggle ; and that the
honour of France was of no other quality or nature
than the honour of all other countries." Count
von Bismarck further said that the conversations
at Ferrières took a more practical turn, referring
exclusively to the question of an armistice ; and
this, he contended, disproved the assertion that he
had refused such a question under any conditions.
" In this conversation," he continued, " we both
were of opinion that an armistice might be con¬
cluded, to give the French nation an opportunity
of electing a Representative Assembly, which alone
would be in a position so far to strengthen the
title to power possessed by the existing govern¬
ment as to render it possible for us to conclude
with them a peace valid in accordance with the
rules of international law. I remarked that to an
army in the midst of a victorious career an armis¬
tice is always injurious ; that in the present instance,
more particularly, it would give France time to
reorganize her troops and to make defensive pre¬
parations; and that, therefore, I could not accord
an armistice without some military equivalent
being conceded to us. I mentioned as such the
surrender of the fortresses obstructing our com¬
munications with Germany ; because, if by an
armistice we were to be detained in France longer
than was absolutely necessary, we must insist
upon increased means of bringing up provisions.
I referred to Strassburg, Toul, and some less im¬
portant places. Concerning Strassburg I urged that,
the crowning of the glacis having been accom¬
plished, the conquest of that place might be
shortly anticipated; and that we therefore thought
ourselves entitled to demand that that garrison
should surrender as prisoners of war. The gar¬
risons of the other places would be allowed
free retreat. Paris was another difficulty. Having
completely inclosed this city, we could permit it
renewed intercourse with the rest of France only
if the importation of fresh provisions thereby ren¬
dered possible did not weaken our own military
position and retard the date at which we might
hope to starve out the place. Having consulted
the military authorities and taken his Majesty's
commands, I therefore ultimately submitted the
following alternative: 'Either the fortified place
of Paris is to be given into our hands by the sur¬
render of a commanding portion of the works, in
which case we are ready to allow Paris renewed
intercourse with the country, and to permit the
provisioning of the town ; or, the fortified place of
Paris not being given into our hands, we shall
keep it invested during the armistice, which latter
would otherwise result in Paris being able to
oppose us at its expiry, reinforced by fresh sup¬
plies, and strengthened by new defences.' M.
Favre peremptorily declined handing over any
portion of the works of Paris, and also refused the
surrender of the Strassburg garrison as prisoners of
war. He, however, promised to take the opinion
of his colleagues at Paris respecting the other
alternative under which the military status quo
before Paris was to be maintained. Accordingly,
the programme which M. Favre brought to Paris
as the result of our conversations, and which was
rejected there, contained nothing as to the future
conditions of peace. It only included an armis-
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
51
tlce of Irom a fortnight to three weeks, to be
granted on the following conditions, in order to
enable the election of a National Assembly to be
held : Firstly, in and before Paris the maintenance
of the military status quo ; secondly, in and before
Metz the continuance of hostilities within a circle
hereafter to be more accurately defined; thirdly,
the surrender of Strassburg with its garrison, and
the evacuation of Toul and Bitsche, their garrisons
being accorded free retreat, I believe our convic¬
tion that this was a very acceptable offer will be
shared by all neutral cabinets. If the French
government has not availed itself of this oppor¬
tunity for having a National Assembly elected
in all parts of France, those occupied by us not
excepted, this indicates a resolve to prolong the
difficulties which prevent the conclusion of a valid
peace, and to ignore the voice of the French
people. From all we see here, the conviction is
forced upon us, as it no doubt is likewise upon the
rulers at Paris, that free and unbiassed general
elections will yield a majority in favour of peace."
It will thus be seen that the negotiations failed
to procure peace. The ministers in Paris issued
a proclamation reiterating their determination not
to cede " an inch of territory, or a stone of a for¬
tress." As a sequel to this proclamation a mani¬
festo of the delegation at Tours appeared as
follows: "To France! Before the investment of
Paris, M. Jules Favre, minister for Foreign
Affairs, wished to see M. de Bismarck to learn the
intentions of the enemy. Here is the declaration
of the enemy: Prussia wishes to continue the war,
and to reduce France to the rank of a second-rate
power; Prussia claims Alsace and Lorraine, as far
as Metz, by right of conquest; Prussia, to consent
to an armistice, has dared ask for the surrender of
Strassburg, of Toul, and of Mont Yalérien. Paris,
enraged, would sooner bury itself beneath its
ruins. To such insolent pretensions, in fact, we
answer only by a struggle à outrance. France
accepts this struggle, and relies on her children."*
The correspondence subsequently published by
the British government, relating to this period,
showed more clearly the significance of the above
negotiations. The English foreign minister, Earl
Granville, had all through the proceedings acted
with dignified consistency, abiding by the pro¬
positions that England would make no attempt at
* How differently does this braggadocia read to the firm, clear, and,
we must acknowledge, moderate argument of the German chancellor.
mediation unless with the concurrence of both
belligerents; that where military questions came in,
the government would rigidly abstain from offering
any opinion ; and that England would not formally
recognize the government of National Defence until
it had received an express recognition from the
French nation. But any project of successful
mediation was rendered difficult on account of the
ground taken by the combatants. On the one
hand, the Germans had stated that they must and
would have territory ; while, on the other, the
republican government held to their famous de¬
claration that they would yield neither an inch of
territory nor a stone of any fortress. And then,
again, the French cabinet never felt exactly secure
of its own position, and repeatedly acknowledged
that in order to bind the nation it ought to have
the sanction of a National Assembly; while at the
same time the calling together of that Assembly
was indefinitely postponed, and even the councils
general suspended. To add to the difficulties of
the situation, the Germans soon perceived that
they had miscalculated the resistance which Paris
would make, and therefore in negotiating would
not yield a single point which they considered of
military importance. There were also indications
that some divergence of opinion existed among
the German leaders. Count von Bismarck foresaw
political difficulties which Germany might be cre¬
ating for herself, and wished the war to end ; while
General von Moltke thought of nothing but how
to carry on the war so as to lose no advantage that
could be obtained. The principal objection to an
armistice was that the German position round
Paris was so fraught with danger, that the pos¬
sibility of diplomatic successes could not be set
against the peril of giving Paris three weeks more
breathing-time, while the armies behind the Loire
were being organized.
The active operations of the besiegers from the
period of the final investment of the city up to the
end of September were carried on with vigour and
with caution. No immediate attack was made
upon the outworks, but the capital was effectually
blockaded in a circumference of about forty miles.
On the 23rd the French attacked the besieging
force at Drancy, Pierrefitte, and Villejuif. The
fight was sustained by the sixth Prussian corps;
and in the two last-mentioned localities the advan¬
tage was in favour of the French ; but as the
sorties in either case were hardly pushed beyond
52
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
the range of the heavy guns of the forts, they were
evidently intended by General Trochu only as
military training for the troops, and were in them¬
selves of little or no importance. Meanwhile the
Germans, amounting to from 200,000 to 230,000
men, occupied the heights surrounding the city,
fortified their various positions, and established
batteries, supported by infantry connected with
each other by squadrons of cavalry, which were
kept in unceasing movement. All this time the
heavy siege guns of the Germans were arriving,
and the camp was kept in constant watchfulness
by reports from inside Paris that " its defenders,
especially the garde mobile, demanded an immediate
sortie in force." To this treacherous impatience
General Trochu eventually yielded ; and on the
30th of September General Yinoy directed a large
force of all arms again to the south-east, where the
sixth Prussian corps was strongly intrenched. In
this action the French were repulsed after two
hours' fighting, and retired under cover of their
forts. Their loss amounted to upwards of a
thousand men, including several hundred prisoners.
The German official account admitted a loss of
only 200—the troops having fought chiefly under
cover. The Crown Prince of Prussia commanded
in person, and the French General Giulham was
killed.
Many of the German journals at this period
regarded the annexation of the provinces of Alsace
and Lorraine almost as good as accomplished.
The large majority of the people, likewise, were
resolved that these provinces should be united to
Germany. " If we make no military conquest," said
they, " we have no lasting peace, but only a short
truce; we must always remain in full military
equipment; there can be no thought of reducing
our armaments in time of peace, and any one can
foresee the effect of this on our internal develop¬
ment." Expressive of the same feeling, the New
Prussian Zeitung said:—" Germany can conclude
with France such a peace only as, by giving her
a strong position against France, will make her
wholly indifferent as to what passes in France.
In the possession of Alsace and German Lorraine,
in the possession of Strassburg and Metz—the
two opening doors for French plundering expedi¬
tions—Germany will have the guarantees of peace
in her own hands, and, secured by this possession,
she can quietly look on at whatever explosion
volcanic France in the distance gives herself up
to." Still, a section of the German people regarded
the annexation of these provinces with disfavour.
A writer in the Cologne Gazette represented the
inhabitants of Lorraine as thoroughly French in
all their physical and intellectual characteristics,
and condemned the proposed acquisition of that
territory. Other writers expressed the same views,
which were held by a considerable number of
German democrats and conservatives. But a
public meeting at Konigsberg for the consideration
of the subject of annexation was specially distaste¬
ful to the Prussian authorities. At that meeting
Dr. Johann Jacoby, a politician of republican
tendencies, made the following remarkable speech:
—" The chief question, the decision of which
alone has any importance for us, is this: Has
Prussia or Germany the right to appropriate Alsace
and Lorraine ? They tell us Alsace and Lorraine
belonged formerly to the German empire. France
possessed herself of these lands by craft and by
force. Now that we have beaten the French, it
is no more than what is right and proper that we
should recover from them the spoil, and demand
back the property stolen from us. Gentlemen ! do
not let yourselves be led away by well-sounding
words, and though they offer you the empire of
the world, be not tempted to worship the idols of
power. Test this well-sounding phrase, and you
will find that it is nothing but a disguise of the old
and barbarous right of force. Alsace and Lorraine,
they say, were formerly German property, and
must again become German. How so, we inquire?
Have, then, Alsace and Lorraine no inhabitants?
Or are, perchance, the inhabitants of these pro¬
vinces to be regarded as having no volition, as a
thing that one may at once take possession of and
dispose of just as one likes? Have they lost all
their rights through the war, have they become
slaves, whose fate is at the arbitrary disposal of the
conqueror? Even the most ardent and incarnate
partisans of annexation allows that the inhabitants
of Alsace and Lorraine are in heart and soul
French, and wish to remain French. And how¬
ever much they might have offended us, it would
be contrary to all human justice should we try to
Germanize them compulsorily, and incorporate them
against their will either with Prussia or any other
German state. Gentlemen ! There is an old Ger¬
man proverb, which has been raised to a universal
moral law on account of its being so true—' Do
not unto others what you would not they should
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
53
do unto you.' What should we and our ' national
Liberals' feel if at some future time a victorious
Pole should demand back and seek to annex the
provinces of Posen and West Russia ? And yet
the same grounds might be urged for this that are
now brought forward to support an annexation of
Alsace and Lorraine. No, Gentlemen ! It is our
duty to oppose such tendencies of national egotism.
Let us hold fast to the principles of justice as
much in public life as in private life ! Let us
openly declare it to be our deep and inmost con¬
viction that every incorporation of foreign territory
against the wishes of the inhabitants is a violation
of the right of self-constitution common to all
people, and therefore as objectionable as it is
pernicious. Let us, without being led astray by
the intoxication of victory, raise a protest against
every violence offered to the inhabitants of Alsace
and Lorraine. Only he who respects the liberty
of others is himself worthy of liberty."*
General Yogel von Falckenstein, who during
the war exercised all but supreme power over
the district under his control, immediately
arrested Dr. Jacoby, as well as the chairman of
the meeting, Herr Herbig, both of whom were
conveyed to the fortress of Lotzen. Dr. Jacoby,
however, protested by letter to Count von Bis¬
marck ; and the authorities, either not prepared to
sanction the extreme measure of General Falcken¬
stein, or unwilling to arouse a feeling of irritation
among the democrats of Germany and Europe at
large, subsequently ordered the release of Dr.
Jacoby and his colleague. But undoubtedly the
great national party firmly adhered to the policy
of annexation, and their leaders were already fore¬
shadowing a federal constitution, in which an
imperial crown should be awarded to the house
of Hohenzollern.
To describe, briefly, one of the "incidents"
arising out of the war, it is necessary to look for a
little at the state of matters in Italy. For many
years it had been the aspiration of Italian states¬
men to accomplish the unity of that country, by
making Rome the capital. But although this
desire was almost universally shared by the
people, it could not be carried into effect in
consequence of the occupation of the city by
French troops, to support the temporal power of
* Dr. Jacoby, at Kiinigsberg, did not regard the necessity of a
barrier between Germany and the feverish population of France with
the same solicitude as the inhabitants of the more threatened provinces.
the pope. On the outbreak of the war, however,
the French government immediately determined
to evacuate Rome, and an announcement of their
purpose was made by M. Ollivier on the 30th of
July. These proceedings greatly alarmed the pope
and the clerical party; but the Italians saw their
opportunity was come, and resolved to embrace
it, notwithstanding that intimations were rife that
Prussia would interfere on behalf of Pius IX.
The popular excitement was intense, and even the
loyalty of portions of the papal troops appeared
doubtful. Some of the French regiments, on
their march for embarkation to Marseilles, shouted
" Vive l'Italie ! " the papal legions of Antibes
refused to garrison Civita Vecchia, were engaged
in constant strife with the German carabineers
quartered with them, and many of them deserted,
while the attitude of the inhabitants became sullen
and threatening. Before leaving Rome, General
Dumont told Cardinal Antottelli that the emperor
had exacted from the Italian government guar¬
antees for the protection of the pope ; to which
the cardinal replied, " There are three persons
who do not believe in these guarantees : the
emperor, yourself, and I." Eight Italian iron¬
clads were ordered to cruise before Civita Vec¬
chia as soon as the French had embarked. To
meet the emergency, great activity prevailed in
the pontifical war department; the troops were
armed with the most approved weapons, recruits
sought from the bandit population of the Abruzzi,
and the urban guard mobilized.
All uncertainty, however, was speedily dispelled
by the action of the Italian*ministry. On the 29th
of August the people of Florence were startled
by the following announcement in the Gazetta
d'Italia-.—" All those whose terms of lease for
apartments, separate lodgings, shops, and public-
houses have expired, or are about to expire, are
informed, that in one of the latest councils of
ministers held here, it was decided that the imme¬
diate and decided transfer of the government from
this provisional capital to Rome shall take place
before the end of September next."
By the disasters to the French arms, the catas¬
trophe of Sedan, and the revolution of the 4th
September, Italian statesmen considered them¬
selves as freed from their engagement, and that
a bold and rapid attack upon the temporal power
of the papacy was the only security against the
revolutionary contagion. To meet contingencies,
54
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
the army was raised to 300,000 men. The spirit
of the troops was excellent, and on the official
declaration reaching the camp, all the tents were
illuminated. On the 8th of September a mani¬
festo was sent to the pope by Victor Emmanuel,
through Count Ponza di San Martino, embodying
the following propositions:—The pope to retain
the sovereignty over the Leonine portion of Rome,
and all the ecclesiastical institutions of the city.
The income of the pope, the cardinals, and all the
papal officers and officials to remain unchanged.
The papal debt to be guaranteed. Envoys to the
pope and cardinals to retain their present immu¬
nities, even though not residing in the Leonine
city. All nations to be freely admitted to the
Leonine city. The Catholic clergy in all Italy
to be freed from government supervision. The
Italian military, municipal, and entail laws to be
modified as regards Rome. These propositions
Pius IX. refused to entertain.
On the morning of Sunday, September 11, the
king ordered the Italian troops to enter the papal
territory. They consisted of 50,000 soldiers, in
five divisions, led by Generals Maze de la Roche,
Cozenz, Ferrero, Angioletti, and "Bixio, under the
supreme command of General Cadorna. At the
approach of General Bixio, on Sunday night, the
garrison at Montefiascone withdrew without strik¬
ing a blow. At Aprona, on Monday, a brigade of
Italian troops, on crossing the papal frontier, were
enthusiastically received. At Bagnorea, twenty
zouaves and officers surrendered. At Civita Cas-
tellana the zouaves fired upon General Cadorna's
vanguard ; but on receiving a few shots in return,
at once surrendered. Viterbo was occupied with¬
out opposition, and no serious resistance was offered
to the royal army on its march to the capital.
General Cadorna issued a proclamation to the
Romans, assuring them that he did not bring
war, but peace and order, and that " the inde¬
pendence of the Holy See will not be violated."
The division of General Bixio approached Rome
from Civita Veechia by the left, or west, bank of
the Tiber ; the division of Angioletti came from
the south, out of the Neapolitan territory ; and the
other divisions, which had entered the Papal States
from Tuscany, approached the city on its eastern
side. It was therefore ordered that Bixio should
attack the western gate, called Porte San Pancrazio,
by which the French took the city in 1849 ; that
Angioletti should attack that of St. John Lateran;
while the rest of the army should direct their
efforts against Porta San Lorenzo, Porta Pia, and
a part of the city wall, between Porta Pia and
Porta Salara, where the papal zouaves had taken
up their position. The garrison, exclusive of some
of the pope's Italian troops who refused to fight,
numbered above 9000 men—the zouaves, the
carabineers, the Antibes legion, the dragoons, the
squadriglieri, and the gendarmes. The gates of
the city were barricaded and fortified by ramparts
of earth. The defence was commanded by General
Baron Kanzler. The garrison had sixty pieces of
artillery; and the walls, built of solid brick, and
forming a circuit of thirteen miles about the city,
were of great height and thickness, having been
erected to a great extent in the times of the ancient
Roman empire, in the reign of Aurelian.
At five o'clock on the morning of the 20th Sep¬
tember the Italian artillery opened on the city,
accompanied by a sharp interchange of musketry
between the papal zouaves and the royal bersag-
lieri, with the loss of life on both sides. After
about three hours' fighting, each division of the
Italian forces had succeeded in opening a breach ; and
when they poured into the city, prepared to charge
with the bayonet, the papal soldiers beat a hasty
retreat.. On this the pope ordered General Kanzler
to capitulate; a white flag was waved all along the
line, and a messenger informed General Bixio that
a treaty had been opened with General Cadorna.
The number of killed on the Italian side was
21, including 3 officers; and of wounded, 117, of
whom 5 were officers. Of the papal troops, 6
zouaves were killed, and 20 or 30 wounded. The
prisoners amounted to 10,400 of all arms.
During these proceedings the pope had taken
refuge in the Vatican, and sent to the various dip¬
lomatic agents a protest against the action of the
Italians. The citizens, however, crowded to the
capitol to proclaim the fall of the temporal power,
but were fired upon by the squadriglieri, who still
retained their arms. A vast multitude subsequently
assembled at the Coliseum, where, in accordance
with an intimation from the Italian authorities,
they elected a provisional giunta, composed of
forty-two members, the leading liberals of the
city. In the evening, the political prisoners in
Castello and St. Michele were liberated by the
soldiers and the populace. In St. Michele prison,
Cardinal Petroni, condemned for life, had already
been a captive for nineteen years; the Doctor Luigi
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
55
Castellozzo, Count Pagliani, Giulio Ajani, and
Cesare Sterbini, were also lying under the same
sentence. Victor Emmanuel had given instruc¬
tions that the papal territory should not be for¬
mally annexed to Italy until a plebiscitum had been
taken. In the meantime the elected giunta, in the
midst of considerable indications of the tumultuous
disposition of the inhabitants, prepared the way for
the popular vote. The principal dissatisfaction was
occasioned by the fact that the rule of the Leonine
city had been secured to the pope, an arrangement
which 6000 inhabitants of the Borgia deeply re¬
sented, and showed their resentment by popular
demonstrations.
The formula of the plebiscitum was, " The
Romans, in the belief that the Italian government
will guarantee the free exercise of his spiritual
authority to the Holy Father, answer Yes." The
vote was taken on the 2nd of October, amidst great
popular enthusiasm, resulting in 136,681 voting
Yes, and 1507 No.
The total collapse of the pontifical régime, and
the occupation of Rome by the Italian govern¬
ment, form a remarkable epoch in the history of
Europe; yet so completely were the minds of men
engrossed by the startling occurrences of the war,
that these events received at the time a compara¬
tively small amount of attention, and a brief notice
in the columns of the European press. In a few
days, with a mere show of resistance and a mini¬
mum of internal commotion, were accomplished
the dream of generations, and the fulfilment of the
long-cherished but almost hopeless aspirations after
unity by the Italian people.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Extensive Siege Operations of the Germans in September—Description of Strassburg and its Fortifications, and Sketch of its History—Brief
Biography of General Uhrich, the Governor—State of the City after the Battles of Wissembourg and Woerth—Number and Description of
the Garrison at the Commencement of the Siege—Council of War Determines on a Vigorous Besistance—Proclamation of General Uhrich—
Number and Description of the Besieging Force under General von Werder—The Positions occupied by them—Commencement of Hostilities
on 12th August—The Superiority of the German Artillery over that of the French—Reconnaissances by the French—Commencement of the
Bombardment, in earnest, on 21st August, causing great Destruction of Property and Loss of Life—The Germans consent to spare the
Cathedral as much as possible—General Uhrich again refuses to Surrender—The Bombardment is discontinued, and a Regular Siege
commenced—Strange Apathy of the French during the Proceedings of the Besiegers—Extraordinary Completeness of the German Works—
Great Sortie on 2nd September—The hopes of the Besieged raised by a piece of extraordinary False News—General Uhrich refuses to
believe in the Disaster at Sedan—M. Valentin, the Prefect of the Lower Rhine, appointed by the Republican Government, reaches the City
after a very Narrow Escape—Hospitality of the Swiss towards the Aged and Destitute Inhabitants, whom the Germans permitted to leave
—Fearful State of the City during the Latter Part of the Siege, and Gallant Conduct of the Inhabitants—Capture of Three Lunettes by
the Germans—Two Breaches made in the Walls preparatory to the intended Storming—Final Demand for Surrender, with the Alternative
of an Immediate Assault—Song written during the Siege to be Sung by the Troops as they marched into Strassburg—Determination of the
Governor to capitulate—Proclamation announcing the Fact to the Inhabitants and Garrison—German Preparations to receive the French
Delegates—Disgraceful Conduct of some of the French Soldiers whilst Surrendering—Triumphant Entry of Part of the German Army into
the City—Affecting Scenes as the Inhabitants emerged from the Cellars in which they had lived so long—German Rejoicings on 30th
September, the day on which the City had been taken from them 189 years before—Impressive Religious Services—Speech of General
Werder—The Fearful Effects of the Bombardment on the City—The Irreparable Loss of the Library—State of the Cathedral—Total
amount of Damage done to the City estimated at £8,000,000—The Aspect of the Botanic Garden, which had been used as a Burying-
Gronnd—Destruction of Kehl, opposite Strassbnrg, by the French—Quantity of Shot, &c, fired during the Siege of Strassburg—Number
and Value of the Guns captured by the Germans—The Siege of Toul—Description of the Town—Gallantry of the Inhabitants and Garrison
—Determination of the Germans to Storm the Town averted by its Capitulation—Reasons for adopting such a course on the part of the
French—Scenes in the Town on the Entry of the Germans.
fall of strassburg and toul.
In Chapter X., describing the march of the third
German army into France, after the defeat of
MacMahon at Woerth, we stated that the Badish
troops in it were despatched to lay siege to the
fortress of Strassburg. We now proceed to relate
the chief events of that siege, from the time the
city was first invested to its fall on September
28, and also the leading incidents connected
with the siege of Toul, which was likewise invested
by a portion of the Crown Prince's army a few days
after Strassburg.
About the third week in September the Germans
were, in fact, prosecuting four important sieges ;
any one of which would, in ordinary times, have
been regarded as a great operation. Strassburg,
the centre of the defence of the French frontier of
the Rhine, and one of the strongest fortified cities
in Europe, was besieged by a corps of about
60,000 men, composed of one division of Badish,
one of Prussian, and one of Prussian guard land-
wehr troops, with pioneers and garrison artillery
from the South German states. Toul, on the direct
fine of railway to Paris, was surrounded by
a Prussian division, under the Grand-duke of
Mecklenburg Schwerin, and still blocked all com¬
munication to the capital from South Germany.
Metz, the centre of the defence of France between
the Meuse and the Rhine, the strongest fortress in
all France, surrounded by forts forming an en¬
trenched camp, and held not only by its own gar¬
rison, but by the army under Marshal Bazaine,
was invested by seven Prussian army corps
and three divisions of cavalry—altogether, about
200,000 men. And above all, Paris, defended
by more than half a million of armed and
disciplined men, was shut in by the third
German army, under the Crown Prince of
Prussia, and the fourth, under the Crown Prince
of Saxony, numbering more than 250,000 men.
It will be remembered that in his interview
with M. Jules Favre, described in the preceding
chapter, the only conditions on which Count von
Bismarck would consent to an armistice, were that
the fortresses of Strassburg, Toul, and Phalsburg
should be placed in the hands of the Germans.
As the French were not disposed to accede to
these conditions, the conference ended. Two of
the fortresses named were, however, destined to
fall immediately. While M. Jules Favre and
Count von Bismarck were conferring at Ferrières,
yfied/jute
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flngraved "by Robert Walker
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
57
General Uhrich and a council of war were delib¬
erating as to the surrender of Strassburg, which
capitulated on the 28th of September.
At the time to which our history refers, Strass¬
burg was a French fortified town of the first rank,
situated in the valley of the Rhine and of the
111. Its extensive series of fortifications formed
roughly an isosceles triangle, having for its base
the southern front, which, at its eastern ex¬
tremity, close to the Rhine, was defended by a
pentagonal bastionned fort. The Germans made
their principal attack on the north-west. The two
fronts covered by the river 111 could be easily inun¬
dated, and the ditches were generally full of water.
The north front, like the two others, was composed
of a strong system of bastions, with lunettes and
fortified works, communicating with the interior
by a double line of casemates. Both extremities
were defended, the northern by Fort des Pierres,
and the southern by Fort Blanche. A military
road ran at the foot of the ramparts.
The founder of the fortress, Daniel Speckel,
Speckle, or Specklin, was born at Strassburg in
1536, and was at first a mould cutter and silk
embroiderer, but subsequently took to the study
of architecture. After travelling extensively in
the north of Europe he settled at Vienna in 1561,
and entered the service of the imperial architect,
Solizar. In 1576 he formed an engagement with
Duke Albert of Bavaria, and erected several build¬
ings at Ingolstadt; but in 1577 he was called to
his native town, and commissioned to construct
the fortifications, a wooden model of which, pre¬
viously made by him, was placed in the town
library. In 1589 he completed the task, and died
in the same year. Vauban built the citadel, and
subsequently outworks were added.
Strassburg was never taken by force until the
late war in 1870. When in 1681 it surrendered
to the French, it had disarmed itself by the dis¬
missal of the regular Swiss militia ; and on the
30th September in that year it was surprised by a
French force, drawn together under the pretext
of manoeuvring in the neighbourhood. On the
28th of September, 1870, it fell, after a long and
laborious siege, into the hands of a combined Prus¬
sian and Baden corps. Louis XIV. took it just as
he had Nancy a few years before, in the midst of
peace, and without even giving himself the trouble
of declaring war, or assigning a reason for his
rapacity. He knew that the German empire, torn
VOL. IX.
to pieces by a religious feud, was not in a position
to avenge the injury which the Grand Monarque
therefore thought himself justified in committing.
In vain the captured city sent envoys and special
messengers to the emperor and Imperial Parlia¬
ment, soliciting assistance in ridding it of those
whom it then considered foreigners and enemies.
Domestic quarrels were then rife in Germany, and
combined action hopeless.
As often as France has aimed at dominion on
the Rhine (1688-97, 1703, 1733, 1796, &c.), the
outlet for attack on Germany was strengthened
by the fortification of Kehl, immediately opposite
Strassburg. Kehl, indeed, sustained a two months'
siege by the Austrians in the winter of 1796—97.
The Rhine fortress, scarcely accessible in conse¬
quence of its being surrounded by water, was first
invested by the Russians and Badeners on the
7th of January, 1814. It was cannonaded, but
without success, on the 14th of February. On
the 13th of April the entry of the allies into Paris
and the deposition of Napoleon was first known
in Strassburg ; on the 14th the white flag of the
Bourbons was hoisted, on the 16th there was an
armistice, on the 2nd of May Kehl was razed, and
on the 5 th the blockade of Strassburg was raised,
the besieging army settling itself in the neighbour¬
hood. On Napoleon's return from Elba, in 1815,
the garrison and citizens of Strassburg were among
his first supporters. In the end of June, and of
course subsequently to the second deposition of
the emperor (June 22), the French army, under
General Rapp, after several engagements, was shut
up in Strassburg by the Crown Prince of Wiirt-
emburg. On the 4th of July the Wiirtemburgers
were replaced by Austrians and Badeners. A sortie
by General Rapp on the 9th of July, against Haus-
bergen, caused the loss of many men on both sides.
This was the last deed of arms. On the 22nd of
July an armistice was concluded, and on the 30th
the Bourbon dynasty was recognized by the garri¬
son, which was disarmed and dismissed on the
6th of September, and on the 15th the blockade
was raised.
The resolute resistance of Strassburg in the
siege of 1870, the heroism of its governor, General
Uhrich, the intrepidity of its garrison, the patriotic
devotedness of its inhabitants amidst a bombard¬
ment of unprecedented severity, during a contest
which began on the 17th of August and ended
on the 28th of September, have secured for the
H
58
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
unfortunate city an undying record in military
annals. General Ullrich, the gallant veteran whose
name is associated with the heroic defence, had
been long known in the French army as a brave
and skilful officer. A true son of Alsace, born at
Phalsburg in 1802, at eighteen years of age he left
the military school of St. Cyr to join the third light
infantry as sous-lieutenant. Captain in 1834, and
colonel of his old regiment in 1848, Jean Jacques
Alexis Uhrich was made general of brigade in
1852, and in the second year of the Crimean war
became general of division. In the Italian cam¬
paign he was attached to the fifth army corps, and
in 1862 received the grand cross of the legion of
honour, having been made commander in 1857.
For some time after he was in charge of one of
the territorial sub-divisions of the army of Nancy.
In 1867 he retired from active service, but on the
outbreak of the war with Germany he asked and
obtained the command of Strassburg. His firm¬
ness in the panic which followed the rout at
Woerth, and during the terrible bombardment of
the city, won praise even from his enemies.
Strassburg had been chosen as headquarters of
the first corps d'armée of Marshal MacMahon ; but
on the 2nd of August he quitted the place with
his divisions, leaving a garrison composed of the
eighty-seventh regiment of the line, of the dépôts
of the eighteenth and ninety-sixth regiments, and
of the tenth and sixteenth battalion of chasseurs.
On August 5 the town was plunged into deep
consternation, the news of the battle and defeat at
Wissembourg having arrived in the middle of the
night. By the next day, however, the bustle and
excitement had nearly died away ; and notwith¬
standing the appalling tidings, crowds of officers
sat outside the cafés as usual, lounging, smoking,
and chaffing, all wearing a pacific and unexpectant
air, truly disheartening to anxious citizens, who
considered that but twenty-four hours before their
brethren in arms had suffered a bloody check not
easily forgotten. A sound of distant cannonading
was heard throughout the day; and while rumours
that another battle of greater importance still was
then raging, waggons full of wounded drove at a
slow pace through the streets.
At nightfall on Sunday, the 7th, the first
fugitive from the fatal field of Woerth entered the
city. All the inhabitants had turned into the
streets, and the tumult was beyond description.
Bells began to toll from every steeple, and from one
end of the town to the other rang the fearful cry,
" MacMahon is defeated ; our army is put to
flight!" Soon there set in a stream of soldiers
with bare heads, covered with blood and dirt,
wearied with a protracted struggle, famished with
hunger, dying of thirst, beaten, and humbled. At
"seven o'clock a panic seized upon all citizens, for
the news spread like wildfire that the enemy was
fast approaching the town. There was a rush to
the arsenal for arms. The drawbridges were pulled
up, and for the first time the inhabitants passed
the night expecting to hear the thunder of cannons,
for it was generally supposed that the siege of
Strassburg would be the immediate consequence
of the disaster of Woerth.
In this grave crisis, General Uhrich immediately
assembled a council of war to consider the resources
of the city, and the best course to be adopted.
Admiral Bxcelmans had arrived with a detach¬
ment of sailors and marines to serve a flotilla of
gun-boats, which were never forthcoming, and he
now undertook to remain and assist in the defence.
The director of the custom-house formed with his
men a battalion of500 douaniers, and two regiments,
one of cavalry and one of infantry, were formed
out of the unpromising material which, flying from
Wissembourg and Woerth, had taken refuge behind
the Strassburg outposts. The garrison was thus
found to consist of 7000 infantry, including
sailors and douaniers, 600 cavalry, 1600 artillery,
a.battalion of mobiles, and 3000 national guards,
forming altogether an effective force of 15,000
men. The barracks, fitted up with beds, could
accommodate 10,000 men. The supplies consisted
of bread for 180 days, and provisions for 60 days ;
but the quantity of live stock was limited. The
council of war unanimously decided on resisting,
and that the garrison should be divided into three
bodies, one-third for the service of the ramparts,
another third for marching, and the last for reserve.
It was also decided to put the supplies in cellars
for security against the bombardment, to turn out
of the town all persons of loose character, and to
urge the aged, the women, and the children, to
leave at once. The following day the council,
under the presidency of General Uhrich, held
several meetings, at which measures were taken
for the defence of the city and resolutions formed
to resist to the utmost extremity.
On the 9th of August an envoy, bearing a flag
of truce, approached the fortifications, and on behalf
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
59
of the general commanding the enemy made the
usual summons to surrender. From the Saverne
gate, by which the envoy entered, to headquarters,
he was accompanied by the townspeople, who cried
in German, so that he might understand, " We
will not surrender." When he had delivered his
message to General Uhrich, the latter, by way of
reply, opened the window and showed him the
people, who cried out, "Down with Prussia ! Long
live France ! No surrender ! " Next morning the
following proclamation was issued to the inhabit¬
ants of Strassburg :—
" Unfounded rumours and panics have been spread
within the last days in our brave city ; some indi¬
viduals have dared to assert that the place would
surrender without defending itself. We ener¬
getically protest, in the name of the courageous
population, against that cowardly and criminal
weakness. The ramparts are armed with 400 can¬
nons, the garrison composed of 11,000 men and
of the national guard. If Strassburg is attacked,
Strassburg will be defended so long as a soldier,
a biscuit, or a cartridge is left. The brave can
be tranquillized, the others may leave.
"GENERAL UHRICH."
" 10th August, 1870."
Marshal MacMahon's corps d'armée had retreated
on Saverne, Luneville, and Chalons. The invest¬
ment of Strassburg was likely to follow the defeat
of the first corps. For the purpose, therefore, of
watching the movements of the enemy, the march
of its columns and of its convoys, General Uhrich's
first care was to establish an observatory, which was
formed by the erection of a platform on the highest
tower, not the spire, of the cathedral. From this
observatory strong German columns, composed of
men of all arms, were signalled on the 11th of
August at 4 p.m., advancing from Schiltigheim on
the Lauterbourg road. They took up their posi¬
tions on the north, a few miles from the advanced
works, in the villages of Koenigshoffen, Oberhaus-
bergen,Mittelhausbergen, and Schiltigheim, forming
a circle of three miles. General Uhrich at once sent
a strong force to occupy the outer works, and,
in anticipation of the bombardment, he next day
issued a proclamation calling in all remaining pro¬
visions, fuel, &c., ordering the closing of the gas¬
works, and cautioning the inhabitants to be prepared
with baths of water on every floor, wet cloths,
earth, and dry sand, to quench the first outbreaks
of fire.
On the 14th of August, Lieutenant-general von
Werder assumed the command of the besieging
force, which consisted of the Baden division, the
Prussian first reserve division, the Prussian land-
welir guards division, and a detachment of artillery
and technical troops, numbering in all about 60,000
men. Lieutenant-general von Decker and Major-
general von Mertens were appointed commanders,
respectively, of the artillery and the engineers.
After the arrival of the two Prussian divisions the
fortress was closely surrounded ; General Werder's
headquarters being established at the village of
Lampertheim, some five or six miles north of the
defences of Strassburg, and to the left of the railway
leading thence to Werdenheim, from which it
branched to Haguenau and Saverne. The left of
the army of the besiegers rested on the 111, and was
thus protected from flank attack, while between the
111 and the Rhine were marshes unfavourable for
the movements of troops. At the same time the
headquarters were concealed from the fire of the
place by the heights of Oberhausbergen. Hence
the German lines encircled Strassburg till they met
the river 111 again south of that town, near Illkirch,
close to the famous Canal Monsieur, which connects
the 111 with the Rhone.
For general defence, the perimeter of the town
was divided by Governor Uhrich into four districts,
under the command of General Moseno, Admiral
Excelmans, and two colonels. The provisional
regiments were sent to occupy the fortifications ; the
mobiles were designed to help in the operations.
The ambulances, under Intendants Brisac and Milon
of the Intendance, were immediately organized,
and the students aided the direction of the medical
service. On the 12th, the Prussians from their
positions at the north-west, in the rear of the
villages, commenced hostilities by sending a few
shells against the fortifications, which were
answered by the garrison ; and on the following
day, to ascertain the real strength of the besiegers,
General Uhrich ordered a reconnoitering sortie by
two squadrons of cavalry and two companies of
infantry, who advanced on the villages of Neuhaff
and Altkirch, captured 100 oxen and some supplies,
and returned without meeting with any serious
encounter.
On the night from the 13th to the 14th the
cannonade and discharge of musketry gave the
GO
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
inhabitants a foreshadowing of the evils which were
about to befall their unfortunate city. At daylight
the placing of a Prussian battery and of three
howitzers between the lines of railway to Saverne
and Bale was signalled from the observatory. The
firing of the besiegers became stronger, and from
the range of their large guns, and the skilful aiming
of their artillerymen, its effects were at once felt,
while the shot from the forts scarcely reached them.
In the afternoon of the 14th General Uhrich sent
Moritz, the colonel of engineers, on a second recon-
noitering excursion on the left bank of the 111. With
900 men of the line, fifty of cavalry, and two field-
guns, he attacked the besiegers, and after a sharp
engagement retreated on the town. The same day
General Barrai, who, as the chief of artillery, aided
so materially in the defence of Strassburg, succeeded
in finding his way into it under the disguise of a
workman.
The 15 th of August was thq fête of the emperor,
and a Te Deum was sung in the cathedral. On the
same day the Prussians brought their guns to bear
upon the second district ofdefence, approached nearer
the town, and increased the rapidity of their fire.
The immense superiority of their artillery to that
of the French was now apparent, and led the gar¬
rison and the inhabitants to augur the worst. During
the night several of the inhabitants were killed, and
the city was fired in several places. The following
day brought fresh misfortunes.
General Uhrich, wishing to test the enemy's
designs and to prevent the construction of new
batteries, ordered another reconnaissance to be made
by two battalions, two squadrons, and a battery of
artillery. The column advanced to the north-west,
and an important engagement took place in which
the French were repulsed, leaving in the hands of
the Prussians three guns and numerous prisoners
and wounded.
On the 17th, from the cathedral tower masses of
German troops were seen advancing in the direction
of Wolfisheim, about three miles from the fortified
works of Strassburg. The 87th regiment of the
line was sent to reconnoitre, and to protect 400
workmen busy in cutting the trees and clearing the
ground near La Porte Blanche, in front of the second
district of defence. The soldiers, under the com¬
mand of their colonel, advanced to the village of
Schiltigheim, which they found barricaded and
well defended ; and after a vain attempt to dislodge
its occupants, they were compelled to retreat, hav¬
ing sustained considerable loss. The fire of the
besiegers continued on the 18th, and on the 19th
the bombardment with the heavy guns began in
right earnest.
Hitherto the firing upon the town had been the
result rather of accident than of deliberate intention
on the part of the Germans. Notwithstanding the
strength of Strassburg, its system of defence was
old-fashioned. There were no detached forts, and
the ramparts inclosed the inhabited parts of the
town within so narrow a circle, that many of the
houses necessarily suffered when the works were
attacked. The garrison being comparatively weak,
and the inhabitants very numerous, the German
commander assumed that menacing the town would
certainly induce them to supplicate the French
general to surrender. General Werder, first of all,
offered to allow a number of the women, children,
and infirm to leave the city ; but Uhrich declined,
ostensibly on the ground that it would be difficult
to choose from a population of 80,000. On the
21st of August, therefore, the bombardment was
opened upon the town, after due warning had been
given to the commandant, who does not appear to
have communicated it to the citizens, probably fear¬
ing its effect upon the more timid part of the popu¬
lation. For six days were the inhabitants exposed
to the pitiless fiery storm. Notwithstanding every
precaution, the destruction of life and property was
enormous, the proportion of civilians killed and
wounded, of course, far exceeding that of the mili¬
tary. Uhrich, stern and unbending as he appeared,
was compelled on the 24th to ask a favour of his
enemy. He sent out a parlementaire with the
request that General Werder would spare lint and
bandages for six hundred wounded citizens of
Strassburg, now lying in agony within the town,
their injuries having been mostly sustained in the
streets during the last three days' bombardment.
The general at once sent in an ample store of both,
and it was noticed that the fierceness of the be¬
sieger's fire visibly slackened from this time.
To lessen the damage caused by falling shells
within the city, the squares and places were covered
deeply with loose earth ; and the inhabitants, having
closed up their windows with mattresses, retired to
what often proved to be a vain security in the
cellars; for frequently would a falling shell pierce
through roof and floors, and burst in the crowded
basement, killing or wounding the whole of its
occupants. On the 25th of August a shell
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
61
from one of the giant mortars penetrated a house
of six stories, and exploding in the cellar, killed
sixteen persons. The bombardment, however, so
far from scaring the citizens into a craven submis¬
sion, roused a spirit of indignation, and a stronger
determination than ever to support General Uhrich
in resistance.
On the 26th, at four a.m., the firing was suspended
till noon at the intercession of the aged and ven¬
erable bishop of Strassburg, who came over to
the Prussian outposts, and asked for an interview
with the general commanding-in-chief (Werder),
stating that it was his earnest desire to in¬
tercede with his excellency on behalf of the
minster in particular and the non-military part of
the town in general. The bishop's request was
communicated in due course to the general, who,
however, declined to receive him, but informed
him, through an aide-de-camp, that every possible
precaution would be taken by the German army to
avoid injuring the cathedral, and that no more
harm than could be helped would be done to the
town. His lordship was escorted back to the gate
of the city, and at the same time a parlementaire
was sent in to General Uhrich, conveying to that
officer a full and detailed account of the reverses
sustained by the French army before Metz, and
urging upon him the surrender of the fortress upon
the ground that further resistance would only be
spilling blood to no purpose, the defence of Strass¬
burg against the foes gathered round it being
absolutely hopeless. To this communication the
general only condescended to return the verbal
message that " he meant to hold Strassburg as
long as he had a man under his orders;" and the
French fire was at once resumed by way of post-
dictum. The bombardment was resumed at the
expiry of the respite, and continued till the 27th,
when the German commander, abandoning the
hope of intimidating the city into surrender, gave
orders to discontinue firing upon it, and com¬
menced a regular siege. A vast quantity of addi¬
tional artillery had in the meantime arrived, and
on the 29th of August numerous siege batteries
were commenced to enfilade and batter the guns
of the place. In the following night the first
parallel was opened against the north-western front
of the fortress, at a distance of from 600 to 800
paces from the walls. In the night of the 31st the
approaches to the second parallel were dug, and in
the ensuing night the second parallel itself, distant
300 paces from the fortress. To accomplish this a
detachment was called out from the Rupprechtsan,
and led by roundabout ways in a zig-zag direction,
so as to disguise the design, up to a field behind
Reichstett, where they halted to await sunset and
the arrival of the engineers. When it became
dark they started again. Without speaking a word,
they marched along the road through the three
neighbouring villages of Hohenheim, Bischheim,
and Schiltigheim. Armed with hatchets and
spades, the iron turned upwards to avoid noise,
they proceeded through the streets between the
shut-up houses, over the doors of which small lan¬
terns were glimmering. At last the spot was
reached. Posted at arm's length from each other,
the men began to dig, eagerly, noiselessly, inde-
fatigably. A trench three feet broad and three deep
was the task for each. The night was dark. The
fortress was 300 steps before them, but they saw
nothing either of it or of the battalions placed in
front to protect them. Close behind a battery
launched shells ceaselessly into the city. The
loud yelling of dogs, disturbed by the proximity
of the enemy, resounded from Schiltigheim. The
work lasted almost the whole night. The men
were wetted and chilled by the falling dew, and
they had not a morsel of bread. Hunger and thirst
spoiled their tempers. At last the task was done,
and cheered by their success they retired at break
of day to their quarters, to occupy immediately the
small island of Watte.
One great mystery of the siege, to most of the
scientific officers belonging to the German army,
was the character of the French defence, so far as
concerned the construction of the parallels and
their communications by the besieging forces.
From the night when these first broke ground, till
the completion of the fourth parallel, the pioneers
were scarcely ever molested in their task from the
walls or outworks ; but as soon as their work was
finished, and they were well sheltered by six or
seven feet of earth, a feu d'enfer was invariably
opened upon the newly completed trench and the
villages behind the approaches, which did very
little damage to the parallels, and inflicted only
slight loss on their occupants, but destroyed a vast
amount of property owned by French subjects.
The amount of work done in the construction of
the parallels may be judged by the fact that the
trenches before Strassburg were eight feet deep, and
wide enough for three or four men abreast. Part
62
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
of the second parallel was driven through the
churchyard of Ste. Hélène, between Koenigshoffen
and Schiltigheim, and skeletons and partly decayed
corpses were turned up, to the great discomposure
of the soldiers. The ground before the city was
clay, and difficult to work either in dry or wet
weather. In addition to the parallels, batteries
were built, and in their neighbourhood powder
magazines arranged, which had to be protected
against even shells dropping from the heights.
These batteries evinced the singular perfection to
which the Germans had brought all the details of
their organization. Not only were they so arranged
as to inflict the greatest damage on the enemy
with the least possible danger to themselves, but
also to insure a degree of comfort which could
have been little expected under the circumstances.
Good solid platforms were erected for the guns,
and wooden traverses between each gun gave
house accommodation to both officers and men.
Garden seats beside the guns for the men to sit
upon, and small gardens at the end of each tra¬
verse, with flowers and a border of cannon-balls,
presented something of the aspect of a summer
residence, in spite of the grim realities of war.
British officers who remembered the trenches
before Sebastopol would have been surprised to
find in the same kind of works before Strassburg,
roomy apartments, tables with cloth covers, arm
chairs, books, maps, walnuts, and an ample supply
of beer at command. Each battery was furnished
with a large plan of the city and fortifications,
upon which was indicated the points specially to
be operated upon; and as an instance of care and
accuracy it may be stated, that when a fire was
directed to be opened on particular public build¬
ings, although these were not to be seen, so correct
were the information and aim, as was afterwards
ascertained, the doomed structures were destroyed
without the least injury to buildings immediately
adjoining. Life in these trench batteries, however,
was frequently anything but safe or agreeable.
Sorties from the garrison, and the mud produced
by sixty hours of almost continuous rainfall, ren¬
dered the trenches so unpleasant that the men
would have preferred the risk of half a dozen
battles in the open to their twenty-four hours turn
of duty under ground. Besides this, the latter
parallels approached so near the city walls that the
splinters caused by the German guns sometimes
wounded their own artillerymen.
The most important sortie during the siege was
made on the 2nd of September, when both wings
of the German army were attacked at the same
time. Owing to the incompleteness of the paral¬
lels, which did not as yet form continuous lines, or
rather curves, surrounding the fortifications, but
were dug at considerable intervals, and not uni¬
formly in connection with one another, the French
contrived, in the darkness of a cloudy and stormy
night, to get between the first and second parallels,
and succeeded in surprising a battery established
near the extramural railway goods station. This
battery, and the trench containing its infantry sup¬
ports, were, for a few minutes after they became
aware of their assailants' proximity, restrained from
firing upon the latter by the impression that they
were some of their own people—German soldiers
retiring from the second parallel before a superior
force of the enemy. This misapprehension was
soon dispelled by the French attack, made with
great resolution and fierceness ; but the conse¬
quence of the untoward hesitation caused by the
natural desire of the Prussians to avoid injuring
their friends was an unusually heavy loss in killed
and wounded. The men behaved with admirable
steadiness, recovering themselves from their sur¬
prise almost immediately, and delivering so deadly
a fire upon the Frenchmen that, after a desperate
attempt to disable some of the guns in the battery
known as No. 3, the latter fell back in disorder,
and despite the exhortations of their officers, fled
to the glacis, pursued by the Prussian soldiers,
leaving between sixty and seventy of their number
dead between the parallels. Their retreat, as usual,
was covered by a furious cannonade from the walls,
which was distinctly heard at Rastatt. Nothing
was gained by the sortie, beyond ascertaining the
position of the beleaguering forces, for which a
heavy price in killed and wounded was paid. The
attack was repulsed by the thirtieth Prussian in¬
fantry, and the second Baden grenadiers.
The spirits of the garrison had in the morning
of the same day been revived by a report which,
by some means, found its way into the city.
Instead of the news of the battle of Sedan, which
would have been received in the ordinary course,
the following despatch appeared:—" France saved !
Victory at Douancourt and at Raucourt. Great
victory at Toul: 49,000 killed, 35,000 wounded,
700 cannons taken from the Prussians. Stein-
metz's corps in full retreat, routed by Generals
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
63
Douay and De Failly. MacMahon at Châlons-
sur-Marne, with 400,000 men. Alsace saved in
two days. Mac Mali on to the minister of the In¬
terior. The French soldiers are making ramparts
of the Prussian dead. From a despatch given by
an emissary to Colonel Rollert."
The first intimation conveyed to the Strass-
burgers of the victory of Sedan was not under¬
stood. It came to them in the form of a salute
of twenty-one guns, concerning which the Cour¬
rier du Bas Rhin said, on the following day:—
" Yesterday the enemy's batteries threw, at re¬
gular intervals, twenty shells into the town " (the
reporter had miscounted—there were twenty-one).
" Our batteries made a vigorous reply, but after
the twentieth shell had been fired the Prussian
guns were silent."
During a two hours' truce, agreed to upon his
request for the burial of those who had fallen in
the sortie, the commandant of Strassburg was made
acquainted with the crowning disaster that had
befallen his imperial master. But he refused to
lend the slightest credence to the telegrams shown
him or the statements of the superior German
officers, saying that they were all Prussian lies,
made up to induce him to yield, and that he was
not to be deceived by such shallow contrivances.
A few days afterwards, however, the news of
Sedan was confirmed by the same newspaper
which had noticed the salute, the Courrier du
Bas Rhin, the only one which appeared regularly
throughout the siege.
The news of the revolution in Paris was first
brought to Strassburg on the 12th September by
the Swiss delegates. The Republic was proclaimed,
and a new mayor elected, who issued a procla¬
mation strongly condemnatory of the Bonaparte
family — "that disgraceful family which three
times in half a century has brought upon France
the horrors of an invasion."
The Republican government appointed M. Val¬
entin, who represented Strassburg in 1848, prefect
of the department of the Lower Rhine, and urged
him to obtain admission to Strassburg with the
least possible delay. He obeyed, and entered the
city by an indirect and difficult road. Disguised
as a peasant, and availing himself of his acquaint¬
ance with the German tongue, he made friends
with Prussian soldiers quartered in Bischeim.
From them he obtained full particulars regarding
the position and character of the works erected
between that village and the city. He remarked
that at one o'clock the fire of the besiegers was
weakest, and the vigilance of their sentries most
relaxed, as the soldiers then dined. Passing
through the Prussian lines, between one and two
o'clock on the 22nd of September, he arrived in
safety at the ditch, across which hé swam. The
French soldiers fired at him repeatedly, but their
bullets missed him. At last he reached a spot
near one of the gates, where he was sheltered from
the fire directed from the walls. Again and again
he begged the soldiers to take him prisoner, and
carry him before Governor Uhrich. Finally, they
consented. When brought before the governor,
he presented the official document containing his
appointment as prefect. Its validity was at once
recognized, and on the evening of the same day
he issued a proclamation formally announcing his
assumption of the post, and the establishment of
the Republic. He was, however, little more than
a week in office.
The Swiss delegates were the bearers not only
of good news, but also of kind propositions. Swit¬
zerland, mindful of its old relations with Strassburg,
made the generous offer to receive and provide
refuge for its unfortunate citizens, should General
von Werder permit them to emigrate en masse.
As many as 4000 applications were addressed to
General Uhrich for permission to quit. He sent
the full list of names, with a notification of the
age and condition of each applicant, to General
von Werder, who began by granting safe-conducts
to 400, either aged persons or who had been
burned out. The first departure of emigrants was
on the 17th of September, the second a few days
after, and the third was fixed for the 27th, the
very day on which the white flag was hoisted.
Altogether, 1400 men, women, and children left
Strassburg for Switzerland, who were hospitably
received.
From a strictly military point of view it might
be doubted whether General von Werder was jus¬
tified in thus authorizing so numerous an exodus
from the city. If he erred in exercising the vir¬
tue of mercy, however, it was on the right side.
The delegates from the cantons of Basle, Zurich,
and Berne took a practical and humane view of
the bombardment. It may or may not, they
thought, be justifiable in a military view to burn
private homes, throw shells into girls' schools, and
slaughter inoffensive men, women, and children
64
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
indiscriminately. Setting aside this question, and
without considering their own personal risk, the
Swiss only saw that there was suffering in Strass-
burg, such as, fortunately, had not been known
in Europe for half a century, and determined to
relieve it. They first applied to General von
Werder, with whose permission they sent in a
letter, under a flag of truce, to General Uhrich.
His answer was as follows:—"The work you
have undertaken, gentlemen, is so honourable
that it insures for you the eternal gratitude of
the whole population of this city, as well as of
its civil and military authorities. For my own
part, I cannot find words in which to express my
appreciation of your noble and generous initiative.
But I feel it my duty to tell you how much I am
touched by the step you have taken. A flag of
truce shall be sent to Eckbolsheim to-morrow
about eleven o'clock, and the bearer will have
orders to accompany you here."
When the first band of emigrants, 400 in
number, left, they were accompanied by General
Uhrich to some distance beyond the gates, the
bombardment being suspended for the time. At
the first line of German outposts there was a
barricade, which it was necessary to take down
to let the emigrants pass. Great hesitation was
shown by the officers and men in charge, which,
however, was ultimately overcome by General
Uhrich promising to allow two hours for recon¬
structing the barricade, during which the outpost
should not be interfered with. Further on the
delegates and their charges were met by Prussian
officers, who made a liberal distribution amongst
them of such small comforts and necessaries as
could be readily spared. The second convoy, a
few days later, was much larger, and still more
singular. Every description of vehicle was made
available for the transport of goods and human
beings, furniture, and families. Cabs, carts, hotel
and railway omnibuses, huge market waggons,
one-horse buggies, nondescript traps, seemingly
made up of coachbuilders' odds and ends, fol¬
lowed each other in slow and solemn procession,
laden with household stuff of the most incon¬
gruous description—mattresses and canary birds
in cages, kitchen utensils and bonnet boxes,
wardrobes and watering pots, all huddled to¬
gether, without order or coherence, as if their
owners had snatched them up just as they came
to hand, irrespective of their value or utility.
The number of men, women, and children in
this long train of a hundred and twenty vehicles
was over a thousand, one-third of whom con¬
sisted of well-to-do people, and the remainder
mostly of the lower middle class. The feelings
displayed by them were of a mixed kind—de¬
spondency on account of being driven into exile,
the heavy losses they had sustained by the siege,
and the reverses of French arms; joy at being so
fortunate as to get away from the doomed city,
and, in some cases, at the proclamation of a
republic; for the Alsatians were by no means
ardent imperialists. Amongst the carmen and
cabdrivers permitted to convey the fugitives out
of the town, and to return after performing that
duty, might have been detected some gentlemanly-
looking, intelligent faces, which unmistakably
belonged to French officers, travestied for the
nonce, who would doubtless have an interesting
tale to tell of the German positions and disposi¬
tions when they presented themselves to General
Uhrich a few hours later; though their reports
could do no great harm to their enemies, who
had Strassburg so tightly within their grasp, and
whose strength was so overwhelming, that they
could afford to tolerate and laugh at such small
espionage.
It is a curious fact, which tells its own tale,
that the avowedly vicious portion of the female
population begged for permission to leave Strass¬
burg under a flag of truce, the morning after the
first bombardment, whereas the nuns and sisters
of charity remained to the end. To the petition
addressed to General von Werder by the members
of the former class, his excellency replied that
they might go where they pleased, provided they
kept clear of his army, and did not attempt to
enter the Grand Duchy of Baden.
The exit of the inhabitants caused but a
momentary cessation of the bombardment. Day
and night, with relentless activity, deadly projectiles
from more than 240 heavy guns poured upon the
doomed fortress, whose reply daily became more
feeble. The guns were in reality insufficiently
manned, General Uhrich having principally to
depend upon some two or three hundred marine
artillerists, originally intended for Rhine gunboats.
Of these a large number were now killed or
wounded; and although many of the line and
mobile garde had been in some degree trained to
take their places, they were next to useless for the
ENTERED AT STATIONERS HALL.
trlLLUHl JMCatEWii, LONDON. EDiNBORflH * fikASGtW
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
65
professional operations of sighting, elevation, &c.,
so that in numerous instances one man had
practically to serve several guns. Owing to this
the French fire was sometimes suspended for
several hours, and then broke out in a spasm of
salvos, all along the line, which, after a few
minutes, was again followed by another long inter¬
val of silence. Fortunate indeed were those whom
German humanity permitted to fly from the pre¬
cincts of the miserable town. The prices of
provisions, notwithstanding the diminution in the
number of consumers, rose enormously, and hunger
was added to the horrors of the bombardment.
The soldiery, grown impatient of control, gave
themselves up to drunkenness and debauchery;
whilst, despite all the endeavours of the besiegers
to restrict their fire to the fortifications and purely
military establishments, the town was frequently
on fire in a dozen places at once, and burnt for
days and nights together.
Several monster mortars were established near
the fortress ; and the projectiles they threw, weigh¬
ing each two hundred pounds, caused fresh ruin
and devastation with every discharge. While the
German batteries were fast reducing the fortifica¬
tions to heaps of battered and shapeless rubbish,
riflemen were day and night firing at one another
with Chassepot and needle gun, at distances rang¬
ing between one and two hundred yards; the patter
and rattle of the musketry filling up the short
intervals between the roar and crash of the great
siege guns and mortars. The town was begirt
with a semicircle of white smoke which melted
into pale blue vapour as it rose from the trenches,
whilst over-head hung a cloud of brown, gloomy
fog, proceeding from the burning houses of its
faubourgs.
Amidst all the carnage and destruction the
Strassburgers bore themselves like men. Every
day the municipal council met, not to trouble
General Uhrich with their complaints, but to
consider of measures for the public safety. An
extra service of fire-engines was organized; a pro¬
ject for constructing bomb-proof places of shelter
was discussed; refuges were publicly notified for
those who had been burnt out of their houses,
some of whom slept in churches, close to the
entrance, where the architecture was most solid,
some behind parapets on the quays of the canals,
and some in the theatre, where nearly 200 poor
persons were lying the night it took fire, and was
VOL. II.
burned to the ground. Many of the leading
burghers helped to man the walls, to work the
guns, to repair the damages caused to the works,
and gave their money and their lives freely in a
hopeless cause. They also exerted their influence
over their poorer fellow citizens to prevent any
attempt at pressure upon the military governor in
favour of surrender. And throughout the German
army, from the general downwards, all justly
admired and honoured General Uhrich for the
brilliant and heroic defence which he made against
forces whom he knew to be overwhelming.
On September 21 and 22 the terrible grasp of the
enemy upon the fortress was further strengthened
by the capture of three of the lunettes, known as
Nos. 53, 52, and 51 respectively. The two lunettes
first taken were small detached works, lying several
hundred feet in advance of the main rampart, sur¬
rounded by wide inundations. After they had
been battered with the heaviest guns for a fort¬
night, mines were ultimately sunk under the water
up to these islet strongholds. Their explosion
destroyed a portion of the walls and laid them
open to attack from without. A way had to be
made across the water. In the case of one of the
lunettes, which was protected on one side by only
a broad ditch, a dyke was improvised of stones,
sandbags, fascines, &c. ; a work which, as the
French had evacuated the place beforehand, was
completed without much delay. Another lunette,
with a sheet of water in front 180 feet wide, and
a still larger one in its rear, gave more trouble.
Under cover of night a bridge was made of a string
of beer barrels, overlaid with boards, and placed
between what may be called the mainland and the
fortified isle. Though the French had been forced
to clear out of this lunette also, the greatest caution
was required in making this makeshift bridge, as
the slightest sound would have attracted the atten¬
tion of the sentinels on the main rampart in the
rear, and spread the alarm. But so well had
everything been prepared, and so noiselessly was
the work carried on, that not a shot was fired on
the French side until the first 100 men had got
over, and with spades and axes were making them¬
selves at home in the dilapidated shell of the
deserted work. The next 100 crossed under a rat¬
tling fire; and as the shot now began to pour into
the lunette, the greatest despatch had to be used in
throwing up the breastwork which eventually shel¬
tered the bold adventurers. Into the commanding
i
66
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
positions thus obtained the Germans quickly con¬
veyed artillery, which assisted materially in the
formation of two breaches, one of them sixty feet
wide, preparatory to the intended storming.
As General Uhrich yet showed no sign of
yielding, the German commander now contem¬
plated this final act of the fearful drama. It had
been hoped that so excellent an officer as the
governor of Strassburg had in everything proved
himself, would have made a virtue of necessity,
and by yielding up a charge he could no longer
keep, avoided the dreadful alternative of having
the fortress and town taken by storm. The time
had arrived when a successful assault was clearly
practicable, although it was calculated that the
passage of the water defences alone would cost the
Germans 2000 men; and wide as was the breach
which had been made, the steep slope down to
the water's edge, caused by the fallen débris, was
still formidable enough to startle the boldest forlorn
hope.
From the captured lunettes there ran a narrow
dam across the intermediate lake up to the bastions
of the main rampart. Along this dam, and up the
breach, was the only way open to the assaulting
party, with fire above and water below. It was,
however, with aversion and horror that the German
commanders contemplated the necessity of the
extreme measure, both on account of the tremen¬
dous loss of fife that would certainly ensue to their
own troops, should they be compelled to adopt it,
and on account of the additional misery to which
the inhabitants would be exposed during the state
of furious excitement invariably experienced by the
soldiery immediately after a successful assault.
The men who composed the army before Strass¬
burg were of an exceptionally humane temper as a
rule; the large majority of them belonged to land-
wehr regiments, every second man in which was
married and the father of a young family. Such
troops were less likely to commit excesses in a
conquered town than regular liners—mostly lads
from twenty to twenty-three years of age, inexpe¬
rienced in the cares of life and grave family
responsibilities. But even German troops and
landwehr, obedient as they were to their officers,
and superior in civilization to the soldiers of any
other army, might not easily be restrained from
excesses when their blood was fevered with the
fury of a successful but hardly-contested storm.
General Werder, however, determined, on the
breaches being effected, to force the capture
of the place. Accordingly, on the 27th Sep¬
tember, a demand for surrender was made,
with the alternative of an immediate assault.
The German soldiers looked forward to the
enterprise, although perilous, with anything but
feelings of aversion. Trench duty had become
tedious and harassing, and all were eager in the
expression of their hope that it might soon come
" zum Sturmen," and that they might be led out
against the fortress to take it by assault, instead
of being pent up in small country hamlets or kept
crouching night after night in damp trenches. A
soldier had written a new war song to the old
popular tune of" Ich hatte einen Camerad," to be
sung by the troops as they marched into Strass¬
burg, and the camp now frequently resounded
with the chorus, chanted by stalwart Baden
grenadiers. Possessing a special interest, from
its having been composed in the midst of this
memorable siege, we reproduce it here:—
SONG OF THE GERMAN SOLDIERS IN ALSACE.
In Alsace, over the Rhine,
There lives a brother of mine j
It grieves my soul to say
He hath forgot the day
We were one land and line.
Dear brother, torn apart,
t Is't true that changed thou art ?
The French have clapped on thee
Red breeches, as we see ;
Have they Frenchified thy heart ?
m
Hark! that's the Prussian drum,
And it tells the time has come.
We have made one " Germany,"
One " Deutschland," firm and free;
And our civil strifes are dumb.
Thee also, fighting sore,
Ankle-deep in German gore,
We have won. Ah, brother, dear!
Thou art German—dost thou hear ?
They shall never part us more.
Who made this song of mine ?
Two comrades by the Rhine;—
A Suabian man began it,
And a Pomeranian sang it,
In Alsace, on the Rhine.
Shortly after the siege began, General Uhrich
received a deputation from the council formed for
the defence of the city, between whom and the
governor opinions were freely and frankly in¬
terchanged. The result was a unanimous reso¬
lution by the council to strain every nerve to
prevent the city from falling into the hands of
the besiegers. General Uhrich, on his part,
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
67
pledged himself to avert from the city the hor¬
rors of an assault, but reserved to himself the
sole rigbt of determining when the critical
moment had arrived. Enough, he now felt, had
been done for honour; hunger would soon reduce
the city to the last extremity, even if spared
immediate capture by the Germans; the garrison
was fast becoming disorganized and mutinous ; the
threatened entrance of the Germans could not be
successfully opposed; and to avert the sacrifice of
many thousand lives which the assault would in¬
evitably cause, the governor determined to capi¬
tulate. At five o'clock the white flag waved from
the minster tower, and the air ceased to resound
with the fetal thunder of artillery. The capitula¬
tion was announced in the following proclamation :
" Inhabitants of Strassburg,—As I have to-day
perceived that the defence of the fortress of Strass¬
burg is no longer possible, and as the council of
defence unanimously shared my opinion, I have
been obliged to resort to the lamentable necessity
of entering into negotiations with the commander
of the besieging army. Y our manly attitude during
these long and painful trials has enabled me to defer
the fall of your town as much as possible ; the
honour of the citizens and of the soldiers is, thank
God, unimpaired. Thanks also are due to you, the
prefect of the Lower Rhine, and the municipal
authorities, who, by your activity and unanimity,
have given me such valuable co-operation, and have
known how to assist the unfortunate population and
maintain their dependence on our common father¬
land. Thanks to you, officers and soldiers ! To
you, too, especially, members of my council of
defence, who have always been so united, so ener¬
getic, so devoted to the great task which we had to
accomplish ; who have supported me in moments
of hesitation, the consequence of the heavy respon¬
sibility which rested upon me, and of the sight
of the public misfortunes which surrounded me.
Thanks to you, representatives of our marine
force, who have made your small numbers forgotten
by the force of your deeds. Thanks, finally,
to you, children of Alsace, to you, mobile na¬
tional guards, to you, francs-tireurs and volunteer
companies, to you, artillerymen of the national
guard, who have so nobly paid your tribute of blood
to the great cause which to-day is lost, and to you,
custom-house officers, who have also given proofs
of courage and devotion. I owe the same thanks
to the Intendance for the zeal with which they knew
how to satisfy the demands of a difficult position,
as well with regard to the supply of provisions as
to hospital service. How can I find language to
express my sense of the services of the civil and
military surgeons who have devoted themselves to
the care of our wounded and sick, and of those
noble young men of the medical school who have
undertaken with so much enthusiasm the dangerous
posts of the ambulances in the outworks and at the
gates ? How can I sufficiently thank the benevo¬
lent persons, the ecclesiastical and public authorities,
who have opened their houses to the wounded, have
shown them such attentions, and have rescued
many from death ? To my last day I shall retain
the recollection of the two last months, and the
feeling of gratitude and admiration which you have
excited in me will only be extinguished with my
life. Do you on your part remember without bit¬
terness your old general, who would have thought
himself happy could he have spared you the suffer¬
ings and dangers which have befallen you, but who
was forced to close his heart to his feelings, for the
sake of the duty he owed to that country which is
mourning its children. Let us, if we can, close our
eyes to the sorrowful and painful interest, and turn
our looks to the future ; there we still find the
solace of the unfortunate—hope. Long live F ranee
for ever.—Given at headquarters, 27th of Septem¬
ber, 1870. The divisional general, Commandant of
the sixth military division, t( qjjjpjcjj »
The mayor's proclamation, issued on the following
day, stated that the surrender was inevitable, on
account of two breaches and a threatened storm,
which would involve frightful loss. The general,
he said, would save Strassburg from the payment
of a war ransom, and would insure it mild treat¬
ment. He exhorted, the people to abstain from any
hostile demonstration towards the enemy, as the
least act of hostility would entail severe reprisals on
the entire population. The laws of war decreed
that any house from which a shot was fired should
be demolished and its inhabitants shot down. " Let
everybody," said the mayor, " remember this, and
if there are people among you who could forget
what they owe to their fellow-citizens by thinking
of useless attempts at resistance, prevent them from
so doing. The hour for resistance is past. Let us
accept the unavoidable."
Immediately after the hanging out of the white
08
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
flag firing ceased on both sides. Not a single gun
was discharged from the walls or the trenches after
half-past five o'clock. About eleven Lieutenant-
colonel von Lesczynski and Captain Count Leo
Donnersmarck rode out through Koenigshoffen,and
asked of the French sentinels to see the general
commanding the fortress. Their request was sent
into the town ; and, after waiting an hour sitting
on the stumps of felled trees, close by the Porte
Nationale, a field-officer came to them, saying that
the general was " gone out," that he lodged at a
great distance, and that the officer did not know
where to find him. With considerable coolness
under the circumstances he then inquired—"What
did ces messieurs want?" Ces messieurs explained
that they desired to know what was meant by the
exhibition of the white flag, and to see the general,
or some person duly authorized by him to commu¬
nicate with them. The officer returned into the
fortress, and the German plenipotentiaries went to
Koenigshoffen, where they set about preparing a place
to receive the expected Frenchmen. They fixed
upon a small tent on the railway, hard by a detached
first-class carriage which had for some weeks served
as a resting-place for the officers belonging to cover¬
ing parties stationed round a 24-pound battery.
Over the table which had been brought into this tent
was hung a portrait of MacMahon, in compliment
to French military gallantry. Outside was stationed
half a company of Prussian infantry and a few
drummers. These preparations completed, the
German plenipotentiaries waited the coming of the
French delegates ; but it was not till past one o'clock
that the approach of the second commandant and
the artillery director of the fortress was signified to
Colonel von Lesczynski. The drums were imme¬
diately beaten, and the half company paraded before
the tent. The delegates appeared much gratified
at being received with military honours, and pro¬
ceeded at once to fulfil their mission by making an
unconditional surrender of the fortress. The treaty
of capitulation, framed on the basis or model of that
of Sedan, was drawn up, read, and finally signed at
half-past two in the morning. The four commission¬
ers took leave of one another with great courtesy,
and Strassburg ceased to be a French fortress.
At eight o'clock the French guards were relieved
by Germans, who took possession of the gates and
all other important posts. The garrison surren¬
dered at eleven o'clock. The German army was
paraded on an open ground, abutting on the glacis
between the Portes Nationale and De Saverne,
General Werder at its head, surrounded by a
brilliant staff in full uniform (de gala). As the
clock struck eleven, General Ullrich, followed by
his staff, emerged from the former gate, and ad¬
vanced towards the German commander, who,
alighting from his horse, and holding out his
hand, stepped forward to meet him. Next came
Admiral Bxcelmans, Brigadier-general de Barrai,
and the other superior officers; then the regulars,
marines, douaniers, and mobiles, numbering in all
15,347 men and 451 officers, with flags flying
and arms shouldered. With the exception of the
marines and douaniers, who made an excellent
appearance, the troops behaved disgracefully, con¬
travening the terms of the capitulation in a way
that too plainly showed the state of utter insub¬
ordination into which they had fallen. At least
two-thirds of the men were drunk; hundreds, as
they stumbled through the ruined gateway, dashed
their rifles to pieces against the walls or the paving
stones, and flung their sword-bayonets into the
moat ; from one battalion alone came cheers of
" Yive la Republique ! " " Vive la Prusse !" " Vive
l'Empereur!" The officers made no attempt to
keep the men in order, or prevent them from
destroying the arms which the signers of the
capitulation had engaged to deliver up to the
victors. Many of the men even danced to the
music of the Prussian and Baden bands; some
rolled about on the grass, uttering inarticulate
cries; others made ludicrous attempts to embrace
the grave German legionaries, who repulsed them
in disgust at their unworthy bearing. The whole
scene was calculated to bring the French army
into contempt, and to extinguish the small rem¬
nants of respect for les militaires français that still
survived in the breasts of a few of the foreign
bystanders. In the course of the afternoon the
whole were sent off under an escort, as prisoners
of war, to the fortress of Rastatt, in Baden, the
officers having the option of liberty on parole.
After the surrender the Germans entered, about
3000 strong, with banners flying, drums beating,
and bands playing the " Watch on the Rhine."
Although it was half-past eleven, and the inhabit¬
ants must have heard of the capitulation some
hours previously, there were few people in the
streets to witness the martial procession. It
seemed as if they felt uncertain whether the bom¬
bardment they had endured so long might not
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAE,
69
begin again, or as if tliey preferred looking at their
conquerors from the windows before trusting them¬
selves to a nearer acquaintance. They had been
living for six weeks in cellars and other under¬
ground localities, and could not at once realize that
their dreaded enemies might now be safely met.
By degrees they emerged from their retreats. The
manure and mattresses with which the cellar
windows had been protected against bullets were
removed; the doors of the subterranean abodes
were thrown open to admit light and air, and one
by one, pale men and women, sickly by confine¬
ment, crept up into the sunshine they had missed
for weeks; children, timid and emaciated, slowly
came -out into the open air, to be rewarded for
their temerity by the sight of fresh uniforms and
the sound of military music. Many afflicted
parents went to the spot in the courtyard, where,
in default of a more sacred resting-place, one of
their beloved ones had been laid during the siege;
the way to the cemetery, which was at some dis¬
tance, having been too dangerous to admit of
burial there. Having ventured so far, people,
or, at any rate, as many as had their houses left
standing, went up stairs to enjoy the long missed
luxury of a room, and the everyday comforts it
brings with it. At last, after the Germans had
been in the town for hours, people came abroad to
acquaint themselves with the new order of things,
and to visit the relations and friends from whom
they had been separated while cannon balls were
flying about. What joyful embracing when those
they sought were found alive ! What pangs when
they were found to have died a premature and
violent death !
With one exception the inhabitants treated their
conquerors with great consideration. On the even¬
ing of the 28th a Baden soldier was shot in a
by-street near the cathedral, and another wounded.
The assassin fled, but was captured by several
citizens, and immediately shot by the German
soldiers. As soon as General Werder heard the
tidings, he ordered the city to pay a heavy contri¬
bution, and threatened to humiliate the inhabitants
by making a triumphal entry into the town with
his whole army. But being ultimately convinced
that the act was entirely attributable to isolated
ruffians, he cancelled the orders, and relieved the
city from the onerous contribution of four millions
of francs. The next day the Prussian commandant
issued the following notice:—
" The state of siege still continues. Crimes and
offences will be punished by martial law. All
weapons are immediately to be given up. All
newspapers and publications are forbidden till
further orders. Public houses to be closed at
9 p.m. ; after that hour every civilian must carry a
lantern. The municipal authorities have to pro¬
vide quarters, without food, for all good men.
» MERTENS."
No salute was fired when Strassburg fell. The
28th and 29th of September passed without any
signs of rejoicing; and it was not till the 30th—
the same day on which, 189 years before, Louis
XIV. by fraud and treachery became master of
the town—that the joy of the Germans at regain¬
ing possession of a place which they looked upon
as their indisputable property, was expressed in
the form of thanksgiving; a Protestant service
being performed on one side of the Orangerie
Gardens, a Catholic service on the other. The
officiating pastor in the Prussian religious camp
was the chaplain of the 34th regiment. The
troops were formed into a hollow square, in the
middle of which stood a group of officers. The
chaplain took his place on one side of the square,
beside an improvised altar composed of drums
built up against a tree, and nothing could be more
simple or impressive than the whole service. He
took for his text the opening verses of the 105 th
Psalm, and gave thanks to God for the recovery of
Strassburg from the hands of the foreigner and its
restoration to the German race, from whom, for
nearly two centuries, it had been unjustly kept.
The 30th of September, instead of being associated
with the loss of Strassburg, would now, he said,
be regarded as the happiest day in its history, the
second birthday of the ancient German city.
After the services in the Orangerie a thanks¬
giving was celebrated in the Protestant church of
St. Thomas, at which General von Werder and his
staff were present. The general was received at
the door by the clergy. The principal pastor
delivered an address, in which he assured General
von Werder that the " immense majority" of the
population of Strassburg were German in feeling.
There is no doubt that the Protestants of the city
were well disposed towards Germany, and this,
perhaps, the speaker chiefly meant. It is possible
that General Werder, remembering the desperate
70
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
resistance of the Strassburgers, and the 150 lb.
shells which he had lately been throwing into their
houses, may have doubted the accuracy of the
statement that the " immense majority " were glad
to see him. Be that as it may, he kept his eyes
fiimly fixed on those of the much-protesting pastor,
held him all the time, as if affectionately, by the
hand, and having heard him to the close, without
altering his gaze or relaxing his grasp, replied.
His answer, simple enough in itself, was delivered
very impressively, and had a great effect on all who
heard it. Still standing on the threshhold, he
said :—" I am obliged to you for the manner in
which you receive me. One thing ought to re¬
assure you—my first visit in Strassburg is to the
church. I am pained at the manner in which I
have been forced to enter this German city; and,
believe me, I shall do mv utmost to heal its wounds.
' •!
From my soldiers you have nothing whatever to
fear. Their order and discipline are perfect; but
do not forget that the same order will be expected
and required on the part of the civil population.
Once more I thank you for your expressions of
good-will."
The service then began. The body of the church
was full of troops, the general and his staff occu¬
pying seats in front of the pulpit. The sermon
was preached by Emil Frommel, royal garrison
chaplain of Berlin, and field-division chaplain of
the guard landwehr division. The discourse was
founded on 1 Samuel vii. 12, and was a fair sample
of the military field preaching in the German
armies. Pitched in the key of exultation which
at the time found an echo in all German hearts and
households, it had the ring of the song of Deborah
and of Barak, or of those drumhead discourses to
which Cromwell's grim Ironsides listened after
Marston Moor and Dunbar.
The redoubts and other fortifications constructed
by the besieged, as they appeared on the day after
the surrender of Strassburg, betrayed the tremen¬
dous effects of the German artillery fire. The
parapets and epaulements were knocked into
hopeless masses of loose earth. Most of the
embrasures had been closed with sand-bags ; and
the earthen tops of the stone-built magazines, in
some cases forming the epaulements, had sand¬
bags added to preserve them, and to aid their
power of arresting the flanking fire of the besiegers.
The fire from the Prussian batteries was so well
directed that most of the shells struck the top of
these epaulements, and bursting at the same
moment, sent destruction to the men and guns
underneath. There was not a gun but bore
evidence that the flying fragments of shell had
left their mark. Many of the guns were knocked
over; wheels and carriages were smashed beyond
repair ; broken guns and fragments of carriages
lay in and behind the batteries. In the two princi¬
pal redoubts attacked, the appearances tended to
indicate that the guns had not been replaced for
some time, and that the garrison had ceased also
to repair the embrasures and parapets.
Amongst the private property of the town
nothing was more striking in the ravages of the
bombardment than its searching character. It
was a fiery furnace, under the scorching flames
of which all constructive shams and artifices
perished. No traces were left of paper-hanging,
cornices, mouldings, or ornamentation ; the walls,
after the ordeal, wore an aspect not far different
from that they would exhibit if left to bleach in
the rain and sunshine of centuries. The suburbs
immediately exposed to the German fire were
literally a heap of ruins, scarcely a house being
left standing.
The devastation was greatest in the Jews'
quarter, the fishermen's quarter, St. Nicholas,
Finkenmatt, Broglie, and the neighbourhood of
the Stein Strasse—all of them wearing exactly
the aspect of the exhumed remains of Pompeii and
Herculaneum. In the town itself nearly all the
principal buildings were reduced to ashes. The
prefecture, the Protestant church, the theatre,
the museum, the artillery school, infantry bar¬
racks, military magazine, railway station, and,
worst of all, the library, with its invaluable con¬
tents, were entirely destroyed. In the immediate
neighbourhood of the public buildings many
inhabited houses escaped with comparatively little
damage; the reason assigned being that, in the
public buildings, there was no one at hand to
extinguish the first flames, and when these were
seen ascending into the air, they served as a mark
for the enemy's guns. At night (and the severe
bombardments were always at night) flames made
a tempting target for the besiegers. The hotel
de la Ville de Paris received forty shells during
the siege, but engines and water-buckets were
kept in readiness on all the floors, and fires in
this building were no sooner kindled than they
were extinguished.
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
71
The numerous handsome bridges which spanned
the canal existed so far as their roadways were
concerned, but scarcely a vestige of parapet re¬
mained, while the canal itself was almost choked
—quite choked towards its southern extremity—
with barges and boats of every kind smashed and
sunken with everything they contained.
All that remained of the citadel, at one time
deemed by its possessors almost impregnable, was
huge masses of rubbish produced by the incessant
fire from the batteries of Kehl on the one side,
and the bombs thrown from those near Schiltig-
heim on the other.
One of the first acts of Lous XIV. on taking
the city in 1681, was to dislodge the Protestants
from the cathedral, which they had occupied from
the period of the Reformation. The Dominican
church, which had long been secularized, was
allotted to them instead, and had its name changed.
to that of the Temple Neuf. It had one of the
most famous organs of Silbermann. In the choir,
divided from the nave, was lodged the special
glory of Alsace—its library, the finest on the
Rhine, in which the archives, antiquities, topo¬
graphy, and early printing collections were trea¬
sured. All perished. Since the apocryphal burning
of the library of Alexandria, perhaps no equally
irreparable loss has occurred. Unfortunately no
catalogue of its many treasures exists. An
elaborate one in MS. had been prepare? by the
librarian, but that also perished. A very fine
work, the " Alsace Antiquary," perished among
them—sixteen folio vols, of MS. upon Strassburg.
Greatest loss of all was that of the most precious
record connected with the discovery of printing—
the documents of the legal process instituted
by Gutenberg against the heirs of his partner
Dreisehn, to establish his right as the inventor of
typography. Among the early specimens of typo¬
graphy there was a copy of the first German Bible,
printed by Mentelin about 1466, but undated;
also three early Latin Bibles by Mentelin, Jenson,
and Eggestein, the last bearing the manuscript
date 1468. There was, besides, a rare copy of
Virgil by Mentelin, a still rarer Commentary of
Scrvius upon that poet, printed by the celebrated
Valdarfer; a Jerome's "Epistles," by Schoeffer,
1470; and about 4000 other books printed before
the beginning of the sixteenth century.
The inner part of the town, although it escaped
the measure of devastation inflicted upon the
fringe of suburbs and outer circle of buildings
adjoining them, but belonging properly to the
city within the 111, suffered heavily. The stately
picture gallery in the Klèberplatz was gutted from
basement to roof; the archiépiscopal and imperial
palaces, as well as other fine mansions near the
minster, were much damaged ; and bridges
over the canals were entirely smashed, and
the houses in the Quai des Bateliers, Quai des
Pêcheurs, Place de Broglie, &c., were all greatly
injured. The cathedral was to all external ap¬
pearance uninjured. The spire, though it had
been struck in more places than one, was as
attractive a spectacle as ever. The cross on its
summit appeared to have been touched by a pro¬
jectile, as it leaned to one side. Some of the
ornamental work had been carried away, and a
portion of the stone stair in one of the side towers
destroyed. The.outer roof of the nave had been
burned, and the windows here and there pierced
with halls ; but the famous clock escaped, and the
cathedral was on the whole in excellent condition,
owing to the orders of the Prussian commander,
who would not permit a single bullet to be fired
against it, except at the commencement of the
siege, when the French used it as an observatory.
In the promenade, where the bands were wont
in times of peace to play of afternoons, trees and
lamp-posts were lying about amongst Louis Qua¬
torze chairs and all sorts of old fashioned furniture
saved from burning houses; whilst even the little
orchestra, struck by a shell, was partly smashed
and partly burnt. No less than 448 private houses
were entirely destroyed, and out of the 5150 in
the town and suburbs nearly 3000 were more
or less injured; 1700 civilians were killed or
wounded, and 10,000 persons made houseless.
The estimate of the total damage to the city
was nearly £8,000,000.
Immediately after the capitulation, subscriptions
were opened in Berlin and Frankfort to relieve the
suffering Strassburgers, and restore the town; but
towards the latter object little was raised, as the
magnitude of the ruins seemed to render the
efforts of private charity utterly inadequate.
In the narrow space of the botanic gardens,
hardly exceeding an acre, the anguish of the siege
was epitomized. At its commencement the city
had three cemeteries, one of which was occupied
for its defence; another was overflowed; the third
was in the hands of the enemy, whose parallels
72
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
were driven through it. As the only space avail¬
able, the botanic garden, adjoining the arsenal and
citadel, was turned into a burying-ground. After
the siege it wore, as did, in fact, all the garden-
ground for miles round, the aspect of a neglected
overgrown wilderness. Along its eastern side a
trench, much deeper and broader than that of
the parallel, had been driven in two rows ; and in
piles, four and five above each other, the dead of
the last six weeks had there been crowded. In
this dense mass of mortality it was painful to wit¬
ness the anxiety displayed by survivors not to lose
sight of the remains of their relatives. Wooden
crosses, with brief inscriptions, immortelles, bead
wreaths, statuary, floral bouquets, crowded each
other.
The open town of Kehl, opposite Strassburg,
met with an even worse fate than the latter. It
was bombarded early in the siege of Strassburg,
an act considered by the Germans a piece of wan¬
ton and unjustifiable destruction, as its utter use-
lessness was apparent. By reducing Kehl to ashes
the French did not retard by one day the progress
of the besiegers, nor cripple them in the slightest
degree. The batteries on either side of the town
were as effective, after the inhabitants had been
driven forth by showers of shells from their burn¬
ing houses, as they were before. Pitiable as the
destruction in Strassburg appeared, the streets and
dwellings of Kehl presented a spectacle even
more saddening. Not above five houses remained
intact; and the only object which indicated that
the ruins in the main street had once been habit¬
able dwellings was a porcelain stove, standing erect
amid the heaps of charred rubbish.
The catalogue of the guns employed and the
shot fired in the siege of Strassburg deserves to
be mentioned. There were 241 pieces placed in
battery outside the walls. During the thirty-one
days over which the regular operations extended
these fired 193,722 rounds, or, on an average, 6249
per day, 269 per hour, or between four and five
per minute. Of the total of the rounds, 45,000
shells were fired from the rifled 12-pounders,
28,000 shells from the long rifled 24-pounders ;
23,000 7-pound bombs, 20,000 25-pound bombs,
and 15,000 50-pound bombs from smooth-bore
mortars ; 11,000 shrapnels from the rifled 12-
pounders, 8000 shells from the rifled 6-pound-
ers, 5000 shrapnels from the rifled 24-pounders,
4000 shrapnels from the rifled 6-pounders, 3000
long shells from the 15 centimètre guns, and 600
long shells from the 21 centimètre guns.
A valuable prize fell into the hands of Germany
through the surrender of Strassburg. No fewer
than 2000 cannon were found in the fortifications,
arsenal, and foundry: 1200 of them were bronze
guns of various calibre, mostly rifled, and the
large majority new, having been made in 1862,
1863, and 1864, and never fired; 800 were iron,
some of them very large, smooth-bored and rifled.
One hundred and fifty tons of powder made up
in cartridges, and four hundred and fifty tons in
bulk, were discovered in store ; besides many thou¬
sand stand of arms, including hosts of excellent
Chassepots, although the mobiles and sédentaires
were armed only with " tabatières." Clothing also
was found, enough for a very large body of men.
The military authorities estimated the value of the
matériel, which by the capitulation legitimately
became the property of Germany, at more than
two millions and a half sterling. In hard cash
they took 10,000,000 of francs (£400,000) de¬
posited in the military chest of the garrison.
Subsequently a commission was appointed by
the Tours delegate government to investigate the
reasons for the surrender of Strassburg. It is need¬
less to say that no imputation on the courage and
patriotism of its defenders could be for a moment
sustained.
The fortress, which was not taken either in 1814
or in 1815, made on this occasion a most heroic
defence against an overwhelming force, furnished
with tremendous artillery ; and it is hard to say
whether the inhabitants or the garrison should be
held as entitled to most praise. The endurance of
the citizens was certainly not less conspicuous than
the bravery of the troops ; and perhaps the truest
symptom of patriotic feeling which the French nation
showed during the days of adversity in the late war,
was exhibited in the hearty loyalty with which the
Parisians laid their laurel wreaths at the base of the
civic statue of Strassburg. General Uhrich un¬
doubtedly "made himself an everlasting name" by
his defence of the Alsatian city, which will be nar¬
rated by Frenchmen in future generations as one of
the few bright spots in a singularly gloomy period
of the national history.
The siege of Toul is chiefly remarkable for the
bravery and endurance with which its small gar¬
rison held out for six weeks against a force of
20,000 Prussians under the duke of Mecklenburg,
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
73
and thus deprived the German armies during
that time of the advantage of direct railway com¬
munication from the Rhine at Coblentz and
Mayence via Nancy to Paris. The town lies in
the valley of the Moselle, and its stout and pro¬
longed resistance has led many to suppose that it
occupied an elevated position. On the contrary,
it stands in a sort of basin formed by an abrupt
curve of the Moselle, and may be said to be com¬
pletely commanded by the surrounding heights,
inasmuch as the two hills St. Michel and St. Maurice
overlook it at a distance of about 4000 yards.
It is regularly fortified on Yauban's system ; and
has excellent walls, six bastions, and deep fosses
filled with water. It was formerly deemed a very
strong fortress ; but as it possessed no outworks or
detached forts, it proved to be untenable for any
lengthened period before new long-range siege
artillery. The most conspicuous object seen on
approaching the town is the fine old cathedral, one
of the most famous Gothic edifices of the sixteenth
century. Orders were given by the German com¬
mander to spare it as much as possible ; but injuries
to the external walls were unavoidable, and a large
window was destroyed. The public building that
suffered most severely by the bombardment was the
stately residence of the mayor, which was pierced
in every part. It seems, however, that for five
weeks the besiegers had only ordinary field-guns
in use, against which the fortress held out stoutly,
and had evidently no intention to give in. It
capitulated only when the regular siege artillery of
the Germans, heavy rifled breechloaders, came up.
On the 20th, the besiegers advanced a battery within
range of the bastions, and some well-directed
rounds drove the French from the walls, whence
they had kept up a vigorous musketry-fire. Six
Bavarian batteries planted on the heights made ter¬
rible havoc, 2000 bombs and grenades being fired
daily at the fortress. By the fearful bombard¬
ment of the 22nd and 23rd September, when the
town was on fire in twenty-three places at once,
whole streets were destroyed, and the barracks,
hospital, and chapel, situate on the plateau of the
rock forming the fortress, became a heap of ruins.
As the German armies around Paris were suffering
serious inconvenience from therail way being held by
Toul, the grand-duke had determined to storm the
place. Before, however, the siege had been begun
in earnest, and the first parallel dug out, on the 23rd
September, while the bombardment was proceeding
VOL. ir.
on all sides, suddenly a large white flag was exhi¬
bited from the Cathedral tower. All the batteries
at the grand-duke's command were immediately
silent, and a Prussian parlementaire rode into the
town, who soon returned with the commandant of
Toul, Colonel Hiick. After long negotiations, the
capitulation was agreed to ; and as darkness had
meanwhile set in, the commandant and the chief
of the grand-duke's staff appended their signatures
by the dim light of a stable lantern. The entire
garrison of about 2500, including 500 infantry
and artillerymen, the others being mobile guards,
surrendered as prisoners of war. The terms of the
capitulation were that the fortress, war material,
and soldiers should be given up, with the exception
of those mobile and national guards who were in¬
habitants of the place prior to the outbreak of the
war. In consideration of the gallant defence of the
fortress, all officers and officials having the rank of
officers, who gave their word of honour in writing
not to bear arms against Germany, nor to act con¬
trary to her interests in any other way, had their
liberty, and were allowed to retain their swords,
horses, and other property. An inventory of the
war material, consisting of eagles, guns, swords,
horses, war chests, and articles of military equip¬
ment, was to be given to the Prussians. The
convention thus far was similar to that of Sedan ;
but there was another article which said :—" In
view of the lamentable accident which occurred on
the occasion of the capitulation of Laon, it is agreed
that if a similar thing should happen on the entry
of the German troops into the fortress of Toul, the
entire garrison shall be at the mercy of the grand-
duke of Mecklenburg."
Some eighty officers, including all those belong¬
ing to the mobile guards, chose to give their
parole and remain in France. Seventeen superior
officers, including Commandant Hiick, who was
complimented on his bravery by the grand-duke,
preferred Prussian captivity. The reasons given
by the commandant for capitulating were, that he
had only ammunition for three or four days, when
he would have been forced to surrender, after all
Toul had possibly been destroyed; and that the
mobile guards were undisciplined and not suf¬
ficiently practised in arms to offer a long defence
or to repulse a storming attack. The same eve¬
ning the French garrison marched out and
bivouacked in a meadow under guard. The next
day they were sent by railway to Prussia, and the
K
74
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
Mecklenburg troops occupied the place, -which
was entered by the grand-duke with a brilliant
staff at the head of some regiments.
* After the surrender Toul presented a scene very
different from what is usually seen on such
occasions. Instead of the bitter feeling on the one
side and the exultation on the other, which are
commonly exhibited, both parties, when the gate
was opened, seemed to meet like the best of friends.
The French garrison were delighted to be out, and
the German besiegers no less so to find their work
at an end. As there were many Alsatians among
the garrison, besiegers and besieged at once
entered into conversation, shared the contents of
their flasks with each other, and but for the
stringent rules separating prisoner from conqueror,
would doubtless have made a jovial night of it.
The anxious families had passed the last days
chiefly in their cellars, the windows of their houses
being thickly covered with manure. All now
came creeping out, sunning themselves, and
spreading out their beds everywhere to dry and
air, as they had become damp in the underground
abodes. Pale faces were visible everywhere, and
loud lamentations were heard; but the habitual
French elasticity and cheerfulness were soon mani¬
fested, the inhabitants being gladdened by the
thought that the siege was ended, and life and
health were no longer endangered. Excursions
into the country were immediately undertaken,
and civilians, with officers released on parole, were
seen driving about and inspecting the positions
which had so recently menaced them.
The following officers, men, arms, and muni¬
tions of war, &c., were captured at the surrender
of Toul:—109 officers, 2240 men, 120 horses, one
eagle of the garde mobile, 197 bronze guns,
including 48 pieces of rifled ordnance, 3000 rifles,
3000 sabres, 500 cuirasses, and a considerable
quantity of munitions and articles of equipment.
Soldiers' pay for 143,025 days, and rations for
51,949 days, also fell into the hands of the
Prussians.
It is no idle phrase that Strassburg and Toul
"deserved well" of their country. Citizens, as
well as regular soldiers, appear to have conducted
the defence of the two cities. All that could be
done was done. Among the incidents of a cam¬
paign prolific in startling illustrations of the
collapse of the military system of France, it must
ever be remembered, as a redeeming fact, that a
fourth-rate fortress, defended by a garrison con¬
sisting almost entirely of civilians, held out for six
weeks against the invading force, and blocked up
for that time the direct communications between
Germany and the bulk of her army.
CHAPTER XIX.
The Position of the German Annies in the beginning of October—Their Depot Battalions of the Line serving as Cadres—The great
importance in Modern Warfare of Large Intrenched Camps, with a Fortress for their Nucleus—Count von Moltke's Plans—Occupation
of Beauvais by General Manteuffel—The duty of General von Werder's Army—Levée en Masse ordered by the French Government—
Formation of New Armies—Sad want of Discipline and Good Officers—The Franc-Tireurs—Severe Treatment of them by the Germans—
Burning of Ablis and other Places—Inconsistency of Prussia in attempting to put down Irregular Warfare—Decree of the French
Government with the view of protecting the Franc-Tireurs—More Prudence than Courage shown by the French in many Places—Panic
at Orleans—Confusion in both the Military and Political System of France—Great Want of a Beal General—M. Gambetta leaves Paris
for Tours in a Balloon—Biographical Sketch of Him—Narrow Escape on his Aerial Journey—Address presented to him at Bouen—His
Arrival at Tours, and his First Impressions of the State of Affairs—Important Proclamation issued by Him—Arrival of Garibaldi at
Tours—He is despatched to the East to take Command of a Body of Irregular Troops—The Extraordinary Energy of M. Gambetta—
Engagement between the French and Germans at Toury—Easy Victory of the French—Uneasiness at the German Headquarters, and
Despatch of the First Bavarian Corps Sonthwards—The French are completely surprised at Artenay and easily overcome—Gross Neglect
of the French Commanders—Obstinate Encounter near Orleans—Panic amongst the Franc-Tireurs and Terror in the City of Orleans itself
—Disgraceful Conduct of the Troops—The City is entered by the Germans—Proclamation of the German Commander to the Inhabitants—
The French Army of the Loire retire to Bourges—General d'Aurelles de Paladines appointed to command it—His First Order of the Day—
Importance of the Capture of Orleans to the Germans in two ways—The Franc-Tireurs in the Forests around the City prove a great
annoyance to them—Chartres and Châteaudun fortified—Determined Besistance at the Latter Town—Chartres capitulates on Favourable
Terms—The Military Operations in Eastern France—German Victory between Eaon l'Etape and St. Diey—Capture of Epinal, by which
Lorraine is cut off from the rest of France—Arrival of Garibaldi on the Scene, and Proclamation to his Irregular Troops—No Combined
Action between him and the French General Cambriels, who is actively pursued by General von Werder—Another German Victory—Besigna-
tion of General Cambriels—The dislike of the Catholics to Garibaldi, and the obstacles placed in his way—Appointment of General
Michel in the room of Cambriels—Surrender of Schlestadt—Siege and Bombardment of Soissons—Acquisition of a Second Line of
Bailway to Paris—Gallant defence of St. Quentin—Final occupation of it and other Towns in the North of France—The Excitement in
Bouen and Amiens—General Bourbaki appointed to the command of the French Army of the North—Short Sketch of his Career—First
Proclamation issued by him—Preparations for defence in Brittany under Count de Keratry—A Company of Volunteer Engineers formed in
Eastern France to operate on the German Lines of Communication—Plan of their Operations—The Germans compel the most respected
Inhabitants in the District to accompany the Trains or Locomotives—The Great Mistake of the French in not establishing suitable Cavalry
Corps to harass the German Line of Communication—The Prospects for France brighter at the close of October than at the beginning,
chiefly owing to the energy of M. Gambetta—Martial Law Established in all the Departments within Seventy Miles of the Enemy's Forces
—Formation of Camps and adoption of Severe Measures in various parts of the Country—The extreme Bepublicans alone devoid of
Patriotic Feeling—A Loan of £10,000,000 contracted—Appeals from France to England and other Countries for Intervention and
Assistance—A Negotiation with the view to an Armistice is agreed on—Interview between M. Thiers and Count von Bismarck—Great
mistake of the French in breaking off the Negotiations on the Question of Be-victualling Paris—The General Feeling in France when the
Failure of the Negotiations became known—The Germans disappointed at the Prolongation of the War, but determined to support their
Political and Military Leaders until Alsace and Lorraine had been recovered—Manufacture of the Pen with which to sign the Treaty of
Peace—Count von Bismarck's Beply on receiving it—The serious Consequences of the War in France—The advantage, both in France and
Germany, of the Women being able to undertake Agricultural Operations.
During the sieges of Metz and Paris, the chief
interest of the war, of course, centered in those
two cities. But while France watched with pride
the endurance and determination displayed by her
greatest fortress and her magnificent capital, the
beleaguered garrisons and citizens in each case
were anxiously looking for the armies of the
provinces to come to their rescue, and assist in
dispersing the besieging hosts. In the present
chapter we propose to review the state of France,
and the military operations of both the French
and Germans elsewhere than at Paris and Metz,
during the month of October.
It is a remarkable fact that, even after the fall
of Strassburg, nearly the whole of the immense
German army in France was fully employed,
although not one-sixth of the territory of the
country was held by the invaders. Metz, with
Bazaine's army inclosed within its line of forts,
found occupation for eight army corps (the first,
second, third, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, the
division of Hessians, and General Rummer's
division of landwehr), in all, sixteen divisions of
infantry. Paris engaged seventeen divisions of
infantry (the guards, fourth, fifth, sixth, eleventh,
twelfth North German, first and second Bavarian
corps, and the Wlirtemburg division). The newly
formed thirteenth and fourteenth corps, mostly
landwehr, and some detachments from the corps
already named, occupied the conquered country,
76
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR,
and observed, blockaded, or besieged the places
which, within it, still belonged to the French.
The fifteenth corps, the Baden division, and one
division of landwehr, set free by the capitulation
of Strassburg, were alone disposable for active
operations.
These forces comprised almost all the organized
troops of which Germany disposed. In accordance
with their original purpose, the depot battalions
served as cadres for the drill and organization of
the men intended to fill up the gaps which battles
and disease caused in the ranks of their respective
regiments. Proportionately as the thousand men
forming the battalion were sufficiently broken in
to do duty before the enemy, they were sent off
by detachments to join the three field battalions
of the regiment; this was done on a large scale
after the severe fighting before Metz in the middle
of August. But the officers and non-commissioned
officers of the battalion remained at home, ready
to receive and prepare for the field a fresh batch
of 1000 men, taken from the recruits called out in
due course. This measure was absolutely necessary
in a war as bloody as the present one, and the end
of which was not to be foreseen with certainty ; but
it deprived the Germans of the active services for
the time being of 114 battalions, and a correspond¬
ing force of cavalry and artillery, representing
in all fully 200,000 men. With the exception
of these, the occupation of scarcely one-sixth
of France and the reduction of the two large
fortresses in this territory—Metz and Paris—
kept the whole of the German forces so fully
employed that they had barely 60,000 men to
spare for further operations beyond the territory
already conquered. And this, while there was
not anywhere a French army in the field to
oppose serious resistance !
If ever there was needed a proof of the immense
importance, in modern warfare, of large intrenched
camps with a fortress for their nucleus, here that
proof was furnished. The two intrenched camps
in question were not at all made use of to the best
advantage, for Metz had for a garrison too many
troops for its size and importance, and Paris had
of real troops fit for the field scarcely any at all.
Still, the first of these places held at least 200,000,
the second 250,000 enemies in check; and if
France had only had 200,000 real soldiers behind
the Loire, the siege of Paris would have been an
impossibility. As it was, however, France was
virtually at the mercy of a conqueror who held
possession of barely one-sixth of her territory.
Count von Moltke's plan of operations embraced
not only the siege of the capital, but also the occupa¬
tion of the northern and eastern departments as far
as was possible with the forces at his disposal, thus
pressing at once on Paris and the provinces, and
rendering each unable to assist the other.
On September 29 Beauvais, the capital of the
department of the Oise, was occupied by the first
Prussian corps, under General ManteufFel, who,
with a portion of the army which had been engaged
at Sedan, was commissioned to carry the war into
the north-west of France ; from this point threat¬
ening Rouen on the west and Amiens on the north.
The fall of Toul and Strassburg in the last week
of September liberated 80,000 German troops, part
of whom were sent to assist in the investment of
Paris, while the remainder, about 70,000, were
formed into an army under General von Werder,
to be employed in operations over southern Alsace
and the south-eastern districts of France. It was
to seize any points at which it might be attempted
to form military organizations, to disperse the corps,
break up dépôts, and destroy stores. It was, fur¬
ther, to levy contributions upon towns which had
not as yet felt the pressure of the war, and which
expressed a desire for its continuance. It was
hoped that in this way accurate conceptions of the
state of the country and the helplessness of its
government would be communicated to that part
of the French public which had hitherto derived
its impressions from the bulletins published at Paris
and Tours.
On October 1 the Tours government issued a
decree for a levée en masse of all Frenchmen of the
military age—from twenty-one to forty—to be or¬
ganized into a mobilized national guard. Had this
decree been carried out, it would have supplied at
least three millions of men, for not one in three,
even of those liable to serve, had been as yet
enrolled. The larger towns had done their part,
but the country districts were surprisingly apa¬
thetic, and those who possessed any means and
desired exemption from service obtained it with
little trouble.
From this date, however, commenced the forma¬
tion of new armies in the north, south, east, and west
of France. Indeed, immediately after the events of
the 2nd September, the government had adopted
vigorous measures to raise fresh troops by means
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
77
of a forced conscription, embracing soldiers whose
term of service had long since expired, and youths
not yet arrived at the legal age; and by calling out
all the retired, invalided, and pensioned general
and other officers, with all the dépôt and garrison
troops, gardes mobiles, marines, and gendarmes.
The result was that, early in October, there were,
in various parts of France, an immense number
of men ready for service when provincial armies
should be organized. This was especially the case
in the district of the Loire, where a very well-
defined nucleus of an army had already been
got together. Its headquarters were about fifty-
five miles south of Orleans, at Bourges, a place
containing a large cannon foundry, and of strate¬
gical importance owing to its being situated
within the loop formed by the Loire, and at the
junction of the different roads leading to Tours,
Blois, Orleans, and Ne vers, all commanding pas¬
sages over the river. The force numbered, on
October 1, about 60,000 men, well armed, but
greatly deficient in artillery. The regulars, mostly
fugitives from Sedan, were in the proportion of
one in nine; but even out of this unpromising
material a very formidable army might have been
obtained with a fair amount of discipline. There
was, however, a strong republican feeling amongst
them; they did not yield a willing obedience to
superiors ; they thoroughly distrusted those in com¬
mand; and this, coupled with the want of good
officers, went far to neutralize the efforts of the
government.
Simultaneously with the formation of armies,
irregular corps of volunteers, or franc-tireurs,
began to spring up all over the country. Many
of these were expert marksmen, and caused great
annoyance to the Germans by cutting off their
convoys, carrying out night surprises, and lying
in wait and falling unexpectedly on their outposts
or rearguard. Many others were merely highway¬
men under a different title, who shot and plundered
friend and foe alike. On the ground that these
franc-tireurs wore no distinctive uniform, and had
no regular officers, the Germans claimed the right,
under the laws of war, of treating them as unre¬
cognized combatants, trying them by drum-head
court-martial, and shooting them as soon as cap¬
tured. In fact, the whole policy of the Germans,
at this time, seems to have been marked by extreme
although necessary severity. Their rule was that
■every town or village where one or more of the
inhabitants fired upon their troops, or took part in
the defence, should be burned down ; that every
man taken in arms who was not, according to their
notion, a regular soldier, should be shot at once ;
that where there was reason to believe that any
considerable portion of the population of a town
actively sided against them, all able-bodied men
should be treated with merciless severity. A
squadron of German cavalry and a company of
infantry took up their quarters in Ablis, a vil¬
lage of 900 inhabitants, just off the railway from
Paris to Tours. During the night the inhabitants,
giving way to a patriotic impulse, with the aid of
franc-tireurs attacked the sleeping men, killed
several, and captured or dispersed the rest. The
next day the German general sent a force which
burnt Ablis to the ground, and a neighbouring
village from which the franc-tireurs had come.
The threat, by the French, of reprisals upon the
captured hussars, alone prevented more of the
able-bodied men of the place from being shot.
This was but one of numberless instances. A
Bavarian detachment in the neighbourhood of
Orleans burned down five villages in twelve days.
Thus the mode of warfare which was pursued
in the days of Louis XIY. and Frederick
II., in 1870 was again found necessary. The
Prussian armies should have been the last in the
world to treat with severity irregular warfare ;
for in 1806 Prussia collapsed from the absence
of that spirit of national resistance which in 1807
those at the head of affairs, both in the civil and
military departments, did everything in their
power to revive. At that time Spain showed a
sagacious example of resistance to an invasion,
which the military leaders of Prussia—Scharn-
horst, Gneisenau, Clausewitz—all urged their
countrymen to emulate. Gneisenau even went
to Spain to fight against Napoleon. The new
military system, then inaugurated in Prussia,
was an attempt to organize popular resistance to
the enemy, as far as this was possible in an absolute
monarchy. Every able-bodied man was to pass
through the army, and to serve in the landwehr
up to his fortieth year ; the lads between seven¬
teen and twenty, and the men between forty and
sixty, were to form part of the'" landsturm," or
levée en masse, which was to rise in the rear and
on the flanks of the enemy, to harass his move¬
ments, intercept his supplies and couriers, and to
employ whatever arms it could find, and whatever
78
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
means were at hand to annoy him. " The more
effective these means the better." Above all, they
were to " wear no uniform of any kind, so that
the landsturmers might at any time resume their
character of civilians, and remain unknown to
the enemy." It was proposed more than once
that the Prussian " landsturm ordinary " should
be printed and issued to each franc-tireur as his
guide-book, by which, upon his capture, he could
at least show the Prussians that he had only been
acting upon the instructions issued by their own
king.^
With the view of protecting these guerilla
troops as much as possible, on the 1st of November
it was decreed by the French government, that
from that date every corps of franc-tireurs, or
volunteers, should be attached to an army corps
on active service, or to a territorial division ; and
they were strictly prohibited acting independently
or beyond the assigned limits, under penalty of
being disarmed and dissolved.
By the imposition of a fine of a million francs
upon any department in which bands of franc-
tireurs should be met with, the German authorities
strove to keep down the perilous annoyance. On
every town which fell into their hands after
resistance offered, they also made heavy requi¬
sitions in money. Under these circumstances,
and remembering what had happened at Ablis
and elsewhere, it is not surprising that the local
municipalities sometimes evinced more prudence
than courage.
In the night of the 26th to the 27th September,
General Polhès, the commandant of the military
division of Orleans, suddenly turned out the garri¬
son, and in hot haste took his departure southwards.
The Prussians were coming. Next day it was
discovered that they were not coming; that there
were only a very few of them in the neighbour¬
hood, who certainly were not advancing on Orleans.
So General Polhès came back. A couple of hours
after his departure, however, two regiments of
French cuirassiers had arrived in Orleans from
Blois, who, finding no one to give them orders,
and hearing that the commander had retreated,
also returned. In the forest of Orleans about 800
men, apparently forgotten, had been left without
any orders. All this evidence of haste naturally
spread alarm : the consequence was that the rail¬
way authorities went off with their rolling stock
towards La Ferté and Beaugency, and those con¬
nected with the telegraph carried off their apparatus.
The prefect, thus deprived of the means of recall¬
ing the runaway garrison, managed at last to press
a one-horse chaise into the service of the state, to
convey to the general letters informing him that
a spontaneous deputation was about to start for
Tours to ask of the government a general able and
willing to defend the forest of Orleans and its
environs. Meanwhile the money in the banks and
public money-chests had all been removed ; the
municipal council had met and protested against
the abandonment of the city; and all was confusion
and fear.
The whole military and political system of
France was in fact at this time in a state of hope¬
less confusion, without a directing head to set it
right. The arrangement which gave the prefects
the military command of their respective depart¬
ments, was producing its natural results in discon¬
nected and useless efforts and conflicting authority.
Marseilles and Lyons were threatened with a red
republican insurrection, which was only prevented
by the good sense and patriotism of the masses.
At Grenoble, General Monnet, a Crimean veteran,
was, at the instigation of a few riotous citizens,
deposed from his command of the garrison and
imprisoned. The prefect of Lyons, without a
shadow of justification, arrested General Mazure,
in command of the troops in the city, and because
the senseless act was approved by his colleagues
of the government delegation at Tours, Admiral
Fourichon resigned the portfolio of War. On the
other hand, thirteen departments banded together
to demand the nomination of a general of indepen¬
dent authority, to organize the defence of the
western provinces. Here and there might be
heard murmurs of revenge, and in certain districts
corps were formed which the government would
fain have dignified with the name of armies. But
there was no man to stir up popular enthusiasm,
or turn it to account; and France merely waited,
every day increasing her peril. With an enemy
700,000 strong in their country, the French forces
were without a commander-in-chief! No energetic
man fit to be endowed with supreme authority,
and capable of reducing the chaos to order, was
forthcoming. Bazaine, the only man thought to
be equal to the present emergency, was closely
besieged in Metz, and with him were Canrobert,
L'Admirault, Jarras, Coffinières, Lebœuf, and Bour-
baki. MacMahon was a prisoner at Wiesbaden,
© ft ï ® [£ TT ïï ft „
WILl'AM IPIfDftt. fD"N9UR6« 8 PLAS60W.
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
79
Ulirich was bound down by his parole, while
Trochu, Yinoy, and Ducrot were busy defending
Paris. Large forces were being concentrated both
on the Loire and the Rhone, but no one had been
yet appointed, or even nominated to command
them. The ministry of war, by Fourichon's
resignation, was vacant, and M. Cremieux, an
amiable, easy lawyer, minister of justice in the
Provisional Government, was acting war minister.
His appointment, at such a crisis, was very unsuit¬
able, and there were loud demands for transferring
the war administration to a commission composed
of MM. Glais-Bizoin, Laurier, Steenackers, Frays-
sinet, Le Cesne, and Alphonse Gent. The nation
was becoming absolutely frantic with impatience
and despair at the inaptitude of those who had the
direction of affairs, and at the utter demoraliza¬
tion, both civil and military, which was spreading
through every department.
In these circumstances M. Laurier, the acting
manager for the department of the Interior, a man
of considerable capacity, devoted to the cause of
the nation, and faithful to the trust reposed in him
by M. Gambetta, his chief, thought that the
moment had come when the government of Paris
should be informed of the serious state of things.
Two words, translated " Come at once," were
addressed by him to Gambetta, and intrusted to
the carriage of a " pigeon traveller." The minister
of the Interior knew his agent well. Without
delay he consulted with his colleagues, who all
felt convinced that his presence at Tours was
indispensable, and that he ought to proceed thither
immediately.
M. Léon Gambetta, the young barrister who was
thus destined to play such an important part in
the struggles of his country, won a seat in the
Chamber of Deputies in 1869, as one of the mem¬
bers for Paris, and distinguished himself by his
bold attacks on the imperial policy, and his advo¬
cacy of democratic principles. A native of the
south of France, but of Genoese family, he was
endowed with all the ardent physical and moral
qualities of that passionate Italian race. His
eloquence and capacity for business were proved by
many successes at the French bar, achieved by the
time he was thirty-two years of age ; but he came
first into public note as counsel for some of the
accused under the government prosecutions of
1868, against the promoters of the subscription for
a monument to Baudin, one of the members of
the National Assembly killed in the street-fighting
after the coup dïètat of December, 1851.
For fully a week did this energetic young states¬
man have to wait in Paris for a favourable oppor¬
tunity of starting. Morning after morning the
Place de Saint-Pierre at Montmartre was thronged
by people eager to witness his departure, and
morning after morning pilot-balloons were sent up,
in order to ascertain the direction of the aerial
currents; but the wind kept persistently in the
west, and would probably have carried the balloon
into the parts of France occupied by the enemy,
and possibly into Germany itself, had the attempt
been made to ascend. At length it changed to
the south-east; and at eleven o'clock on the morn¬
ing of Thursday, October 7, M. Gambetta, accom¬
panied by his secretary and the aeronaut Trichet,
ascended in the Armand Barbh, carrying with
him an immense quantity of letters and several
pigeons. During the night, however, a con¬
trary breeze sprung up. On Friday morning the
aeronaut in charge of the balloon, believing they
were not far from Tours, allowed the machine
to descend—but only to find out that they were
hovering over Metz, two hundred miles away
to the east. The Prussian troops fired volley after
volley at the travellers. The balloon was made
to rise again, but not a moment too soon, for
already some half dozen balls had pierced the car;
and even one of the cords which attached it to the
balloon was cut, and had to be spliced by the
minister himself, who was slightly wounded in the
hand. All through Friday the travellers made
little or no progress, but on Saturday, at daylight,
they descended in the neighbourhood of Montdidier,
a small town about four leagues from Amiens, and
one league off the railway between it and Paris.
M. Gambetta was here met by a gentleman who
conveyed him in his carriage to Amiens, whence
he shortly after departed for Rouen, where a great
demonstration was made by the national guard
and the populace, and at the railway station the
following address was presented to him :—" Illus¬
trious Citoyen Gambetta ; self-sacrifice is every¬
where, but energy, foresight, and management are
wanting. Raise up these, and the enemy will
be driven forth, France saved, and the republic
founded definitively and for ever. Vive la France !
Vive la Republique!" M. Gambetta made a
stirring reply, addressed specially to the people
of Normandy, and concluding with the words, " If
80
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
we cannot make a compact with victory, let us
make a compact with death." Immediately after
he left for Tours. Here the enthusiastic republi¬
can was unpleasantly impressed with the aspect of
the place, the number of officers and soldiers idling
about the cafés, and the absence of that stern con¬
centration of thought on one object which he left
behind him in Paris. He also found that little had
been done, that there was a lack of resource and
vigour ill befitting the gravity of the crisis ; and it
was with ill-concealed displeasure that he appeared
at the Prefecture window in answer to the clam¬
orous crowd below. In a few brief words he
acknowledged the honour done him and, depre¬
cating demonstrations, concluded as follows :—
" Let us work and fight. I bring you the instruc¬
tions and decisions of the Paris government. As
I cannot speak to you all, I have written. In an
hour's time you will be able to read the object of
my mission. Once more, gentlemen, let us work
and fight, for we have not a minute to spare.
Everyone to his post. ' Vive la République ! ' "
He at once held a council with his colleagues,
and at night a decree was published, postponing
the intended elections for a National Assembly,
chiefly because twenty-three departments were
more or less in the hands of the invader. Simul¬
taneously with the decree, he issued the following
circular :—
" By order of the republican government I have
left Paris to convey to you the hopes of the Parisian
people, and the instructions and orders of those
who accepted the mission of delivering France
from the foreigner. For seventeen days Paris
has been invested, and offers the spectacle of two
millions of men who, forgetting all differences to
range themselves around the republican flag, will
disappoint the expectations of the invader, who
reckoned upon civil discord. The revolution found
Paris without cannon and without arms. Now
1400,000 national guards are armed, 100,000 mobiles
have been summoned, and 60,000 regular troops
are assembled. The foundries cast cannon, the
women make 1,000,000 cartridges daily. The
national guard have two mitrailleuses for each bat¬
talion. Field-pieces are being made for sorties
against the besiegers. The forts are manned by
marines, and are furnished with marvellous artil¬
lery, served by the first gunners in the world.
Up till now their fire has prevented the enemy
from establishing the smallest work. The enceinte,
which on the 4th of September had only 500
cannons, has now 3800, with 400 rounds of
ammunition for each. The casting of projectiles
continues with ardour. Every one is at the post
assigned to him for fighting. The enceinte is
uninterruptedly covered by the national guard,
who from morning until night drill for the war
with patriotism and steadiness. The experience of
these improvised soldiers increases daily. Behind
the enceinte there is a third line of defence formed
of barricades, behind which the Parisians are found
to defend the republic—the genius of street fight¬
ing. All this has been executed with calmness
and order by the concurrence and enthusiasm of
all. It is not a vain illusion that Paris is impreg¬
nable. It cannot be captured nor surprised. Two
other means remain to the Prussians—sedition and
famine. But sedition will not arise, nor famine
either. Paris, by placing herself on rations, has
enough to defy the enemy for long months, thanks
to the provisions which have been accumulated, and
will bear restraint and scarcity with manly con¬
stancy, in order to afford her brothers in the depart¬
ments time to gather. Such is without disguise
the state of Paris. This state imposes great duties
upon you. The first is to have no other occupa¬
tion than the war; the second is to accept fraternally
the supremacy of the republican power, emanat¬
ing from necessity and right, which will serve no
ambition. It has no other passion than to rescue
France from the abyss into which monarchy has
plunged her. This done, the republic will be
founded, sheltered against conspirators and reac¬
tionists. Therefore, I have the order, without
taking into account difficulties or opposition, to
remedy and, although time fails, to make up by
activity the shortcomings caused by delay. Men
are not wanting. "What has failed us has been a
decisive resolution and the consecutive execution
of our plans. That which failed us after the
shameful capitulation at Sedan was arms. All
supplies of this nature had been sent on to Sedan,
Metz, and Strassburg, as if, one would think, the
authors of our disaster, by a last criminal combi¬
nation, had desired, at their fall, to deprive us of
all means of repairing our- ruin. Steps have now
been taken to obtain rifles and equipments from
all parts of the world. Neither workmen nor money
are wanting. We must bring to bear all our re¬
sources, which are immense; we must make the
provinces shake off their torpor, react against
(BAH 0 HBÂL1 Ed
I AM MACHtNZIE. LOKOOK, tu.NBun^') S C '.i',::
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
81
foolish panics, jnultiply our partizans. offer traps
and ambushes to harass the enemy, and inaugurate
a national war. The republic demands the co¬
operation of all; it will utilize the courage of all
its citizens, employ the capabilities of each, and
according to its traditional policy will make young
men its chiefs. Heaven itself will cease to favour
our adversaries; the autumn rains will come, and
detained and held in check by the capital, far from
their homes, and troubled and anxious for the
future, the Prussians will be decimated one by one
by our arms, by hunger, and by nature. No, it is
not possible that the genius of France should be
for evermore obscured; it cannot be that a great
nation shall let its place in the world be taken
from it by an invasion of 500,000 men ! Up then
in a mass, and let us die rather than suffer the shame
of dismemberment ! In the midst of our disasters
we have still the sentiment left of French unity,
and the indivisibility of the Republic. Paris, sur¬
rounded by the enemy, affirms more loudly and
more gloriously than ever the immortal device
which is dictated to the whole of F ranee :—1 Long
live the Republic! Long live France! Long live
the Republic, one and indivisible.'"
While the minister of the new French republic
was careering through the clouds in a balloon,
another and more celebrated republican was hast¬
ening from an opposite direction to meet him.
Till lately Garibaldi had been virtually a prisoner
in his island home, the Italian government keeping
a vigilant eye on him. Ever since the fall of the
empire, however, it had been his anxious desire
to come to the assistance of the newly declared
republic. His services in the field were at once
offered, but the reply of the delegate government
to his offer had been delayed. A brief but charac¬
teristic letter to his son-in-law, M. Canzio, explains
his position in the meantime:— ,
"Caprera, September 13, 1870.
" My dear son—From the French government
I have not received any reply, and that rubbish
(quella robàccia) which calls itself the govern¬
ment of Italy, holds me prisoner."
"G. GARIBALDI."
The pope's temporal power, however, had fallen
before the soldiers of Victor Emmanuel. Rome
had become the Italian capital ; and if the Italian
cruisers still hovered round Caprera, at least
Garibaldi found no great difficulty in eluding' their
VOL. 11.
vigilance, and escaping to France in what was
there known as a yack. He arrived in Tours the
same day as Gambetta (October 9), and so unex¬
pectedly, that no preparations had been made
for his reception. On the news of his arrival
becoming known, however, a large number of
franc-tireurs assembled before the prefecture win¬
dow, at which the general presented himself, and
in reply to the enthusiastic cheers with which he
was greeted, said :—" My children, your welcome
and that of your brothers overwhelms me. I am
only a soldier like yourselves. 1 come to place
myself among you, to fight for the holy republic ! "
Garibaldi brought with him a name, but little
more, to the aid of the republic he loved. The
liberator of Italy, whose kindly face, loose grey
cloak, and scarlet shirt, were familiar to every child
in Christendom, more fitly represented the idea of
a republic than any other man in Europe ; and it
was hoped that his presence in France at this
time would give to the popular rising throughout
the country an impetus, such as the appeals and
proclamations of the new government had failed
to impart. The state of his health, however, totally
unfitted him for regular warfare ; he knew little
of the duties of a general in command of a large
army; and he was looked on as the most dangerous
and wicked of men by a large portion of the
French, and by such persons as Colonel Charette
and the pontifical zouaves, whose aid in this
moment of need had also been tendered to and
accepted by the French government. Singularly
enough, Colonel Charette was also at Tours on
this memorable day, exercising his troops, fresh
from the defence of the pope.
To General Cambriels, who commanded in the
east, Garibaldi was despatched to Besançon, to
take command of the free corps and of a brigade
of mobiles in the Vosges. He carried a strong
letter of recommendation from Gambetta, and he
seems to have been received with the utmost
consideration by the civil and military authorities,
as well as with great enthusiasm by the people.
M. Gambetta at the head of affairs, issuing com¬
missions to parties so antagonistic as Garibaldi
and the champions of the temporal power, offered
to the imagination a strange, if not grotesque,
combination of circumstances. But although he
and his curious allies or subordinates were all
animated with the most intense desire to benefit
France, it seemed impossible that elements so dis-
L
82
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
cordant should long cohere, unless welded together
for a time by a success which they shared in
common. At present a bright spot in the fortunes
of France was nowhere visible ; but the courage
and resources of her people were great, and their
feelings of hatred against the invaders intense ; and
in these circumstances it was impossible to say
what change to the better might not yet take
place. Even a small advantage gained over a
German force in a fair fight, might have the effect
of reviving the confidence of the French, and
inciting them to put forth the great power they
undoubtedly possessed. With all the energy
of which he was capable, M. Gambetta set
about organizing armies in all the provinces
of France, admonishing prefects, displacing and
appointing generals, and showing himself where-
ever his presence could stimulate flagging patriot¬
ism or remove the depression caused by reverses.
He issued a decree, establishing four military
régions: 1, the Northern, to be commanded by
Bourbaki, at Lille; 2, the Western, with General
Fiereck commander, and Le Mans for head¬
quarters; 3, the Central, commanded by General
Polhès, at Bourges; 4, the Eastern, commanded
by General Cambriels, at Besançon. Besides these,
General La Motte Rouge on the Loire, General
Esterhazy at Lyons, Count Eeratry in the west,
and Garibaldi in the east held distinct commis¬
sions; eight in all, acting independently of each
other. The wonderful energy thus displayed by
M. Gambetta had a very inspiriting effect on the
country, and the despair almost universally de¬
picted on the countenance of French patriots
shortly before gave way to hope.
Meanwhile the Prussians, on their part, were
carrying out a preconcerted programme in their
movements to the north and south of Paris, and
in the east of France. The whole district between
Paris and Orleans was daily scoured by them for
requisitions. At Toury a large force under Prince
Albert of Prussia protected the operations for
supplying the army of Paris, and an immense
quantity of provisions, sheep, and cattle had been
collected here from the plains of La Beauce.
Early in October the efforts of the French to
raise an army behind the Loire had produced some
little result ; and on the 5th General Reyan,
having re-occupied Orleans, which General Polhès
had abandoned so hastily some ten days before,
pushed northwards to Arthenay and Toury with
10,000 men against the German, foraging forces.
An engagement took place at Toury, which lasted
from seven a.m. till twelve. The German artillery
dismounted several of the French guns, but by
his great superiority of numbers General Reyan
obtained an easy victory, and pursued the enemy
for several hours. About fifty prisoners were
taken, and a number of cattle and sheep, which
the Germans were unable to carry with them.
Such a sign of life on the part of the army of the
Loire gave some little uneasiness to the German
commander at Paris ; and to extinguish this first
gleam of success, which was already exciting new
enthusiasm in the country, the first corps of
Bavarians under Yon der Tann, which had arrived
last at Paris from Sedan and had been purposely
held in reserve, was now therefore ordered to
march southwards to discover the movements of
the enemy. It was strengthened by half the
infantry of the twenty-second Prussian division,
and by the cavalry divisions of Prince Albert and
Count Stolberg, which were already in the district.
There was a more direct line of railroad than
that through Orleans to Tours, diverging to the
westward of it at Bretigny, and running through
Châteaudun and Vendôme. This line it was
necessary to watch with cavalry, in order to cover
the right of Der Tann. It was the advanced guard
of a column sent for this purpose which, on the
night of the 7th, was surprised and cut up by the-
franc-tireurs at Ablis, about thirty-three miles
from Paris, and which led to the destruction of
that village on the following day, as stated in the
early part of the chapter.
Yon der Tann marched from his late quarters
about Longjumeau on the 6th, and on the 8th
gained Etampes, which had been held for some
days previously by the foraging party driven out
from Toury, twenty miles further off, by General
Reyan, on the 5th. The latter had fallen back a
day's march from Toury, after the trifling success
reported, and left his advanced guard of a brigade
of troops at Artenay, the next large village to
the south. The officer in command, General de
Longuerue, seems to have kept no better look-out
than those who suffered for their carelessness at
Wissembourg and Beaumont. Early on the morn¬
ing of the 10th the Bavarians were close upon
him, and soon began to drive his troops south¬
wards. Ignorant of the enemy's strength, he
hastened to support his advanced guard with
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
83
about 10,000 men, all that he had ready to his
hands. Probably Der Tann's advance was mis¬
taken for a separate and isolated detachment. At
any rate, the raw French troops were soon engaged
with a body of Germans of immensely superior
strength, and although they fought desperately
for several hours, they were of course overcome,
and, with the loss of many prisoners and some
guns, forced back towards Orleans, twelve miles
from the scene of the morning's action. General
Longuerue and a large body of the fugitives
gained the forest of Orleans, where, awaiting rein¬
forcements, they resolved to defend themselves.
The army of the Loire, now under the chief
command of General La Motte Rouge, numbered
at least 60,000 men. Of these, 15,000 had been
left the whole of this day to withstand a force
three times their numerical strength, and pos¬
sessing six times their effective value as a mili¬
tary body, while 45,000 were idle, within easy
reach of the battle-field. Although it was well
known that the Germans were coming south¬
wards by forced marches, no measures seem
to have been taken to signal their approach,
or to assemble reinforcements on any particular
spot. The roar of the artillery in the battle of
the 10th was distinctly heard in Orleans, and to
bring out the mobile guard the tocsin was rung
all day. In the course of the afternoon and
throughout the night La Motte Rouge arranged
to get together about 40,000 troops of all descrip¬
tions, including regulars, garde mobile, the foreign
legion, and the pontifical zouaves; and with these
he determined to prevent, if possible, the further
advance of the enemy.
The renewed engagement began early on the
morning of the 11th, and lasted nearly all day. The
occupation by the French of the forest of Orleans,
by which they obtained the cover of the wood,
proved some compensation against the superior
artillery of the Germans, and towards evening gave
the affair the character of a skirmish rather than
of a battle. At eleven o'clock the Prussian van¬
guard was in position at La-Croix-Briquet, between
Artenay and Chevilly, close to the railway line and
the main road, which passes through the village.
The other corps were placed towards Artenay,
lacing the borders of the forest of Orleans.
The French, advancing from Chevilly and Cer-
cottes, took up a line to cover their retreat on the
forest, and extending in the direction of Orleans.
They occupied the villages of Le \ ieux, Gercottes,
Salan, and the chateau of Les Quatre-cheminées
and that of La Vallée, nearly reaching Orleans.
The two armies were soon engaged along their
whole line, and the fighting was well sustained
by both. The Bavarians, however, gradually
gained ground. Their artillery, the arm in
which the French were deplorably weak, ap¬
proached nearer and nearer, and occupied the
best positions. The woods between Cercottes
and Chartan and the village of Salan were
fiercely contested, but ultimately captured. The
bloodiest part of the day was the afternoon.
About 3 p.m. the French were giving way on
all sides towards Orleans, but at St. Jean de la
Ruelle, a far-stretching suburb on the north, they
made a last and desperate stand. From four till
seven the fighting went on; and it can only be
compared to the storming of Bazeilles. The Ger¬
man troops were fired on from the interior and
the roofs of all the dwellings, and from the church
tower; and several houses at different points were
set on fire. While the great body of the Bavarians
now advanced in front, the Prussian infantry divi¬
sion undertook a flank movement, supported by
the cavalry, who could not, however, get speedily
through the vineyards and narrow roads. When
the bulk of the French, mobiles and franc-tireurs,
saw the danger they were in of being outflanked,
most of them discharged their guns at haphazard,
and a panic set in, during which 3000 prisoners
were made, and three guns taken.
As the conflict drew close to the city of Orleans,
the shells reached the houses, and the confusion
and terror was extreme. Soldiers and artillerymen
crossed the Boulevards close to the railway. Their
route was stopped by mobiles, but they continued
their retreat, and the terrified inhabitants ran in
all directions, exclaiming, "Les Prussiens! Les
Prussiens ! " Reinforcements arrived in the town
while the battle was going on; but instead of
proceeding to the field, they idled in the streets
and cafés, the officers playing cards and the men
roaming at discretion. When the flying army
began to pass, those men hastened to join the
rout, flung away their arms or broke them, and
crossed the bridge over the Loire. Fortunately
the principal columns of the French force had
already retreated without confusion on La Ferté
St. Aubin, at Olivet, on the little river Loiret.
During the battle the regulars behaved very ill,
84
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
throwing away their weapons and scampering off
as if in panic ; the mobiles, the foreign legion,
and the pontifical zouaves fought nobly, having
contended for nine hours continuously with forces
in every way superior.
At eight o'clock the Germans entered the city.
The municipal council was sitting at the Hotel
de Yille, intent on taking some decisive steps ;
the prefect Pereira, and the bishop, Monseigneur
Dupanloup, met the Germans at the Faubourg
Bannier, and tried to arrange a basis for negotia¬
tions. All the works of defence prepared during
the last few days had now been abandoned at
the approach of the enemy, and it was evident
that peaceful arrangements alone could save the
place from devastation.
On the 13th, the morning after the occupation,
General von der Tann demanded from the mayor
a contribution of 1,000,000 francs in specie, to
be paid in twenty-four hours, but subsequently
consented to accept provisionally 600,000 francs.
Monseigneur Dupanloup wrote to the king of
Prussia, praying for the remission of the remain¬
ing 400,000, in which, however, the prelate was
not successful. Another demand was made of
600 cattle, 300,000 cigars, and all the horses in
the town. The soldiers were billeted on the inhab¬
itants, and the jewellers' shops and objets de luxe
were strictly respected.
On the following day the German commander
issued the following proclamation :—
" French Citizens,—As I wish to alleviate as
far as in my power the fate of the population
visited with the evils of war, I appeal to their
good sense, in the hope that the sincerity of my
words will not fail to open their eyes to the exist¬
ing state of things, and determine them to range
themselves on the side of the reasonable party,
desirous of making peace. Your late government
declared war against Germany. Never was a de¬
claration of war more frivolous. The German
armies could do nothing else than reply to it by
crossing the frontier. Another government suc¬
ceeded. It was hoped that it would restore peace.
It has done nothing of the kind. And why? It
feared to render itself impossible, and under the
pretence that the conditions proposed by the Ger¬
man army were not acceptable, it preferred to
continue a war which can only lead to the ruin
of France. And what are the conditions of the
victorious army, which it was deemed impossible
to accept? The restitution of provinces which
belonged to Germany, and in which the German
language still prevails, in the towns as well as in
the country, viz., Alsace and German Lorraine.
Is this claim an exaggerated one? What claims
would victorious France have made? You have
been told that the aim of the operations of the
German armies was to degrade France. This is
simply a lie, invented in order to excite the pas¬
sions of the masses. It is, on the contrary, your
government which, by its way of acting, brings
the German armies necessarily into the heart of
France, brings ruin thither, and will succeed, if
it persists, in really degrading La Belle France,
which might be the best friend of the very nation
whom she has forced to fight her.
" The General of Infantry,
" BARON YON DER TANN.
" Orleans, October 13, 1870."
With quickness and energy the German general
had thus struck the only force that could venture
to the relief of the capital, and inflicted on the
army of the Loire a severe, though not fatal blow.
Its commander would seem to have been insensible
to the lessons of experience, which should have
taught him that the Prussian tactics were not to
rest on a defeat, trifling perhaps, as in the case of
Toury on the 6th ; and that after a repulse or dis¬
advantage large bodies would certainly be moved
up, to take a decisive revenge. And yet, instead
of a combined advance of the whole army on and
beyond Orleans, isolated columns were sent, and a
few brigades left to sustain for a whole day an
overpowering attack. General La Motte Rouge was
now relieved of his command, and the army of the
Loire looked forward to a brighter future under
D'Aurelles des Paladines, a general on the retired
list, but with the reputation of a resolute soldier
and stern disciplinarian, qualities much needed at
the time, and of the possession of which he soon
gave proof.
At Orleans, the Germans had reached the line
usually regarded as marking the boundaries between
northern and southern France. The provinces
bounding on the Loire—Touraine, Orleanois,
Anjou, Poitou—have been styled the garden of
France. " C'est le pays de rire et de ne rien faire;"
but Orleans is a comparatively poor and decaying
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
85
city, notwithstanding its historic fame and its fifty
thousand inhabitants.
The army of the Loire retired into comparative
obscurity after its misfortunes at Orleans, and
removed its headquarters to Bourges, which, as
a great depot and foundry for artillery, possessed
special advantages for strengthening the French
in this most essential arm. Large reinforcements
were also daily coming in, which General d'Aur-
elles des Paladines was energetically preparing
for offensive operations. His first order of the
day to his troops was in substance as follows:—
" Soldiers, what I ask of you, above all things, is
discipline and firmness. I am, moreover, thoroughly
determined to shoot any one who hesitates before
the enemy ; and should I myself fail to do my
duty, I tell you to shoot me."
A short time after the investment of Paris was
completed, the German commanders seemed dis¬
posed to abandon the system of " requisitions,"
which was better suited for an advancing army
than for one needing regular supplies. The first
steps in this direction, however, called forth pro¬
clamations forbidding the sale of food to the
Germans upon any terms ; and the prefect of the
Eure announced that any one found disposing of
corn, hay, or provisions to the enemy, would be
liable to be tried by court-martial and sentenced
to death. As the enemy, however, were not
inclined to starve while there was anything to
eat, they helped themselves to what they needed.
The region north of Orleans, the so-called Beauce,
was the most fertile district they had as yet
entered. It supplied Paris with enormous quan¬
tities of excellent wheat, and abounded in steam
and water mills. Of oats also, there was a large
supply, a great acquisition for the German cavalry.
The conquest of Orleans, therefore, served a very
important double purpose for the Prussians. It
not only relieved the army investing Paris on the
south from any fear of being molested, but the
rich provinces now occupied furnished such an
abundance of provision as to materially relieve the
railway from Germany, which the invader was
now able to use more exclusively for bringing up
to Paris additional troops, siege guns, and all kinds
of war matériel.
Von der Tann did not follow up his successes
with the rapidity which might have been looked
for. He lay at Orleans for some days after
it was captured, the main body of his army
occupying a line of about thirty miles from Jargeau
to Beaugency, while his cavalry scoured the valley
of the Loire for provisions.
Between Châteaudun and the capital were the
large forests of Rambouillet, Batonneau, Gazeleau,
and Bienonvienne. Extending to the very neigh¬
bourhood of Versailles, these immense woods had
been haunted from the first by franc-tireurs, who
constantly harassed the German patrols, and from
their leafy retreats had in the course of the last
few weeks shot at and killed many a solitary
vedette. Emboldened by impunity, these bands
gradually attracted strong reinforcements from the
south, until the whole district was infested by
them. A small army was thus collected in the
rear of the besiegers, not dangerous, indeed, but
numerous and active enough to cause serious annoy¬
ance. General von Moltke had recently taken
vigorous means to clear the country of them near
Paris, in consequence of which they fell back from
the neighbourhood of Versailles to the southern
outskirts of the forest, where they partially fortified
some of the towns, especially Chartres and Châ¬
teaudun. To prevent renewed annoyance to the
besieging army of Paris, Von der Tann sent
General Wittich from Orleans with 7000 infantry,
a detachment of cavalry, and three batteries of
artillery towards these towns, which had now
become the headquarters of the franc-tireurs.
On the morning of the 18th of October the Prus¬
sians appeared before Châteaudun, which, though
defended by only irregular troops, gave proof of
the determined stuff of which these were made,
and of what might have been done by them had
they been combined under good leadership, instead
of being scattered in petty bands over the whole
country. About 4000 strong, they had blocked
up every entrance to the town, and so skilfully
posted themselves behind cover, that the Germans
had to bombard the place for eight hours before
they could venture on a more direct and effective
attack. It was nine p.m. ere the thirty guns that
had opened the work of destruction were ordered
off to make way for the storming columns ; but
the progress of the assaulting parties was stopped
by the most solid barricades yet encountered in
this war of sieges. Behind a thick layer of
fascines, a wall of earth was heaped up five feet
high and three wide. The earth was backed by
stones and felled trees, to give additional solidity
to the whole, and to form a sort of breastwork
86
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
on the top. This formidable obstruction, lined
with dense rows of Chassepots, proved impreg¬
nable to the infantry who advanced, drums beating,
with levelled bayonets. After one or two vain
attempts to get at the defenders, the artillery was
set to work again, with like results ; its shells
bursting in the earthworks and doing compara¬
tively little injury. Orders were then given by
General Wittich to beat in the side walls of the
houses, and thus penetrating from one dwelling to
another, to take the barricades in the rear. But
even this did not discourage the French, who dis¬
puted the possession of each house, and did tre¬
mendous execution among the engineers, as with
pickaxe in hand they smashed in the walls. By
this time nearly half the town was in flames, and
the defenders fought with the fury of despair.
At eleven o'clock the combat seems to have
ceased by mutual consent. The Prussians drew
off their troops, and camped outside the town ;
the French, collecting their forces and the inhab¬
itants, retreated unmolested and in good order,
a fact which shows the deep impression which
the desperate defence must have made upon the
Prussians.
The loss of the French in killed and wounded
was about 300 ; that of the Germans probably
more, including Pastor Schwabe, chaplain to the
22nd Prussian division, who, while in attendance on
the wounded, was killed in the streets of Château-
dun. The gallant defence was duly recognized
by the Tours government, which declared in a
decree of the 21st that Châteaudun deserved well
of the country, and granted 100,000 francs in aid
of the houseless inhabitants.
Chartres, the capital of the department of the
Eure and Loire, and having one of the largest corn
markets in France, was invested on the morning
of the 21st by the Prussian division which had at¬
tacked Châteaudun, and detachments arriving from
Rambouillet, Etampes, Angerville, and Patay. On
finding that the German artillery had been planted
before the city, the curé of Morancy begged per¬
mission to enter it in order to persuade the
authorities to capitulate. General Wittich con¬
sented to grant a respite till 1 p.m., but the invest¬
ment of the place was meanwhile proceeded with.
Happily, the authorities agreed to a capitulation,
by which half the garrison were allowed to retire;
only 2000 mobiles being disarmed. The terms,
more favourable than those obtained by any other
place since the commencement of the war, showed
that the Germans were not unwilling to avoid
a repetition of the Châteaudun street fighting.
The Prussian troops entered and enthusiastically
cheered Prince Albrecht, before whom they defiled.
It had been stipulated that all the shops should
be kept open, and that the town should be exempt
from requisitions. The streets were lighted up,
and the inhabitants, who collected in considerable
numbers, were perfectly quiet. On the following
day the troops, whose demeanour was very be¬
coming, mustered in the famous crypt of the
cathedral, and by lamp-light inspected every part
of that elaborate structure.
The principal military operations during October,
other than those between Paris and Orleans, were
connected with the eastern department of France.
Along with another army, which entered French
territory across the Upper Rhine about Freiburg,
General von Werder, with the Prussian and Baden
troops released from Strassburg, co-operated in
occupying upper Alsace, and in besieging Belfort,
Schlestadt, and Neu-Breisach. From an early
period of the war a very considerable force, alter¬
nately known as the army of Lyons and the
army of the Rhone, was said to be forming in the
south and south-eastern departments. According
to French reports this army now numbered 100,000
men, and was stationed between Belfort and
Langres. To disperse such a force, if it really
existed, the German operations in this quarter
were pushed forward with considerable energy.
On October 6 the Baden troops, under General
von Degenfeld, fell in with a French army under
General Dupré, in the Yosges mountains between
Raon l'Etape and St. Diey, about thirty miles
south-east of Luneville. An engagement ensued,
which lasted from 9 a.m. till 4 p.m., when the
French were defeated and driven back on Ramber-
villers. Their force consisted of a few regular
troops and a large number of franc-tireurs, alto¬
gether about 14,000 men. The Germans were
only about 7000 strong, but their superior morale
and the cavalry and artillery in which they vastly
excelled gave them immense advantages. General
Dupré was wounded, and lost 1500 in killed and
disabled, and 660 prisoners ; the Germans lost
about 450. The villages of St. Rémy and Nom-
patelize and the wood of Jumelles were carried
at the point of the bayonet by the Baden troops,
but their victory was by no means easy, as the
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
87
French fought gallantly and made three vigorous
onslaughts.
The beaten army retreated to Epinal, the princi¬
pal town of the department of the Vosges, but was
driven out on the 12th; and the capture of Epinal
cut off Lorraine from the rest of France. The
franc-tireurs ran away, and the national guards
made the best resistance they could after the. mass
of the army had abandoned the town. General von
Werder then turned southward and gained Vesoul,
from which he drove the French so rapidly as to
eut them in two, sending part on to Besançon and
Dijon, and part to Belfort, in the opposite direction.
General Cambriels, recently appointed by the
Tours government to the command of the French
army of the east, now advanced with what miscel¬
laneous forces he could obtain, as far as Belfort.
Fearing, however, to be cut off, he fell back on
Besançon, where he met with Garibaldi, who
had been appointed to the command of the
irregular troops of the east. Garibaldi shortly
afterwards removed his headquarters to Dôle,
where he issued a proclamation reminding those
under his command, that " in the country occu¬
pied by the foreigner, every bush, every tree,
should threaten him with a shot, so that his men
may fear to leave their column or cantonments.
Numerous guerillas would render very difficult, if
not, impossible, those requisitions which hitherto
a simple enemy's corporal has presumed to make
wherever he sets his foot." The Italian hero
recalled, in conclusion, the defence of Monte Video
for nine years against 28,000 men inured to war,
although that town had then but 30,000 inhabit¬
ants. " Monte Video sold its palaces, its temples,
its customs rights, present and to come, unearthed
the old cannon which served as boundaries in the
streets, forged lances to supply the place of missing
guns ; while the women gave to the country their
last jewel. A village of France has more resources
than Monte Video had then. Can we doubt of the
success of the national defence ?"
There was no combined action between Gari¬
baldi and Cambriels, whoSe forces the German
general still pursued with relentless activity.
Indeed, so far from acting in concert, after his
first interview with Garibaldi, General Cambriels
tendered his resignation, which was declined
by Gambetta ; but the government now accepted
it. The appointment of the Italian leader to a
command so important and apparently rival, was
viewed by Cambriels as equivalent to superseding
him, and he was certainly not alone in regard¬
ing Garibaldi with disfavour. The acceptance
of his services by the government was looked
upon by all good Catholics, especially those of
Brittany, as the last bitter dregs of F ranee's humili¬
ation. It is clear that momentary impulse rather
than love or admiration had prompted the shouts
of " Vive Garibaldi ! " for, from his first arrival in
the east, all manner of obstacles were placed in
his way by those who should have assisted him.
French officers viewed him with extreme jealousy,
and even his own Breton auxiliaries thwarted
him on every opportunity. There was no doubt
that General Cambriels stood his ground as well
as was possible with the material at his command ;
but he doubtless thought that, had the forces of
Garibaldi, which had done nothing at all, been
with him, his position would have been better.
He shared largely, moreover, in the peculiar
feelings of the Catholics towards Garibaldi, whose
appointment, indeed, was soon found to be far
more hurtful than advantageous to the French
cause.
The successor of General Cambriels was, how¬
ever, a more congenial colleague to the great
guerilla chief. General Michel, who was now
appointed to the command of the French forces
in the east, was in sentiment a republican and
a freethinker, and was one of the superior officers
who managed to evade the capitulation of Sedan,
by cutting his way through the Prussian lines at
the head of 2000 horsemen.
Part of the Baden corps which had driven the
French before them at St. Rémy on the 6th, next
proceeded to invest Schlestadt, which was then
subjected to a regular siege. After it had been
vigorously bombarded several times, preparations
were made for taking it by assault. For this pur¬
pose the south-west side was selected, as the water
from the 111 could be diverted from the fosses, the
ditches laid dry, and the town more effectively
cannonaded. On the night of the 22nd the first
parallels were easily raised at a distance of only
500 to 700 paces from the fortress, and the guns
brought into position. But when the command¬
ant saw the number of guns constantly increasing,
new troops coming up, and no chance of relief,
the avoiding of useless sacrifices became the sub¬
ject of imperative consideration. Like his colleague
at Strassburg, he had no engineer detachment, the
88
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
artillerymen only sufficed for the manning of the
guns; and he therefore capitulated on Monday
afternoon, October 24, surrendering 2400 prisoners
and 120 guns, with abundance of provisions and
war material.
The siege of Neu-Breisach was commenced
early in the month ; but as there was some appre¬
hension that all the disposable German force
might be needed in the field by General von
Werder, operations were not pushed forward
against the little fortress with much vigour.
The chief interest of the war in the north cen¬
tered round the two towns of Soissons and St.
Quentin. Soissons occupies a strategic position
of the first importance, and its value, in a military
point of view, as commanding a passage over the
Aisne, is shown by its fortunes in the campaign
of 1814, when it was besieged three times. On
the 13th of February, the Prussian General Cher-
nicheff took it by a coup de main, when General
Rusca, its governor, was killed by a cannon-shot
on its antiquated ramparts. But on the same day
the French retook it, and Chernicheff was com¬
pelled to withdraw. Napoleon, who attached the
greatest importance to the possession of it, urged
its garrison to hold out to the last; and if the
French governor had been an Uhrich, Marshal
Blucher and the army of Silesia, pursued by
Napoleon across the Marne, would probably have
been annihilated. But the governor capitulated,
Blucher escaped, all the emperor's plans were
overthrown, and the surrender decided his fall.
Owing to what it has suffered by wars, Soissons
has a modern look, although it is one of the oldest
towns in France. It was here that Clovis estab¬
lished the throne of the Franks, and his successors
were called kings of Soissons. The town and fort¬
ress were dominated by heights which formerly
would have given no advantage to an assailant,
but from which an enemy with rifled cannon could
now destroy the whole place. When Toul fell, a
number of the heavy guns which had been em¬
ployed there were sent to Soissons;'but though
invested, it was not seriously bombarded until the
12th of October. The garrison made a stout
resistance, sacrificing everything to the defence
of the city. As one of the suburbs, the Faubourg
of Rheims, covered the position of the Prussians,
it was resolved to burn it, an operation which was
effected on two successive evenings. The guns of
the place protected the march of the incendiaries,
who suddenly invested the high street of the
faubourg. Amid a shower of bullets, the houses
occupied by the Prussians were set on fire, and the
French, in order to dislodge the enemy, were
obliged to break open the doors with the butt-ends
of their muskets. At length an enormous column
of smoke shot up, and in less than an hour were
destroyed more than 200 dwelling-houses, a large
sugar refinery, a foundry, a mill, and the houses
of the Sisters of Mercy, besides many fashionable
villas. Several of the inhabitants lost their lives.
On October 12 the heavy guns of the Germans
opened in full force on the unfortunate city, and
for four days and nights poured an incessant and
furious stream of deadly missiles into it. The havoc
done to the people and their houses was greater
than to the fortifications, in which not more than
one hundred men were killed during the bombard¬
ment. On the 16th the fortress capitulated, as two
breaches opened on the previous day, and the threat
of an assault by the Prussians, accompanied with
the offer of honourable terms, gave resistless force
to the entreaties of the population for immediate
surrender. By its fall, 4700 prisoners, 130 guns,
70,000 rounds of ammunition, and a considerable
sum in the military chest, passed into the hands
of the Germans. A still more important acqui¬
sition by the surrender was the opening of a second
line of railway from Chalons to Paris, as the direct
line along the valley of the Marne was interrupted
beyond M eaux by the destruction of the tunnels
and bridges. Of the 22,000 Germans under the
duke of Mecklenburg, which formed the besieging
force, the greater number marched at once to Paris.
To St. Quentin, a town of some 40,000 inhabit¬
ants on the line between Paris and Lille, within
ten miles of the fortress of Ham, in which the
ex-emperor of the French had been a prisoner for
six years, the Prussians sent a considerable party
to obtain provisions. On Saturday, October 8,
they were announced to be at a few kilomètres'
distance from the town, on the road to La Fère.
The drums beat to arms. The national guards
hastened to their posts. The prefect, M. Anatole
de la Forge, wearing a plain uniform of the national
guard, appeared in the chief square of the town
with a broadsword in one hand and a revolver in
the other, and urged the population to fight. Four
formidable barricades had been constructed during
the previous fortnight in the Rue d'lsle—one on
the banks of the canal ; two at 200 mètres' distance
IEENEBAL ® § M ffi IB A K 0 „
WILLIAM MACKENZIE. LONDOM, EDINBURGH X GLASGOW
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
89
from each other, in the interior of the town; and
the fourth closing the road from La Fère to the
top of the Faubourg d'Isle. Ten men could defend
this barricade for a brief space. At the entrance
of the town, close to the Grand Canal barricade,
which formed, indeed, a very strong position, the
fight began, and while it lasted the prefect remained
in the first post of danger. The Prussians, num¬
bering about 750, intrenched themselves in the
railway station. Taking advantage of the angles
of the houses, and of the openings in the railway
balustrades, they endeavoured to deploy as sharp¬
shooters, but failed to reach the national guard,
and suffered rather serious losses, every man who
showed himself being shot. The struggle lasted
from half-past ten until about two o'clock, when
the Prussians retreated, taking the road to Marie.
On October 21 they returned, at least 5000 strong,
and with twelve field-guns they for half-an-hour
cannonaded the town. No resistance being offered,
they entered, and demanded 2,000,000 francs,
1,500,000 of which (£60,000) was paid—an
exaction which, the Germans said, would have
been very much less had not the town defended
itself on the first occasion.
Clermont was captured, after a brief resistance,
in the end of September. Beauvais, Breteuil,
Montdidier, Vernon, Gisors, and Gournay were
also occupied, and from these points the Prussians
scoured the country for provisions for the army
around Paris. Here and there the national guard
showed in force; but in these cases a requisition
was made that all arms should be given up, under
penalty of death, and the result generally was that,
a few hours afterwards, waggon-loads of muskets
poured into the German camp. In Rouen, Amiens,
and the larger towns, the inhabitants were kept in
a feverish state of excitement by the frequent raids
made in the places around. The national guards
were called out, equipped, and drilled, and through¬
out all the northern departments very large enrol¬
ments of garde mobile took place, who displayed
a better spirit than was shown in many parts of the
country; but it needed a responsible master-hand
to introduce organization and discipline amongst
them. Considerable spirit was shown by the
irregular troops of the northern departments, who
on every opportunity harassed the Germans, and
caused them the loss of a gun—the first sacrificed
by them in the campaign—in an attempt to cut
the railroad between Amiens and Rouen. Early in
VOL. II.
the month General Bourbaki, the able commander
of the imperial guard, and right hand of Bazaine,
as we shall see in the next chapter, found his
way out of Metz and through the Prussian lines, in
connection with a mysterious intrigue, the exact
nature and object of which did not at the time tran¬
spire. Suffice it here to relate that he came over
to England, to visit the empress at Chiselhurst,
who, as it turned out, had not expected him, and
had nothing to say to him. He recrossed into
France, hoping that the Prussian staff would allow
him to rejoin Bazaine; but as they threw obstacles
in his way, he repaired to Tours, and placed his
sword at the disposal of the Provisional Govern¬
ment, by which he was at once appointed to the
command of the army of the north.
This general is of Greek origin, and his father,
a staunch imperialist, rendered important services
to Napoleon I. It was he who, in the Egyptian
campaign of 1798-99, went over from France in a
felucca, and aided by his nationality, succeeded in
duping the English cruisers and entering Egypt.
He brought Napoleon such news as decided him
on returning immediately to Paris, to which cir¬
cumstance he owed his throne. Seventeen years
later the same faithful adherent was sent to inform
Bonaparte of the decision of the Allies, that he
should be transferred to St. Helena.
General Bourbaki especially distinguished him¬
self by his cool and determined courage in that
training-ground of all modern French generals—
Algeria. In the Crimean war he served as general
of brigade, and his gallantry at the Alma, Inker-
man, the Malakoff, and the taking of Sebastopol,
is too well known to be dwelt upon here.
General of division in 1857, he took no mean part
in the Italian war, and in 1870 was nominated
commander of the second camp at Chalons. At
the beginning of the war he was appointed to
the command of the imperial guard, joined Marshal
Bazaine, and was forced with him into Metz, where
he remained until his extraordinary release. He
was one of the French generals who received a
decoration from the king of Prussia in 1864. No
name was better calculated to restore confidence
and inspire energy into the newly-enrolled troops
throughout the North, to whom, on his appoint¬
ment, he issued the following proclamation :—
" FRENCH REPUBLIC.
" Citizens, national guards, soldiers, and mobile
M
90
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
guards,—I have been called by the minister of War
to the military command of the region of the North.
The task which devolves on me is a great one, and
I should think it above my strength were I not
sustained by the feelings of patriotism which ani¬
mate you. All my endeavours tend to the creation,
as speedily as possible, of an active army corps,
which, provided with a war matériel, can take the
field and proceed to the assistance of the fortresses,
which I hasten to place in a good state of defence.
As to me, who have loyally offered my sword to
the government of the national defence, my endea¬
vours and my life belong to the common work
which it prosecutes together with yourselves, and
in the moment of danger you will see me at the
head of the troops who will soon be organized. To
fulfil this difficult task, and to make our implacable
enemy pay dear for each step on our territory,
concord and confidence must reign among us, and
our hearts must be animated with only one wish
—to save and avenge our unhappy France. You
may rely upon the most energetic co-operation and
the most absolute devotedness on my part, just as
I rely upon your courage and patriotism.
(Signed) " BOURBAKI.
" Lille, October 29, 1870."
Brittany and the district west of Paris began in
October to show signs of activity in contributing
towards the national defence. Early in the month
the command of the western levies was intrusted
by the government to Count de Keratry, a Breton
noble, who forthwith issued a proclamation urging
his compatriots to emulate the noble example of
their brethren of Brittany who at that moment
manned the ramparts of Paris. The army of the
West had not, it is true, assumed large proportions
as yet; but with good organization it was sufficiently
numerous to be no mean auxiliary to the army
of the Loire, in any attempt for the relief of the
capital. Before Count de Keratry took the com¬
mand of the army of the West it had been a con¬
tinued source of misfortune to the district, by its
ill-disciplined and scattered bands offering resist¬
ance to the German requisition columns, which,
while utterly ineffectual, brought down severe
vengeance upon unoffending villages, several of
which were ruthlessly destroyed. The count soon
afterwards assumed the command of the irregular
forces of the West, franc-tireurs, &c., for the
organization of which he was well fitted by his
influence and experience. General Fiereck was
appointed over the western regular army.
Besides the several field armies organizing in
the provinces in October, a corps of volunteer
engineers was formed, to operate upon the German
lines of communication. These companies—known
as " The Wild Boars of the Ardennes," " The
Railway Destroyers," &c. —• were composed of
artisans of all classes, and carried picks, crowbars,
mining tools, hatchets, powder petards and cases,
for pulling up rails, blowing up bridges, felling trees,
and mining roads. Two companies were specially
designed to guard them when at work, and one to
collect provisions and attend generally to the com¬
missariat. In at least one instance the operations
of this corps were eminently successful, and several
railway accidents were caused to the German
trains. To stop these proceedings, however, the
Prussians issued an order that the trains should
" be accompanied by inhabitants who are well
known and generally respected, and who shall
be placed on the locomotive, so that it may be
made known that every accident caused by the
hostility of the inhabitants will, in the first place,
injure their countrymen." At Nancy the first
hostage was M. Leclair, the venerable president
of the Court of Appeal. On another occasion,
Procureur-général Isard was " invited " to make
an involuntary journey. Escorted by two Prus¬
sian gendarmes, he had to mount the tender and
travel to Luneville, where his colleague in that
town took his place. The president of the Cham¬
ber of Commerce, a judge, and a barrister, also
occupied in turn the post of danger.
While speaking of the " railway destroyers," it
may be remarked that, although the war we are
now reviewing gives no actual examples of the
working of the well-known theory of Marmont,
that mounted infantry should play a striking part
in the warfare of the future, we see at least that
the German cavalry would have found their move¬
ments in the interior of France paralyzed by the
hostility of the armed bands which lurked in every
covert, had they not fallen upon the device of
attaching to each brigade a detachment of riflemen,
to assist in dispersing these secret enemies. The
clearing and occupation of the country south of
Paris was accomplished mainly by the aid of the
Bavarian riflemen who were employed with the
fourth and sixth cavalry divisions; and when, after
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
91
the fall of Metz, Manteuffel advanced to occupy
the north of France with the first army, his flank
and front were kept clear by the first division
under Goben, who carried similar small parties of
riflemen with each of his brigades, and used them
constantly in his occupation of villages and other
inclosed posts. Such infantry, however active,
would of necessity have been a heavy clog upon
the movements of the horse, had they not been
repeatedly hurried forward in country carts or
other wheeled carriages. Indeed, the device was
simply a rude expedient to meet an emergency for
which the Germans were not prepared. Had the
events of 1870 been fully foreseen, some such
scheme would doubtless have been fallen upon as
raising bodies of mounted riflemen for the express
purpose of ridding the advanced guards from
lurking franc-tireurs. There is the highest au¬
thority—that of the most successful of the generals
who have used this modified form of cavalry on
a great scale—for asserting that, had the French
early in this war trained up a mass of horsemen
such as those that followed Sheridan during the
American civil war, instead of devoting their whole
efforts to the collection of masses of raw infantry
and artillerymen, they might have so threatened
the line of railroad which fed the German host
before Paris as to render a continued investment
impossible. Few at least will doubt that such
a body, acting upon the communications of the
Germans, would have done more to hinder the
conquest of the country than tenfold their numbers
sent on foot to be fresh food for the enemy's
powder.
That the month of October closed with far
brighter prospects for France than it opened, was
due mainly to the energy and indefatigable activity
of M. Gambetta. From the date of his arrival at
Tours he had virtually been the government of
national defence. Indeed the various proclama¬
tions and decrees issued rarely bore even the
signatures of his colleagues, MM. Cremieux,
Glais-Bizoin, and Fourichon. That some of these
decrees were in spirit extremely revolutionary
there is no doubt; but it is equally certain that
under the exceptional circumstances of the country
they offered the best remedies for its misfortunes.
They did not result in the salvation of France,
because in the hour of need no great military
genius arose to enforce them. Could the minister
have relied upon a colleague in the field of equal
daring and energy with himself, it would have
fared hard even with the magnificent armies of
Germany. The first decree of October, for a levée
en masse of all men between twenty-one and forty
years, ought in a month to have been answered by
a number several times larger than any trained
army which Germany could bring into the country ;
and with very moderate organization, numerical
strength so vastly superior should have had a
proportionate effect on the fortunes of the war.
October, however, closed with at least 700,000
German soldiers on French territory, to oppose
which there were not 250,000 organized forces
outside Paris and Metz. Twelve fortresses of
France—namely, Strassburg, Toul, Marsal, Vitry,
Sedan, Laon, Lutzelstein, Lichtenberg, Weissem-
burg, Soissons, Schlestadt, and Metz—had been
captured by the enemy; and Phalsburg, Bitsche,
Paris, Thionville, Mézières, Montmèdy, Verdun,
Longwy, and Neu Breisach were besieged.
One of the earliest and most questionable of
Gambetta's decrees was that which abolished the
laws of regular promotion in the army, and opened
every grade to civil talent. With the most orderly
army, such an experiment would be dangerous in
the most favourable circumstances ; it was especially
so in the midst of such confusion. M. Gambetta
thought, however, that the only hope of France
was in the creation of entirely new armies out of
the civil population; and while he betrayed no
little distrust of the regulars, he lost no opportunity
of praising and encouraging the new levies, upon
whom he imagined all the hopes of his country
now rested.
All provinces within a hundred kilomètres (about
seventy miles) of the enemy's forces were placed
under martial law, and in each a commission of
defence was appointed to concoct plans of defence,
to fortify the points most suitable for defensive
purposes, and to direct the local ■ forces. It was
further decreed that camps should be formed at a
distance of not less than two miles from each town
where the troops of all arms mustered over 2000,
and that officers and men alike, taking up their
abode there, should not return to town without a
special permission. In these camps they were to
undergo severe drill, and other discipline, to fit
them in every way for service. Another decree
enjoined on the prefects of invaded or threatened
provinces to see that the country was laid waste,
and all carts, horses, cattle, and sheep removed to
92
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
a distance. Soldiers quitting their posts, or flying
before the enemy, were to be brought before a
court-martial, and shot. Any commanding officer
whose troops should be surprised by the enemy,
or who should have advanced upon a position
" without suspecting the hostile presence," was
also to be brought before a court-martial. The
authorities of every town were to defend the place,
or to show sufficient reason for not doing so.
Another edict was issued for the purpose of estab¬
lishing proper systems of information. Hitherto
the authorities had literally been acting in absolute
ignorance of the movements and intentions of the
enemy, while the Prussians, by their widely-spread
system of espionage and their innumerable cavalry
scouts, kept themselves perfectly informed of the
position and intentions of the French. The govern¬
ment now ordered every maire to employ through¬
out his commune gardes champêtres, workmen,
&c., who should instantly report to him the ap¬
proach and direction of any body of the enemy,
with an approximate estimate of their force and
composition; and that this information should be
immediately despatched to the prefect, to be tele¬
graphed to the government. Every maire who failed
in these details was to be tried by court-martial.
In the earlier part of the month the conduct
of the extreme republicans, who alone of all
the French nation showed themselves devoid of
patriotic feelings, paralyzed the efforts of the large
towns. Imperialists, Legitimists, Orleanists, alike
laid aside their partialities and prejudices, and com¬
bined with the government for the national defence.
The extreme republicans alone preferred party
to patriotism, caused dissension, sacrificed France,
under pretence of saving her, and thus gave a
dim presentiment of the terrible scenes which, in
Paris, were to aggravate the horrors of the war at
its close. Paris, Bordeaux, Rouen, Lille, Havre,
all great centres of industry, nobly allowed
nothing to interfere with the national defence;
while Lyons, Marseilles, Toulouse, and Toulon
were sources of weakness, rather than of strength,
to the country. The establishment of communal
institutions and of the extremest forms of repub¬
licanism were deemed matters of greater impor¬
tance than the expulsion of the invader. Ardent
republican though he was, so ashamed was Gam-
betta of the conduct of the Lyons republicans,
that on receiving the delegates of a committee
from that city he exclaimed, "Your commune of
Lyons is a disgrace to France and a laughing¬
stock to Europe. Out with you at once ! "
To meet immediate claims, and supply articles
necessary for the purposes of the war, the Tours
government, on the 26th of October, contracted a
loan of £10,000,000. The result of the subscrip¬
tion to it proved that if France was doomed to
succumb in the war it would not be for want of
means to fight, nor of the spirit to use them.
In her then critical situation, with the capital
invested, and over a score of rich departments
terror-struck by Prussian legions, it was thought
that a loan of this extent must be a failure. For
the first time, therefore, a French loan was opened
in a foreign country—England. Subscriptions
were, nevertheless, invited in France, and in less
than three days the result was an amount equal,
in round numbers, to £3,750,000. When it is
remembered that a large proportion of the country,
the metropolis included, could take no share in the
subscriptions, and that local loans to an enormous
amount had been contracted in all quarters for
purposes of defence, such a result was a striking
proof of the internal resources of France, and of
confidence in the credit of the state.
Throughout October the French government
continually appealed to England and the various
European cabinets for interposition or assistance.
In an important interview with Lord Lyons on
the 15 th, the French delegate minister of Foreign
Affairs suggested that England, either singly or in
concert with other neutrals, should request Prussia
to state the conditions of peace which she would
accept ; that France should then submit her views ;
and that the neutral powers should in a conference,
or by exchanging notes, give out with authority
what in their opinion were equitable terms of
peace, and call upon both belligerents to accept
them. M. de Chandordy seemed to think that
both must of course listen to the voice of Europe ;
but as this was by no means probable, his sug¬
gestion was not adopted.
Count von Bismarck had indeed pretty plainly
intimated already the extent of the German terri¬
torial claims ; for in a short despatch to Count
Bernstorff on the 1st October, in which he com¬
bated the statement of M. Favre, that " Prussia
means to continue the war and to bring France
back to the position of a power of the second
rank," he said :—" The cession of Strassburg and
Metz, which we seek in territorial connection,,
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
93
implies a reduction of French territory equal in
area to the increase through Savoy and Nice,
while the population of these provinces obtained
from Italy is about 750,000 larger. When it is
considered that France, according to the census of
1866, numbers 38,000,000 of inhabitants without
Algiers, and with Algiers now furnishing an
essential part of the French war forces, 42,000,000,
it is palpable that a decrease therein of 750,000
effects no change in the importance of France as
against foreign countries."
M. de Chandordy represented to Lord Lyons
that, to these claims of Prussia, France could never
submit. He added, that " he felt he was entitled
to appeal to the rest of Europe for support. The
time for good offices had passed. The powers
should now speak to Prussia in a tone which could
not be mistaken, and take measures to insure their
being listened to." Lord Granville, however, re¬
plied that England was not prepared to support
by force any representations they might make to
Prussia; and further instructed Lord Lyons, should
opportunity arise, to point out that her Majesty's
government thought the rigid determination ex¬
pressed by M. Favre, not to yield an inch of
territory nor one stone of a fortress, was a great
obstacle to peace.
But though the English government could not
yield to the appeals of France, they took advantage
of a circular of Count von Bismarck's respecting
the danger of famine with which Paris was threat¬
ened, to make a formal suggestion that both bel¬
ligerents should agree upon an armistice for the
convocation of a French constituent assembly,
which might decide the question of peace or war.
This proposal Lord Granville pressed with great
energy, and informed Count Bernstorff that M.
Thiers, backed by the personal intervention of the
emperor of Russia, had proposed to undertake
the negotiation. Russia, Austria, Italy, and Spain
joined in urging the armistice ; Italy, indeed,
appeared to desire even more decided intervention.
M. Tissot again pressed Lord Granville to call on
Prussia to state her terms of peace, "bring them
within fair limits, and then communicate them
to the French government." All the principal
powers, however, were agreed in restricting the pro¬
posed negotiations to the question of an armistice.
In virtue of these proceedings, M. Thiers had
his first interview with Count von Bismarck, at
Versailles, on November 1, when the general
arrangements for an armistice of twenty-four or
twenty-eight days were agreed to. The main diffi¬
culty arose out of the revictualling of Paris, to which
the Prussian chancellor ultimately consented, on
condition that, as a " military equivalent," the Ger¬
mans should have at least one of the Paris forts.
The veteran French statesman had not expected
this, and with considerable warmth he replied : " It
is Paris that you ask from us; for to deny us the
revictualling during the armistice is to take from
us one month of our resistance; to require from
us one or several of our forts is to ask for our
ramparts. It is, in fact, to demand Paris, while
we should give you the means of starving or
bombarding her. In treating with us for an
armistice you could never suppose its condition
to be that we should give up Paris herself to you
—Paris, our chief strength, our great hope, and
for you the great difficulty, which, after fifty days
of siege, you have not been able to overcome." M.
Thiers then left to consult with M. Favre, who,
in turn, took counsel with his colleagues of the
government in the city. The result was, that on
the following day, November 6, M. Thiers received
instructions to break off the negotiations, and at
once left the German headquarters. For a third
time, therefore, the hopes of peace were frustrated,
and both parties girded themselves for a war à
outrance.
Considered in the light of subsequent events,
the French committed a grave diplomatic blunder
in refusing the terms offered by the Germans, and
allowing the negotiations to be broken off on the
question of revictualling Paris. The king of Prussia
and his advisers consented to the armistice under
the mistaken idea that there was no prospect of an
efficient force being formed in any quarter for the
relief of the capital. The French had up to that
time been everywhere beaten, and were therefore
supposed to be incapable of again showing any
head in the field. On the contrary, the several
armies forming in the provinces only needed time
to render them, both in number and organization,
extremely formidable to the Germans. With regard
especially to the army of the Loire, twenty-eight
days would have enabled D'Aurelles to complete
hie cavalry and artillery, to establish discipline,
and to concentrate his army in a state of readiness
for an immediate advance. The Breton levies would
have been prepared to operate from the west in
force, and aid in a simultaneous march to the capital.
94
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
In order to keep the truce, Prince Frederick Charles,
who was now on the way from Metz, would have
been arrested at full twelve days' march from
Orleans, so that whatever French forces could have
been collected within one hundred miles of Paris
during the armistice would have been free from
immediate danger of the overwhelming German
reinforcements which presently proved their ruin.
We cannot see how the revictualling of Paris would
have affected matters at all. The inhabitants would
not have been any worse off at the end of the
armistice, supposing they had obtained no new
supplies, since there was at any rate plenty of food
to last them for that time. If, therefore, the Ger¬
man armies would have been compelled to raise
the siege in December at all, after an armistice,
they would have been forced to abandon it whether
Paris were revictualled or not.
The news of the failure of the negotiations
produced a momentary feeling of regret and disap¬
pointment in most parts of France. On November
10, however, there occurred the first German
reverse of any magnitude during the war, re¬
sulting in the defeat of Yon der Tann and
the retreat of the Bavarians from Orleans. This
raised the hopes of the nation, gave a new light
to the failure of M. Thiers' mission, and England
and the neutral powers generally were bitterly
denounced for having suggested a temporary ces¬
sation of hostilities. Many of the journals and
prefects, especially of southern France, repudiated
with scorn the idea of peace, or even of an armis¬
tice, until satisfaction had been obtained from
Prussia for the injuries she had inflicted upon their
country. Thus the Progrès of Lyons said that the
idea of an armistice could only enter into the skull
of a Prussian, and could only have been proposed
by an Englishman. " It is only when the Prussian
hordes are hunting for their food like wolves in
our provinces that our felon ally (England) dares
to dash her bucket of water upon the brasier of
our patriotism. Now that the French nation is
upon the point of turning the victories of our
enemies into unprecedented disaster, the quaking
thrones of this supreme resurrection are trembling
upon their bases, and seek, by means of an armis¬
tice, to smother the threatening flame." The
prefect of the Haute Garonne was equally opposed
to a cessation of hostilities, and stated in a procla¬
mation that " we will establish the republic upon
the corpse of the last Prussian and the body of the
last monopolist." The prefect of the Ain declared
that, " whether the traitors are Prussians, or still
dare to call themselves Frenchmen, the bullet and
the axe shall render equal justice to both."
Lord Granville's despatch, urging the arrange¬
ment of an armistice, was, in the first instance, met
on the part of Count von Bismarck by the intima¬
tion that any overtures for negotiations must be
made by France; and that the benevolent offices
of England were regarded with no less coldness
by Germany may be gathered from the following
remarks of the Cologne Gazette:—" The Glad¬
stone-Bright ministry, and especially the Foreign
Secretary, Lord Granville, unfortunately did not
do its utmost to prevent the outbreak of this great
war. Indeed, one may say not its least—viz., the
public declaration that France had no right to
commence this wanton war. This sin of omission
is now, alas, too late admitted even by the English.
We carry on this war in a certain degree for Eng¬
land, for had imperial France conquered in it,
Napoleon would certainly have seized on Belgium,
which he coveted more than the left bank of the
Rhine. It would then have been seen how Eng¬
land defended Belgium, after formally assuming
the protection of it; and Napoleon III. would cer¬
tainly have gained what was his ultimate object in
his powerful naval armaments—the humiliation of
England, the revenge for Waterloo of which the
French are always thinking. We willingly do jus¬
tice to the considerations on which England now
seeks to arrest the destruction of Paris. It is only
a pity that England's prestige suffered so grievously
through its cowardly attitude at the commence¬
ment of the affair. Per se, we should regret as
much as anybody the destruction of a city inhabited
by more than a million of women and children,
and in which so many treasures of art and science,
which can never be made good, are collected.
The entry into Paris, however, is a necessity for
the German army, and an event which cannot now
be averted, especially after the fall of Metz. May
the Parisians therefore come to their senses, and
by the acceptance of reasonable conditions of an
armistice and peace, release us from that lamentable
necessity !"
The feeling throughout Germany during October
was one of extreme disappointment at the prolon¬
gation of the war, which every one expected would
have ended soon after Sedan. But it would have
been erroneous to mistake this wish of a speedy.
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
95
cessation of hostilities for a disinclination to con¬
tinue it, should that appear imperative. Notwith¬
standing that the military system of the country
made war sensibly felt, yet such was the general
confidence in the military and political leaders that,
as these held the objects of the campaign were not
yet attained, the people were willing to support
them to the end. If the generals had not declared
the recovery of Alsace and Lorraine to be necessary
for the protection of the German frontiers, the vast
majority in the country would have been in favour
of concluding peace at once, and on the terms
proposed by M. Favre ; but as the German generals
were, and indeed had been for the last hundred
years, of the opposite opinion, the nation was
determined to profit by the opportunity, and
acquire the territory which was to enable them
to ward off future invasions with a greater chance
of success than hitherto. Count von Bismarck
was but too accurate an interpreter of the thoughts
of his countrymen when, in his negotiations with M.
Thiers, he spoke of the probability of future colli¬
sions with France, and of the duty the Germans
owed to themselves to prepare for coming attacks
of the fiery Gaul. The French were now reaping
the fruits of the treatment they had accorded Ger¬
many for centuries both in word and deed. The
people were but too keenly aware how frequently
they had been invaded in the past, and could not
help remembering with what intense hostility they
had been spoken of by nearly every political celeb¬
rity in France up to the very outbreak of the war.
It was the knowledge of the inveteracy of this
feeling on the other side of the frontier, coupled
with the observation that the French even now
deemed themselves invincible, which led popular
feeling in Germany to look forward to another war
in the wake of the one in which they were then
engaged. Had the French admitted that they
were beaten, and that they had better give up
battling with Germany for the mere sake of pres¬
tige, they would perhaps not have been suspected
of a design to resume the fray as soon as they
could after the conclusion of peace. But with M.
Gambetta declaring the final victory of France a
matter of course, and indispensable to civilization
to boot, the Germans asked — "What can we
expect but to see them come down upon us when¬
ever the opportunity occurs? And the contin¬
gency being so very probable a one, ought we not
to guard against it by securing those military and
territorial advantages commended by the generals,
whose experience and judgment we have every
reason to confide in? Is not every peace with the
French merely an armistice while they do not
renounce their old ambition ; and should we not be
actually encouraging them to attack us again were
we to permit them to repeat the thing under the
same favourable conditions as formerly?"
An extract from the Bremen Weser Zeitung is
subjoined as illustrative of this state of popular
feeling:—"It is remarkable what an important
influence a single trait in the national character of
the French exercises upon the destinies of Europe.
The constitutional vanity of the French, their
inability to realize and recognize unpleasant facts,
becomes as terrible a scourge to themselves as to
the nations around them. Yanity has stirred them
up to a frivolous war, vanity prevents the restora¬
tion of peace. Very characteristic in this respect
is that passage in M. Favre's last circular, in which
he depicts the ravishing aspect France will wear
when perishing amid the flaring halo of glory and
renown. The consciousness of playing an impos¬
ing rôle before the world to a. certain extent con¬
soles him for the ruin of his country. But is ruin
likely to follow the acceptance of the German
terms? Will not the French remain a powerful,
gallant, rich, and highly-gifted nation even after
the forfeiture of their German provinces? And,
instead of revelling in the prospect of fine tragical
catastrophes, had they not better look realities in
the face, consider the common-sense question how
to get out of a bad job, and extricate themselves at
as cheap a price as possible ? All the statesmen of
Europe have had to do this occasionally, and his¬
tory mentions even some French ministers who
capitulated when there was nothing left but to
capitulate. But it is quite true, while other nations
praise those of their statesmen who in the hour of
defeat averted greater evils by timely concessions,
the French have always called Talleyrand a traitor
for procuring them the best terms possible after the
discomfiture of 1815. Though Talleyrand saved
all he could for them, the French, in their uncon¬
trollable conceit, only look to what he was com¬
pelled to sign away, and therefore insist upon
regarding him as a rascal. They have no Talley¬
rand now, no man sufficiently courageous to bend
to the inevitable. Sheer compulsion alone can
terminate the war. We know it, and are prepared
for it."
96
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
About the same time the Prussian government
issued an important manifesto in the semi-official
Provincial Correspondenz. Considerable impatience
was exhibited in Germany at the delay in the siege
operations before Paris. After ascribing this delay
to purely military reasons, the article went on to
speak generally of the prospects of the war in these
terms :—
" Natural as it is to wish for a prompt termina¬
tion of the war, we are perhaps not wrong in seeing
the finger of Providence in the retribution which
the French are thus bringing in full measure upon
themselves. It seems to be decreed that they are
to empty the cup of bitterness to the dregs, and,
by having their insolence thoroughly chastised, be
weaned from their bellicose propensities and con¬
verted into better neighbours for the future.
" All of us would have been delighted had the
last shot in this sanguinary contest been fired on
the heights of Sedan. Yet there is no denying that
had peace been concluded then and there, the idea
of holding universal supremacy, so firmly rooted in
the French mind, would have regained irresistible
ascendancy the moment we left the country. Even
now the majority of the French deem themselves
unconquerable, and, indeed, unconquered. They
have heard of nothing but of victories, with, per¬
haps, a few insignificant reverses now and then.
They have accustomed themselves to pooh-pooh
the fancy that their armies have been subdued, and
tell you, with the most implicit confidence, that if
he liked Bazaine might easily get out of Metz and
crush the forces besieging it. They smile at the
thought of Paris ever falling into our hands when
it is defended by hundreds of thousands of mobiles,
and attacked only by German soldiers. Last, not
least, they will swear that Europe will come to the
rescue of their holy city, and save what they are
pleased to call the ' metropolis of the world.' With
these hallucinations the French are consoling them¬
selves in the present disastrous period of their his¬
tory. Were peace to be re-established before they
have been cured of their self-sufficiency, they would
doubtless flatter themselves that they have not been
vanquished at all—that the war might have been
continued, and that if it has not been, its premature
conclusion is mainly owing to the pusillanimity and
treachery of those in power. With these intoxi¬
cating illusions filling their brains, so arrogant a
people as the French would not wait long before
they attempted to win back what they had lost.
" Only after the Parisians, and with them the
entire population of France, have been humbled to
the dust ; only when the military strength of their
country has been entirely broken, and the hope of
creating fresh armies is everywhere annihilated—
will they become conscious of the magnitude of
their defeat, and perhaps perceive and remember
that to invade a neighbour may be attended with
unpleasant consequences to themselves."
That at this period (October) the Germans were
sanguine of a speedy conclusion of peace, is shown
by the fact that the pen with which Count von Bis¬
marck was to sign the treaty was already prepared.
Herr Bissinger, jeweller, of Pforzheim, manufac¬
tured out of massive gold an imitation of an ordi¬
nary stout goosequill. The quill itself was polished,
in order that it might be more conveniently handled,
but the feather closely resembled a real quill, every
fibre being represented, while theback of the feather
was thickly studded with brilliants, and below them
a count's coronet and Bismarck's monogram were
engraved. Besides the engraver and maker, two
goldsmiths were engaged on it for five weeks.
The gold used was of eighteen carats, and that
part in which the brilliants were set was of twenty-
one carats.
In acknowledging its receipt Count von Bismarck
wrote :—" Your beautiful and very artistic present
has been delivered to me by Herr Jolly. I feel
some difficulty in knowing how to express my
thanks for it. At a time when the sword of the
German nation has performed such illustrious feats,
you render the pen almost too much honour in
making it so costly. I can only hope that the use
to which you have destined the pen in the service
of our country may conduce to its permanent wel¬
fare in a fortunate peace, and I can promise you
that, with God's help, it shall in my hand subscribe
nothing unworthy of German feeling and of the
German sword."
Serious as were the consequences of the war for
Germany, under a military system by which almost
all the able-bodied male population were liable to
be called away from their occupations, its effects
upon the French were far more serious. A policy
of prolonged though apparently hopeless resistance
might, indeed, in the end have caused extreme
perplexity to the Germans ; but, on the other hand,
it seemed as if the king of Prussia was not far
wrong in his assertion that the social system of
France was falling to pieces under the enormous
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
97
pressure of disorderly war. It is not too much to
say that no words could be too strong to describe
the critical condition of the French cities and
great towns, seeing that all the familiar phenomena
(save one) of the first French revolution were
showing themselves at Rouen, Lyons, Dijon, and
Marseilles. The clubs, the mobs, the municipali¬
ties claiming to be supreme over every other
authority, the wholesale imprisonment of priests
and so-called reactionists, the rumours of con¬
spiracy, and specially of conspiracy in the prisons,
the popularity of newspapers of the class of the
Père Duchesne, seemed a prelude to another reign
of terror. One thing only was wanting. There
was an almost complete absence of clamour for
civil blood, and when all the rest was so like, it
was natural to wonder at the difference. Had the
humanitarian spirit which when nations are at
peace shows itself in effeminate reluctance to inflict
painful punishment, but which when they are at
war fails to save them one drop of blood, at least
achieved this? Were French mobs less murderous
because they had grown to be more humane? or
was it that attacks on life had been exchanged for
attacks on property? In Lyons the manufactories
were still at work, and the workmen were receiving
the highest wages required by the rules of the
International Union. But the manufacture was
only continued through fear of the consequences
of stopping it; and it appeared as if general bank¬
ruptcy must sooner or later show what strain
socialist theories were capable of bearing. Lyons
doubtless spun and wove silk for the whole world,
and thus, in spite of the impoverishment of all
foreign customers indirectly caused by the war,
may have been better able than other manufactur¬
ing towns to bear up against the loss of the home
market, so long as its commodities found access to
sea. But some of the cities most seriously threatened
by revolutionary fury were wholly engaged in
manufacturing goods to be consumed within France
itself. In this condition was the great city of
vol. n.
liouen, which, with its surrounding villages, barely
maintained itself against the competition of Man¬
chester in the best of times, with the assistance of
duties still largely protective. Certain political
economists, distinguished for peculiar tenderness to
all the heresies of the working class, have argued
that the share of profit which workmen associated
in trade unions may wring from their employers,
is greater than an older generation of economical
teachers had supposed. But the new doctrine is at
best only intended for times of prosperity, and we
have yet to learn how an arbitrary rate of wages
can be long exacted from a manufacturer deprived
of customers. The moment at which calamitous
war and socialist convictions are found in presence
of one another in any country, may well be regarded
with terror.
Deplorable as was the case of both France and
Germany in an agricultural point of view, it would
have been incalculably worse if the women had
not been trained to do much of the farm work
which in England devolves on men alone. Every
tourist in Rhineland and the south of France has
noticed, and deplored, the extent to which female
labour is there employed—not only for the lighter
tasks of weeding and hoeing, as with us, but for
ploughing, reaping, and all the more important
branches of husbandry. It was now seen that such
a condition of things renders the country far better
able to sustain the requirements of war than other¬
wise it could be. With us the sudden demand on
so large a proportion of our male population would
almost suspend all agricultural operations ; for
steam, although it reduces the number of hands
employed, throws the work more than ever upon
the men. We notice these facts from no desire to
see the women of Great Britain converted into
farm drudges ; but merely to show that soil,
climate, and social habits abroad have combined
with custom to render southern countries less
dependent upon male labour than can be the case
with us.
n
CHAPTER XX.
The Great Strength of Metz—Complete Blockade the surest means of Capturing it—Treble Cordon thrown around it, and other Measures
taken by the Germans—Detailed description of their Positions, and of those occupied by the French—Genial Feeling between the Foreposts
for some time—The completeness of the Prussian Forepost System—Repose in the City in the first days of September—Excitement in the
German Army when the victory of Sedan became known—The Disastrous News conveyed into Metz by General Wimpffen, and a Request
made to Bazaine to Surrender the City—His Reply, and general disbelief of the News in Metz for Borne days—Proclamation of General
Coffinières urging Resistance to the uttermost—Bazaine, at last, compelled to admit the Unwelcome News relating to Sedan to his Troops
—Establishment of a Balloon Service for Postal Purposes—Novel Contrivances in their Manufacture—The " Spy" Mania in Metz—Capture
and Execution of a real Spy—The "Intelligence Department" organized by the Germans to remove the stigma attached to a Spy—Efforts
of the Metz Newspapers to keep alive the spirits of the Inhabitants—Chief Events in the City in September—The Relative Positions of
General Coffinières and Marshal Bazaine—Organization of a Corps of Sharpshooters for Dangerous Service by the French—The Legion of
Honour refused on Two Occasions—Life in the Besieger's Camp—General absence of Excitement—Burning of Nouilly by the Germans—
Daring of Lieutenant Hosius and Fifteen Men—Discovery of Underground Electric Wires by the Prussians—General von Steinmetz relieved
of his Command, and Prince Frederick Charles appointed sole commander of the Besieging Forces—Sortie and obstinate contest on
September 22—Complete Victory of the Germans—More serious Sortie on the 24th—Severe fighting—Fruitless attempt of the French to
Capture the village of Noisseville—Coolness of the Germans under Fire—Successful Foraging Expedition by the French on September 27
-—Fearful Scene in a Convent—The Monotonous Life within the City and its depressing effects on the Inhabitants—Review of the National
Guard—Dissatisfaction at no real attempt to break through the Besieging Army being made—Bazaine thereupon determines upon a
vigorous Sortie—The Battle of Maizières—Ruse of the Germans at the Chateau of Ladonchamps—Description of the Country and of the
German Positions between Maizières and Metz—The French advance under the cover of a dense fog, and succeed in capturing several
Villages—Fearful slaughter in the ranks of two German Landwehr Regiments, who would neither Retreat nor Surrender—The French
succeed in carrying off a large quantity of Forage, but are unable to maintain their Positions—Desperate and Bloody Encounter in Storming
the Villages by the Germans—Gallant Cavalry Charge—Another Desperate Fight at Norroy—The Results of the Battle and the Losses on
both Sides—Particulars of an Intrigue attempted with the view of restoring the Imperial Dynasty—General Bour'oaki leaves Metz on a
visit to the Empress—The Inhabitants of Metz anxious to Garrison the Forts, so that all the Military Forces should attempt a Sortie on a
Gigantic Scale—Marshal Bazaine declines to accede to the Request—The Provisions becoming exhausted—Starvation or Surrender?—The
Measures taken to prevent such a Calamity are too Late—Domestic Life and Prices in the City in October—Horse-flesh the chief food —
Suppression of Newspapers and Retaliation of the Editors—"The Beginning of the End"—Wholesale Desertions from the French Army—
A Large Number of the Inhabitants also make a fruitless attempt to get through the German Lines—Proposals for Capitulation—Import¬
ant Interview between General Boyer and Count von Bismarck—General Coffinières declines to give up the Fortress—Meeting of General
Changarnier and Prince Frederick Charles—An Unconditional Surrender demanded by the Germans—Settlement of the Terms of Capitu¬
lation, and Departure of part of the German Troops for Paris—Proclamation of General Coffinières and General Order of Marshal Bazaine
—Excitement and Scenes in the City when the truth became known—Meeting of the Municipal Council for the Last Time and Manifesto
to their Fellow Citizens—General description of the Scene presented by the French laying down their arms and marching into Captivity,
and of the Triumphant Entry of the Germans into Metz—Proclamation of General von Kummer, the new German Commandant—The
terrible calamity to France involved in the loss of Metz—Feeling in the German Army at the Result—Proclamation of Prince Frederick
Charles and Dispatch from the King of Prussia—Reception of the News throughout France—Proclamation of M. Gambetta—Bazaine
unfairly denounced as a Traitor—An Impartial Estimate of his Conduct and Proceedings during the Siege.
THE SIEGE AND CAPITULATION OF METZ.
In previous chapters we have given a description
of the city of Metz and its fortifications, of the
retreat of the French army thither after the great
battles of August 16 and 18, and of the sortie
made on the 31st, with the view of assisting the
movements of MacMahon in his attempt to relieve
Marshal Bazaine. In the present chapter it is pro¬
posed to relate the chief incidents of the siege, from
the close of August to the date of the capitulation
of the city on October 27.
As the record of the siege of Strassburg shows,
the German armies were exceedingly well supplied
with all the necessary means for carrying on such
operations, and their superior officers excelled hi
scientific and professional attainments. But, even
with the immense matériel and resources at their
command, they could not repeat before the great
Moselle stronghold the process by which Strassburg
was reduced. The fortifications of Metz were of
enormous extent and strength, and on the outbreak
of war its natural position, so admirably fitted for
resistance, had been further strengthened by
trenches, new forts, bastions, and earthworks. To
such extent, indeed, had the fortress been rendered
impregnable, that to attempt to storm it would have
been madness. The actual works of Metz could
not.be attacked, nor the city approached sufficiently
near to render bombardment possible, without first
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
99
carrying strong detached works, which were pro¬
tected by heavy guns on the heights, and could not
be held or even passed without a heavy sacrifice
of lives. The frightful price at which the recent
victories of Yionville and Gravelotte were won, had
induced the king to issue an order that further
effusion of blood should be spared ; and as it was
considered that the complete blockade of Metz
must, sooner or later, answer the purpose of the
Germans, it was resolved so to invest the city as to
render any further sortie from the fortress a forlorn
hope indeed.
For this purpose a treble cordon of investment
was thrown around the place ; every village through
which these lines passed being strongly fortified,
its streets barricaded, its houses loopholed, and
every wall that could shelter a man or gun con¬
verted into a rough and ready fortification. At
intervals in the first line were earthwork batteries,
surrounded by rifle-pits and trenches, each battery
having ten 12-pounder brass guns, capable of
throwing shells of between twenty-three and
twenty-four German pounds weight. The batteries
in the second line, laid out in the same manner,
commanded the several military roads. Beyond as
well as between these lines, the trees were felled
and the fields lined with rifle-pits and trenches.
Outposts and sentries were placed so closely, that
it was hardly possible to escape without notice ;
and strong patrols passing from point to point kept
up constant communication. The foreposts, forming
the first fine, lay either in single houses well for¬
tified by entrenchments and barricades, or in the
field, behind earthworks of no inconsiderable mag¬
nitude. The next line, the feldwachts (" field-
watches "), occupied woods or the gardens of
chateaux, and comprised about two companies each,
which rested, arms in hand, ready for a sortie at
any moment. In front of these, and within easy
shot of a Chassepot from the French ramparts,
were the single sentries. The soldiers remained
a week in the most advanced line ; then they
retired, and the line behind took their places,
thus giving a change of position, and at the
same time a change of duties. In the third
line the qui vive, or look out, was easy, and
the men got more rest. Near the foreposts, at
intervals, were the Prussian beacons, made of
bitumen, placed on long poles and covered with
straw, so that they looked not unlike poplar trees,
which are so common in France. All round the
Prussian lines, at almost every half mile or so,
two of these were placed; and their purpose was
to give an alarm in case of a night attack. By
lighting one, the exact direction of the attack-
could be indicated to the troops around, and it
would serve as a guide by which they could move
forward to the rescue. There were guards at each
beacon, and a small wooden hut, in which were
kept the means of lighting up.
Two observatories were erected : one at Mercy-
le-Haut, the other, which was the principal, near
Corny, the German headquarters. A very favour¬
able point for the purpose was here obtained in St.
Blaise, an old ruin situate on the top of a hill,
nearly facing Fort St. Quentin, and having to its
left Fort St. Privât, the village of Jouy, and the
Moselle at the foot of the hill. From this point a
magnificent view could be had of the picturesque
valley of the Upper Moselle, everywhere dotted
with rich vineyards, sheltering woods, villages and
hamlets, suggestive of anything rather than of war.
Yet each of these quiet, dreamy-looking villages was
but a link in the fatal chain drawn around the
maiden fortress ; all nooks and corners being filled
with troops who turned everything to account in
strengthening their defensive position. The walls
of each house were pierced with several rows of
loopholes for musketry; and the garden walls,
likewise, were " crenellated," or notched with
indentations at the top, like battlements, through
which the barrel of a rifle could be pointed
at the foe outside. All the trees and bushes
around the houses were cut down to deprive the
approaching enemy of cover; the roads were barri¬
caded with trunks and branches of trees, to pre¬
vent cavalry or artillery from coming near; and
trenches were dug to form a covered way for the
defenders of the post, from house to house, and
from village to village.
From St. Blaise the besiegers had a view of the
entire town and environs of Metz, and, by a power¬
ful telescope mounted in the observatory, could see
every movement of the French army. Concentrated
here were the telegraphic wires, which ran in an
unbroken circle round the beleaguered town, and
by which the Germans could at a moment's notice
convey intelligence to any army corps, or order
movements of concentration on any threatened point
from a score of different directions. They could thus
in fifteen minutes collect 8000 men upon any spot,
and on more than one occasion, when the assembly
100
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
was sounded, a force of 22,000, consisting of every
branch of the service, was, within twenty-eight
minutes, in full marching order, ready to proceed
to the front. In every village notices were issued
that the German authorities would hold the inhab¬
itants responsible for damage done to the telegraphic
wires ; and that this was no idle threat is attested
by the fact, that the people of one of them were fined
in the sum of 200,000 francs for the destruction of
the wires in its vicinity.
From the commanding position of St. Blaise the
line of French outposts could easily be traced.*
Starting from Bevoye, Magny, in front of Montigny,
and from Moulin-les-Metz, on the other side of the
Moselle, it ran in the direction of St. Hubert, be¬
tween St. Ruffine and Chazells ; from this point, in
front of Sey, right under Mont St. Quentin, as far
as Lessy ; then taking a bend northwards by Plap-
peville to Devant les Ponts, and thence to Vig-
neulles and Woippy. The first German forepost on
the rigbt of the observatory wras in the village of
Peltre; next to that, La Papetrie; nearer to the Mo¬
selle and closer to Metz was the outpost of Frescaty.
From Frescaty the line ran backward slightly to
the Moselle, a little in front of Ars-sur-Moselle. On
the slope on the western side of the river there was
a forepost at Vaux, a village in the middle of that
gloomy forest the glades of which were checkered
with so many graves of the dead who fell at Grave-
lotte. Thence for a space the foreposts lay among
the mementoes of the slaughter of that day. That
at Châtel St. Germain was on the fringe of the
plateau which was the closing scene of that des¬
perate struggle on the 18th of August. From St.
Germain the intrenched line ran across the plateau
to Saulny, thence by Semecourt down into the
alluvial plain on the west of the Moselle to the
north of Fort St. Eloy, and thence due east to the
river's brink. Not only was it possible from Mont
St. Blaise to see the positions of the respective fore-
posts and their supports, but also the lines where
Bazaine's army, as distinguished from the garrison
proper of the fortress of Metz, in divers camps was
disposed. These occupied the suburbs in every
direction, under the protection of the outworks
of St. Quentin, Plappeville, St. Julien, Queleu,
and Montigny. In the space so environed, and
outside Metz, the French had in all four great
* The reader who wishes to obtain a clearer impression of the Ger¬
man positions than it is possible to convey in a written description,
should compare this with the Battle Plans of Conrcelles, Vionville, and
Gravelotte, in which nearly all the places here named are shown.
lagers or camps. The first and probably the
largest was on the slope of Mont St. Quentin,
looking toward St. Blaise, where the rows of tents
athwart the slope, and past the village of Sey,
stretched almost down to Chazells. Another,
beginning at Longeville, a village on the west
bank of the Moselle, in a line between St. Quentin
and Metz, straggled up the river margin, first to
St. Martin, where Bazaine had his headquarters,
and on to the north as far as Devant les Ponts.
A third great camp was in front of St. Julien,
towards Vauloux, Vallieres; and the fourth was
around Borny and Grigy. Besides these camps,
there were two great collections of sick—one on
the esplanade in front of the cathedral at Metz,
and along the river brink, and the other on the
island of Saulcy.
Between the foreposts of the two armies a toler¬
ably genial feeling prevailed until September 28,
when, after a small engagement, a wounded Prus¬
sian officer was found robbed and mutilated in a
most barbarous way. On one occasion a note was
left under a stone, addressed to the French officer
in command of the foreposts, and requesting a
bottle of champagne for the Prussian forepost
officer. At the next round the Prussian patrol
found the bottle of champagne, along with a
request for a small piece of salt, which, of course,
was granted. The completeness of the forepost
system was a marked feature of the Prussian army,
and one of the leading causes of its success. At
night the feldwacht advanced to the post occupied
during the day by the furthest outlying sentry.
Here it broke right and left into small pickets,
leaving a strong nucleus in the centre. The front,
at a distance of two or three hundred yards, was
occasionally traversed by cavalry patrols, who some¬
times rode right in among sleeping Frenchmen,
whose system of night vigilance was far from
perfect. Then there was a pistol shot and round
of bootless Chassepot firing in the dark ; the daring
horseman dashing out through the French back to
his supports. At times, and especially after the
incident above alluded to, considerable asperity
was shown between the respective advanced
parties. A strict order was issued by the Prus¬
sian authorities against firing at small detached
groups ; but a single man could not show himself
without a volley from the French. Not an uncom¬
mon amusement of the besiegers was to expose a
hat, which was speedily riddled. The long range
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
101
of the Chassepot gave the French a decided advan¬
tage in this kind of play ; hut ere long the Prussian
foreposts were also supplied with those weapons, a
considerable number of which had fallen into Ger¬
man hands; indeed, one regiment (the thirty-fifth)
was entirely armed with them.
During the first days of September there was
absolute repose in Metz. The marshal and the
army, ignorant of the doings without, knew
nothing of the fate of MacMahon. For his army,
however, they confidently anticipated success, and
daily expected to see their brothers in arms, vic¬
torious over the foe, approaching towards the
walls, with the welcome message of relief. But
on the 4th September the German camp and
villages around became more than commonly ani¬
mated. The Prussian soldier seemed to have
thrown off his usually stolid air ; stout sergeants
were ardently embracing one another; privates
throwing their caps into the air, and shouting like
maniacs; Frenchmen, gathered together in little
knots, talked and gesticulated vehemently ; and
hussars and mounted officers were galloping about
in every direction. All this extraordinary excite¬
ment was caused by the following official bulletin
from the king of Prussia, which was here and
there read aloud from newspapers to astonished
groups:—"This day, September 1, in the neigh¬
bourhood of Sedan, Marshal MacMahon has sur¬
rendered himself and the Frenqh army of 80,000
men to the Crown Prince. His Majesty the
Emperor of the French has also given himself up
as a prisoner of war." A few days later a flag of
truce, accompanied by General WimpfFen, who
had assumed the command of the army when Mac¬
Mahon was disabled by his wounds, conveyed into
Metz the disastrous news of the annihilation of
the forces which had been destined for its relief.
A request was at the same time made to Bazaine
to surrender the city without further bloodshed.
His answer was that he did not believe the report,
that he should hold Metz to the last, and that, if
the Prussians wanted it, they must come and take
it. The news was indeed regarded as a device of
the Germans for obtaining easy possession of the
greatest stronghold of France, and was not believed,
even when both French and German newspapers
were received, containing detailed accounts of the
capitulation. The hopes thus cherished, however,
soon received a crushing blow. In the August
battles around Metz the French had captured about
750 Prussians; but judging that he might require
all the provender of Metz for his own army,
Bazaine turned out those prisoners directly after
the failure of the sortie of August 31. The
courtesy of war demanded that a like number of
French should be returned, but just then Prince
Frederick Charles had no prisoners, having sent
them all off to Germany. On September 9, how¬
ever, 750 men, chosen from different regiments
taken at Sedan, were sent into the town, bearing
only too palpable evidence to the tale of France's
humiliation. With such corroboration there were
few French soldiers or citizens in Metz so sceptical
as not to believe, or so light-hearted as not to
mourn, the dismal tidings. The Orleanist sym¬
pathies of portions of the army, and the republican
leanings of others, were soon made manifest, while
the guards appeared to be the only troops who
were decidedly imperialist. Bazaine counselled
and maintained a dead silence; but General Coffi-
nières issued within the city the following pro¬
clamation :—-
" Inhabitants of Metz,—We have read in a
German journal—the Gazette de la Croix—the
very sad news of the fate of a French army crushed
by the numbers of its enemies after a three days'
struggle under the walls of Sedan. This journal
also announces the establishment of a new govern¬
ment by the representatives of the country. We
have no other evidence of these events ; but we are
not able to contradict this.
" In these very grave circumstances our only
thoughts should be for France. The duty of each
one of us, whether as simple citizens or as officers,
is to remain at our posts, and to vie with each
other in defending Metz. In this solemn moment,
France, our country, is summed up for each
one of us in the word Metz ! that city which has
so many times before successfully resisted our
country's foe.
" Your patriotism, of which you have already
given such proofs by your care for our wounded
soldiers, will never fail. By your resistance you
will make yourselves honoured and respected, even
by your enemies. The memory of the deeds of
your ancestors will sustain you in the coming-
struggle.
" The army which is about our walls, and which
has already shown its valour and its heroism in
the combats of Borny, Gravelotte, and Servigny,
102
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
will not leave you. With you it will resist the
enemy which surrounds us, and this resistance
will give the government time to create the means
of saving France—of saving our country.
" L. COFFIN1ERES,
" General of Division, Commandant of Metz.
" PAUL ODENT,
" Prefect of the Moselle.
" FELIX MARECHAL,
" Mayor of Metz.
" Metz, September 13, 1870."
The result of Bazaine's persistent silence was that
the army felt angry at not receiving any official
information of that with respect to which the
town was informed; and on the 16th the marshal
felt compelled to issue an order of the day, stating
that, according to two French journals brought
in by a prisoner who had made his escape, the
emperor had been interned in Germany after the
battle of Sedan, that the empress and the prince
imperial had quitted Paris on the 4 th, and that
" an executive power, under the title of the Govern¬
ment for National Defence," had " constituted
itself" in Paris. The names of its members were
then given, and the marshal continued:—" Gene¬
rals, officers, and soldiers of the army of the
Rhine, our military obligation towards the country
in danger remains the same. Let us continue
then to serve it with devotion, and with equal
energy defend its territory from the stranger and
social order against evil passions. I am convinced
that your morale, of which you have already given
such proof, will rise to the height of the circum¬
stances, and that you will add new claims to the
admiration of France." The announcement was
a good deal criticized, and political factions of all
shades of opinion started up, and reviled each
other with the utmost heartiness from day to day.
In other respects within the town the days passed
wearily by, cold and wet, and signalized by few
events. The gates of the town were only opened
two hours in the morning, between six and eight,
and two in the evening, between five and seven.
If any of the beleaguered inhabitants got out
within three or four miles in any direction they
reached the Prussian outpost, which cut off the
chance either of return or of further progress,
and such outside rambles were, therefore, generally
avoided. One event which occurred, however,
gave unfeigned delight to the citizens, namely,
the establishment of a means of communication
witli the outer world. The discovery of an old
balloon, which had done the French good service
eighty years before, suggested to Mr. Robinson,
the besieged correspondent of the Manchester
Guardian (and to whose "Fall of Metz" we are
indebted lor many incidents in this chapter),
that balloons might be used for communicating
with the provinces on the present occasion. Mr.
Robinson soon found himself installed as balloon
manufacturer - in - chief, assisted, and sometimes
hampered, by Colonel Goulier, of the Military
Engineering College, and Captain Schultz, the
inventor of the mitrailleuse. An " aerostatic post "
was opened, and the first balloon manufactured after
a world of pains. It was fashioned out of the ordinary
white lining paper used by paper stainers, and on
being experimentally inflated with lighted straw,
after the primitive method of Montgolfier (for the
stock of coal in the city was too small to allow of
gas being used), was found to succeed extremely
well. Admiration at its graceful proportions was
being expressed on all hands, when one of the
workmen, in his delight at the success, shouldered
a ladder in a manner rather more triumphant than
usual, and accidentally sent the end of it straight
through into the machine, which of course col¬
lapsed. It therefore became necessary to produce
another, and on the 15 th of September the first
balloon was launched. It carried 8000 letters,
fastened in an india-rubber cloth, and accompanied
by a notice, promising a reward of 100 francs to
any one who, finding the packet, and taking it to
the nearest post-office, or to the mayor of the com¬
mune, should there obtain a receipt for it. The bal¬
loon first went nearly due south, in the direction of
Yesoul and Besançon, at the rate of about nearly
thirty miles an hour. Several others were then
made, either of thin paper lined with muslin, or of
cotton cloth, the ordinary " Manchester goods," of
which there was then a fair stock in Metz. Both
were inflated with atmospheric air, by means of a
huge fan bellows. The cloth balloon was made
by Captain Schultz. It was heavier and stronger
than those made of paper, and could therefore
carry a greater number of letters. It took up a
freight of 45,000 letters ; but, after rising to an
immense height, it slowly descended, was fired at
by the Prussians, and fell within their lines. The
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
103
cause of this failure was never ascertained; but it
had the effect of discrediting the captain, who was
not allowed to make another trial, though, accord¬
ing to Mr. Robinson, his idea was a very good one.
Nevertheless, the aerostatic plan was not aban¬
doned. The worthy Englishman and his assistants
still kept working away, building paper balloons,
improving each one, and ended by adding an
hydraulic apparatus to serve as an automatic ballast,
and so correct the too rapid ascent and the loss of
gas by the sudden expansion thus created. This
hydraulic ballast consisted of a flask holding about
two litres of water; its neck was corked and turned
downwards, and two glass tubes, a long one and
a short one, were inserted in it. The long one
admitted the air, the short one emitted the water,
and the gradual leakage thus created corrected the
sudden ascensional power of the balloons. To one
balloon was appended a couple of carrier pigeons,
with a notice attached to their cage offering a
supplementary reward of another 100 francs for
any one who would send them back with news of
the outer world. Poor birds ! their fate was a pie.
The balloon was captured by a distant band of
Prussians, who ate the pigeons, and sent word back
by a parlementaire that they were both welcome
and tender.
The spy mania reached Metz, and arrests were
of every-day occurrence, but as they generally
turned out mistakes. they ceased to excite atten¬
tion. That a large number of spies entered and
left the city with impunity there is no doubt, for
it subsequently appeared that Prince Frederick
Charles was kept thoroughly informed of every¬
thing that passed, even to the deliberations of the
French councils of war. On one occasion a spy rode
right through the place in the uniform of a sous-
intendant, asking all sorts of questions about the
supplies, and only betraying himself by inquiring
where the bread for the army was baked. Such a
question on the part of a commissariat officer so
utterly astonished the gendarme to whom it was
put, that before he could reply the clever Prussian
saw the tell-tale mistake he had made, and de¬
camped. Orders were sent round to all the gates
to let no sous-intendant out that night without
strict examination, and those of them who hap¬
pened to be in the town had to prove that they
were what they professed to be, before they were
permitted to join their quarters; but the spy was a
great deal too clever for the gendarmes, and pro¬
bably rode out as a mounted gendarme, perhaps
arresting an actual sous-intendant on the way.
Early in August, one real spy was caught and
shot in the fosse, a more honourable fate than he
deserved; for he took pay from both sides, and
probably served neither. The French, indeed,
attributed their disaster at Woerth to the intelli¬
gence he gave the Prussians; but every disaster
was attributed to a like cause. This man, named
Nicholas Sehull, would seem to have been a person
of intelligence and fortitude. A Hungarian by
birth, a scion of the noble house of Degelmann,
educated in Vienna, a naturalized American, who
had long dwelt in Mexico as a partisan of the
Emperor Maximilian, from whom he received the
decorations of the order of Guadaloupe, he had seen
much of the world and its ways. He was captured
on the night of the 10th of August, on the rail¬
way, while surveying the new earthworks which
were in course of being raised in every direction
to strengthen the already strong fortress of Metz.
It seemed that about the 19th of July he was
presented to General Ducrot at Strassburg, an¬
nouncing himself as the sworn enemy of Prussia,
and as equally the sworn friend of France. With¬
out much hesitation or inquiry his services were
accepted. On the 21st he left Strassburg and re¬
turned on the 26th, with an amount of information
which induced the general to give him 800 francs,
in German cash, with which to enter the Prussian
camp and carry out his object. From that time
until his arrest the French military authorities saw
nothing of him. That he did visit the Prussian
camp is certain ; for on his arrest there was found
on him a laisser passer from Soleski, the quarter¬
master general of the Prussian army at Mayence,
and dated the 6th of August, requiring all military
authorities to let him go where and when he
would. With his appointment from General
Ducrot, and this from General Soleski, he had the
entire run of both armies. With characteristic
sagacity the Prussian army had organized an
" intelligence department," -with different grades,
promotions, and good pay. By this means the
reproach associated with espionage was taken away,
and a man of patriotic enthusiasm and a taste
for adventure might enter such service without
necessarily exposing himself to the contempt with
which the spy is commonly regarded. When
arrested, there was found on Schull the medal
carried by all the Prussian spies, to be produced
104
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
as a voucher of their being enrolled in the intel¬
ligence department. This and 1000 francs in gold
were quite enough to convict him without the
laisser passer, which, strange to say, was written,
not in German, but in French. The council of
war, after a few minutes' deliberation, condemned
him to death. Half an hour's walk through the
town amidst a drizzling rain, at five o'clock in
the morning, brought him to the fosse of the citadel,
where in a few minutes he stoically met his fate.
The Metz newspapers did their best to keep
alive the spark of hope in the breasts of the
citizens, by informing them that the latest arrivals
from Prussia were the landsturm, old men more
aflfected by rheumatism than by desire of military
glory; that in the ranks around the town dysen¬
tery prevailed; and in a few more days the be¬
siegers would cry for quarter. For publishing the
effective of the army of Metz one journal was
suppressed on September 6. Three days after
another informed the public that " Italy, Austria,
and Denmark, for reasons easy to comprehend, are
hastening to our side, in order to profit by our
certain victory." There followed an urgent appeal
to stop the church bells, which were tolling all
day in honour of the dead, and terrifying the
living. On the 10th there were 13,500 wounded
and sick in the hospitals, and 1500 in private
houses. On the 11th an order was issued by
Marshal Bazaine that private persons should reserve
from their stores thirty days' forage, and give up
the surplus, to be paid for. On the 13th the water
of the fountain upon the Esplanade became cor¬
rupted by washing in it the dirty linen of the
wounded ; a circumstance the more unfortunate
as the inhabitants were now compelled to drink
veritable Eau de Moselle, the Prussians having cut
off the water supply at Gorze. On the 15th all
the grain in the city was ordered to be brought
into a common stock. On the 15th VIndépendant
reported a decree of the town council for extracting
salt from the tanneries. Horseflesh was now rising
to a degree which caused anxiety, although the
military administration undertook to deliver some
horses to the city daily. Prices were fixed at from
sixpence to one shilling and threepence the kilo¬
gramme. A line of rails was carried from the
station into the Place Royale, the area of which
was turned to account by railway carriages being
converted into ambulances. Later in the month a
saline spring was found, from which the inhabitants
were allowed to fetch water, and vine tendrils were
recommended for forage. Mock telegrams were
issued from time to time, one of which, from King
William to the queen, may serve as a specimen :—
" Thank God for our astonishing victory ; our
losses are enormous ; the enemy displays prodigies
of valour ; two regiments have twice, like a hurri¬
cane, traversed the ranks of our army." Among
other grim facetiousness at times attempted in the
same paper, the cattle market report of September 19
bristled with columns of ciphers, the only animals
for sale being nineteen pigs. The Prussians,
having opened dépôts in the surrounding villages
to supply the inhabitants, were requested to open
some in Metz, where they would get good prices.
On September 28 appeared an order from General
Coffinières, prohibiting the sale of the new vintage
as unwholesome, and announcing a distribution
three days a week of horseflesh for the poor. Early
in September the papers published an address from
Bazaine to his army, telling them not to be down¬
cast, still less to give way to disaffection, as in a
few weeks he would turn the tables on the Prus¬
sians by taking the larger proportion of their guns
and great store of their provisions. In the mean¬
time he enjoined vigilance and alertness, and in¬
structed his officers to study the writings of the
Archduke Charles and Frederick the Great, and
the History of the Thirty Years' War, to learn
how to conduct the defence of a fortress. It is
impossible to avoid thinking that, had the officers
received a proper military education, there would
have been little need for counselling them to "read
up" now when the pinch had come.
Considerable unpleasantness sometimes arose
from the relative positions of Bazaine, as the com¬
mander-in-chief of the army, and General Coffin¬
ières, as commandant-in-chief of the town of Metz.
Their functions often clashed, and they were
divided in their opinions. This they had in com¬
mon, that both knew the city well, Bazaine having
been born on the hills which surround it, and
Coffinières having not only been a pupil of the Ecole
d'Application du Genie à l'Artillerie in the town
—the one great military engineering school of
France—but also for many years a resident in
Metz itself. General Coffinières was about some
sixty-three or sixty-four years of age, a large-built,
kind-hearted man, but of no great vigour of mind.
Like most officers of engineers and artillery, his
political proclivities were towards republicanism
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
105
rather than imperialism. Under the imperial
rule artillery and engineering officers in France
were not generally intrusted with high commands,
and many of them were thus of republican ten¬
dencies. General Coffinières presented no excep¬
tion to the rule, save that promotion had naturally
modified his dissatisfaction with the imperial régime.
Appointed commandant by the emperor himself,
and responsible only to him, he was supreme
within the town and the detached forts, but beyond
that he had no power. Strictly speaking, Bazaine
had nothing to do with the defence of Metz. No
legislator on military matters could ever suppose
that a commander-in-chief would exhibit so little
knowledge of the art of war as to leave perma¬
nently inactive before a fortified town a large
army, whose active force neutralized the passive
force of the fortifications. This strong fortress,
instead of serving as the refuge for a small body
of men, who by the aid of scientific engineering
multiplied their force, became smothered by the
number of friends which surrounded it, and who
consumed those provisions in a few weeks which
would have sustained an ample garrison for many
months. Under these circumstances no provision
had been made for the presence of a commander-
in-chief of an army in the field at the council
of defence, which, as stated in chapter xxx. of the
" Règlement du 13 October, 1863," the last statutes
of war of the French army, consisted of the
commandant-in-chief of the place (commandant
supérieur), the commandant of the place, the com¬
mandant of artillery, the chief of the engineers,
and some other officers of minor grade. Not
being included under the law, Marshal Bazaine
would almost seem to have considered himself
above it ; and thus, taking advantage of General
Coffinières' easy disposition, he ruled to a certain
extent in Metz as well as out of it, very little being
done without his opinion and consent.
The affairs with Prussian outposts at times fur¬
nished plenty of excitement. One of the most
daring leaders of the French guerillas was a man
of the name of Hitter. He was a good shot,
and brought down the Prussian videttes and
sentinels with deadly skill. He used also to inter¬
cept convoys of provisions and forage, and ulti¬
mately he organized a regular body of sharpshooters
for night service. A great deal of execution was
done on a small scale, and Hitter became so popular
in Metz that Marshal Bazaine offered to decorate
vol. n.
him. The blunt patriot, however, said that if he
was forced to accept the decoration he would wear
it on his back, and very far down too; and the
marshal, of course, thereupon ceased to insist.
The Legion of Honour was given away by Mar¬
shal Bazaine rather freely during the siege, but was
subsequently refused in another instance besides
the one just mentioned. A certain M. Bouchotte
was to receive this order for his eminent qualities
displayed in the service of the town during its
investment. He, however, declined the honour
with the following remarks: " I will not receive a
decoration signed with the hand which has signed
the capitulation of Metz." There was indeed no
lack in Metz of those who were willing to under¬
take extraordinary and dangerous service, which
well merited more than ordinary reward. It was
thus that the French were generally kept well
informed of the exact position and strength of the
Prussian batteries. They had plans of all of them,
and these they obtained by the daring of men who
devoted themselves to the task of observing the
works of the enemy. Night after night they went
forth, bearing a pocket compass, a pistol, and a
poignard, and in secrecy and danger they did the
work that was required of them.
Save that it was possible to hear of everything
going on in the country, and keep up communica¬
tions with home and the outer world, life in the
camp of the besiegers was as devoid of incident as
among the besieged. There was nothing of the
excitement of the Strassburg siege, as the work
was very much of the nature of a blockade; and
instead of opening parallels and breaching for¬
tresses, a strict though tedious guard against
approach of help from without or of exit from
within the doomed city was all that was required.
Now and then a small skirmish or forepost engage¬
ment relieved the monotony; but it seemed as if
Bazaine had given up all idea of troubling his
gaolers by any endeavour to regain his freedom.
A little excitement was caused in the camp for
one night by the burning of Nouilly, a village
which had been regarded as neutral ground, from
its being situated between the foreposts of the
respective armies, and directly under the fire of
Fort St. Julien and Les Bottes. Considerable
stores of provisions were known to have been
secreted by the villagers, who were now inside
Metz. These stores the Prussians could not
succeed in unearthing; but the peasants revealed
0
106
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
to their countrymen the place where they had
been deposited, and it was believed the French
had more than once stolen in at night and con¬
veyed some of them away. To prevent a repe¬
tition of this, the Prussian commandant resolved to
burn the village, with the secret stores it contained,
and issued a commission to that effect to Lieuten¬
ant von Hosius, of the fifth regiment. Out of
quite a company who clamoured to be sent on the
expedition, fifteen were selected who had not
left wives in the Fatherland; for in truth the
dangerous undertaking partook not a little of the
nature of a forlorn hope. A few hundred yards
in the rear of Nouilly the Prussians, it is true, had
a feldwacht; but the French were nearer it on the
other side, by Mey and the Bois de Grimont, and
had strong temptations for entering it by night.
Hosius might possibly encounter a force of French
inside the village, and in that case, of what service
would be his fifteen volunteers? It was, indeed,
almost certain that the party would meet with
fierce resistance in the execution of their task,
and would probably on their return be shelled
both by St. Julien and Les Bottes. But as it
was now close upon nine o'clock, the hour ap¬
pointed for starting, there was little time for these
considerations. Supper was hastily disposed of,
the lieutenant thrust his "Adams'" revolver into
his belt, and sallied out to the spot where his
little band was drawn up. In a few minutes was
heard the measured tread of the party, marching
at the Prussian quick step, which is quicker than
that of most armies ; and after a parting salute to
their comrades, they disappeared in the darkness.
For a while the crash of feet through the vines fell
on the ear ; then came the hoarse challenge of the
feldwacht rear sentry, after which all was quiet.
An anxious and excited group, comprising
nearly all the officers of the battalion, soon gathered
round the bright watch-fire, where everybody
tried to appear unconcerned, though it was certain
that none was. The regiment, it was known, had
never failed in any duty assigned it, and the
chance of its failure now, though apparent in the
minds of all, was a subject which no one cared to
broach. Von Hosius was in no hurry to relieve
the suspense. An hour had gone—Nouilly was
but ten minutes' distance from Noisseville, and the
colonel's nervousness was ill-concealed as he hacked
at the burning log with his naked sword, and
drove his spur into the leg of his chair.
A smothered shout from the lieutenant of the
post caused all to spring to their feet. Flame-
coloured smoke at last, and plenty of it; but it
surely could not be so far away ! It was indeed
a false alarm, for the lowering smoke was on the
other side of the Bois de Grimont, and arose from
a private bonfire of the French. The dead silence
that reigned in the valley, however, was favour¬
able. Von Hosius had evidently encountered no
French in the place, else the rattle of the musketry
would have been heard long ere now, and the
battalion, which was standing to its arms at the
various company posts, would have been lining
the entrenchment with the needle-guns poked
over the earthwork. Another half-hour of sus¬
pense, and then a loud "Ha!" simultaneously
from the lieutenant on duty and the sentry. This
time it was no mistake. Von Hosius had taken
his time, that he might do his work thoroughly.
From six places at once belched out the long
streaks of flame against the darkness above, and
the separate fires speedily met. In ten minutes
the whole place was in a blaze ; the church steeple,
standing out in the midst of the sea of flame,
calling to mind the old motto of the Scottish Kirk,
" Nec tamen coiisumebatur." But the steeple, after
all, was not the burning bush ; for a fierce shower
of sparks bore testimony to its fall. Here and
there against the flame could be seen a human
figure in frantic flight, and on a bluff, just outside
the village, stood in the strong light a woman
wringing her hands. These were the innocent
victims of war !
Presently was heard again the crashing through
the vinebrake, and the Prussian outpost sentry
challenge. The watchword was returned in the
hearty voice of Von Hosius, and in five minutes
more the little party was inside the entrenchment
of the replie. The affair was singularly successful.
The duty had been executed without the exchange
of a single shot. The village burnt till five the
next morning ; whatever stores were in it must
have been consumed ; and so coolly had the enter¬
prise been gone about, that a respectable old horse,
found in one of the stables of the village, was led
back in triumph as a trophy. The French held
their fire simply because they did not know whither
to direct it. To have shelled Nouilly would only
have been playing into the hands of the Prussians.
The party which wrought the destruction might
have come from Servigny, Noisseville, the Brasserie,
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
107
or Montoy; and as the line of their retreat was not
known, to have fired at haphazard would have been
a useless waste of ammunition.
It was rumoured that, notwithstanding the strict
investment, Bazaine contrived by some means to
maintain communications with parties outside Metz.
With apparent reason, the Prussian authorities
doubted the statement, until, about the middle of
September, it was corroborated by the discovery
of underground insulated wires, leading, on one
side of Metz, to Strassburg, on the other to Thion-
ville, Longwy, Montmèdy, and Sedan. That a
mode of communication so obvious, though invisi¬
ble, should have escaped such engineers and elec¬
tricians as the Prussian officers appears incredible.
When the French besieged Sebastopol, they cut
short, shallow trenches in all the directions from
which they thought the batteries could communi¬
cate. When they stormed the MalakofF they had
a picked corps of 200 men with sharp spades, who
cut behind it when they got possession, and severed
the wires supposed to communicate with the mines
under the work, which were afterwards actually
found. In this the French did not show their
usual sagacity, nor the Russians their usual alert¬
ness. The wires were actually there, passed under
the harbour across the Star Fort, and had the
Russian electrician got any intimation, even by
signal, he might in the moment of triumph have
blown the French corps d'armée into the air, and,
with.the English defeat at the Redan, have changed
the whole current of the war.
On the 21st of September General von Stein-
metz, who till then had played a most important
part in the war, was removed from the command
of the first army round Metz, and appointed to
the governorship of Posen. To him is due the
credit of many of the brilliant and resolute attacks
which issued in Prussian victories during the war;
but he sometimes erred in attacking too rashly,
and permitting his battalions to advance too far
unsupported. Where, however, there was danger,
or the army received a check, the first man in the
breach or at his post was General von Steinmetz.
He left the first army commanding the respect of
every one—the friendship of but few.
The command-in-chief of the besieging forces,
which hitherto had been somewhat divided, now
devolved entirely upon Prince Frederick Charles;
and it would seem as if Bazaine at once resolved
to put his abilities to the test. On the 22nd of
September, tire day after the removal of General
Steinmetz, there occurred the first sortie in any
considerable force which had been attempted since
the memorable one of August 31. The operations
of the French, however, though not conducted on
a vast scale, had sufficed to keep the German troops
actively occupied, for at several points of the siege
circle the men were frequently under arms for
thirty-six hours at once, with but short intervals
for rest and food. The object of the present move¬
ment was to harass the investing forces while
ascertaining by strong armed reconnaissances the
strength of the German positions. Under cover
of a heavy cannonade from Fort Queleu, preceded
by a shower of shells—some of which struck the
Grange, and others fell as far behind as Ars-Laque-
nexy, and did considerable damage to the church
—a strong division of French troops, composed of
artillery, cavalry, and infantry, advanced in the
direction of La Grange-aux-Bois. From an excel¬
lent point of observation they had previously been
reconnoitred by the Germans, who knew their
composition, strength, and direction, and were
therefore at once prepared to meet them and to
avoid at the same time a useless sacrifice of lives
at their outposts. The French infantry were
thrown into the woods round the village in skir¬
mishing order and in large force, occupying a line
which extended for about one mile to the Prussian
right. This, of course, rendered the position of
the Prussian outposts at La Grange-aux-Bois un¬
tenable. The Prussians in retiring availed them¬
selves of every tree and knoll, and from behind a
series of breastworks, which they had thrown up to
strengthen their position, fired steadily upon the
advancing enemy, and inflicted some severe losses.
In order to reach the point at which their main
supports were concentrated they had to pass over
about half-a-mile of ground, every inch of which
was gallantly contested. It was now about three
o'clock. The French, in advancing, lost the ad¬
vantage of the support of their artillery and cavalry ;
for the Germans had so obstructed the roads by
frequent and strong barricades, constructed of
hewn trees which lined the military road to Metz,
and the nature of the ground, covered with dense
woods, was so unfavourable, that mounted forces
could not act, and guns could not be brought for¬
ward. All this time, however, a heavy and con¬
tinuous rain of shells of great weight was poured
upon Mercy-le-Haut and Ars-Laquenexy from
108
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
Forts Queleu and St. Julien. At the junction of
the roads leading from Mercy and Ars—which
meet nearly at right angles—the Germans met
their supports. A large body of troops of all
arms had been concentrated here, and were posted
in strong positions. The Germans at once assumed
the offensive, and rushing impetuously to the attack,
fairly drove back the French at a more rapid pace
than that at which they advanced. All the Ger¬
man troops engaged carried their knapsacks, mess-
tins, and cloaks. The fashion of having the cloak
slung crosswise over the shoulder, round the
knapsack, and under the opposite arm, turned
many a bullet and saved many a soldier's life in
this and other engagements. So equipped, they
poured upon the French infantry so heavy and
close a fire that they could not hold their ground.
Already in advancing thus far they had found how
effective a resistance could be made by a small
body of men, fighting with vigour and handled
with skill, on ground whose natural strength had
been increased by every available means. The
German troops, after having cleared the woods,
drove the French back through the open, with
considerable loss. La Grange-aux-Bois was
speedily re-occupied, and by five o'clock the
French had been forced to retire within their
lines. The affair lasted altogether about four
hours. This village had now the second time
been taken by the French, but in both instances
their occupation of it had been brief. Their
attacking force was principally composed of
Marshal Lebosuf's corps, and the regiment
which bore the brunt of the onset on the Ger¬
man side was the thirteenth of the first West-
phalian infantry division. The loss of the Prussians
was one officer and fifteen men in all, wounded,
and one killed. The French losses in killed and
wounded were considerable, besides numerous
prisoners left in the enemy's hands.
The sortie of the 22nd was but the prelude to a
more serious attack on the 24th. Rightly guessing
that, on the previous occasion, the observatory at
Mercy-le-Haut had enabled their enemy to provide
so warm a reception for them, the utmost efforts
of the French were used on the 23rd to render
it untenable. A large number of the projectiles
with which it was continuously shelled took effect,
and made far more holes in the roof than were
needed for the purposes of observation. The
shelling was continued on the morning of the
24th, but from the position, nevertheless, strong
bodies of troops were observed gathering under the
walls of Fort St. Julien, which presently poured out
along the road leading from the fort, and extend¬
ing towards the Prussian right. They advanced
in marching order, the infantry well supported by
artillery and cavalry. Despatches by orderlies and
telegraph carried information of all the movements
of the French, and the threatened points received
timely warning, while preparations were made for
immediate concentration. It was now two o'clock,
and presently the fire began. The guns of Fort
Queleu opened a heavy fire, and the shells dropped
fast among the woods immediately to the left and
below the château where the Prussian troops were
hidden. For the first time, too, the guns from
Fort les Bottes, the strong earthwork recently
constructed immediately in front of the château
and below the fort, delivered a maiden fire. The
majority of the shells, however, pitched too high,
passed over the woods, and fell into the meadows.
There was a continuous roar of cannon on the right
and left flanks, and volleys from both Prussian
and French infantry in the chaussées showed that
sharp fighting was going on at close quarters.
Some mitrailleuses then opened fire with a hoarse
grating sound, as if a ship had let go her cable and
the chain was scraping out through the hawsehole.
For some time the French advanced far into the
enemy's lines ; but as the dusk fell the vivid flashes
breaking from the now gray woods, and the louder
roar of cannon, told that the Prussians had once
more held their own, and were driving back their
adversaries under shelter of the forts, by this time
ablaze with signal lights.
The most exciting part of the day's encounters
occurred during an attempt on the village of
Noisseville, which had already changed hands
several times. The attack was conducted with the
greatest caution, as a French company had, only
an hour or two before, been severely cut up in
advancing on a château out of which they ima¬
gined the enemy had been driven, but where he
suddenly appeared in great force. The place,
however, was ultimately taken, and, that it might
not be the occasion of another surprise, was set
fire to and burnt. Making this house a toning
point, a considerable number of skirmishers ad¬
vanced towards the little village, which had been
so drenched with French and German blood. They
could not tell if it was occupied. Not a blue coat
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
109
was to be seen; all was perfectly still. A shell or
two from field-pieces was tried; not a shot was
returned. St. Julien sent in one of its long
twenty-four shells at it, which went crash into the
first house on the left, and made a great hole in it.
Still not a movement. Another shell from St.
Julien struck the house on the right side of the
street with the same result. Still no sign. The
French praised the admirable practice of St. Julien,
but after the ruse of the little house they knew not
what to expect from the big village. Meanwhile
the men crept steadily on. Crack went the Chasse-
pot whenever any one thought he saw something
worth firing at. Still no reply. Were the enemy
there or were they not? Just then, from the
other side of the hill, was noticed a column of
Prussian cavalry crawling out of the woods of
Failly, like a big black snake, half a mile long.
The officer in command gave orders to sound a
retreat, and the men drew back again. Then
began the fire. Noisseville was not empty now.
Out of every loophole, from behind every wall,
from every little hedge, sprang up armed men, who
fired with an impetuosity that made up for their
previous patience; but luckily the French were not
quite near enough, and the Prussians thought it
wise not to pursue. Under cover of their artillery,
which went to the front, the French gradually got
again within the shelter of the guns of St. Julien.
On the 27th of September another sortie in con-
considerable force, intended as a great foraging
expedition, was made with even more success in a
military view than those a few days before. Peltre
was the nearest railway station to Metz on the line
which connected it with Prussia, and was therefore
the great commissariat station for the Prussian
camp to the westward, as the stations of Courcelles
and Rémilly were for the eastern portion. The
French had therefore a double object, to destroy
the German provisions and get some for themselves,
and to seize the opportunity, should any occur, of
sending a few men through with despatches. All
being ready, very early in the morning, before the
sun was up, the French set out. To effect a greater
confusion, simultaneous demonstrations were made
in the direction of Borny and Ladonchamps ; but
the main line of attack was Peltre. The force
consisted principally of the seventieth and eighty-
fourth regiments of the line, supported by a bat¬
talion of chasseurs, and accompanied as before by
cavalry and guns. The early hour, the suddenness
of the attack, and the sallying out at different
points, if they did not surprise the Prussians, at all
events rendered them less prepared than usual to
make any effectual resistance. The railway was
still available for some considerable distance of the
road, and the French troops were placed in the
carriages, a field-piece or two mounted on some
vans in front, and the engine placed behind the
train. Alongside the line marched the rest of the
troops, and a battery of mitrailleuses took up their
position above the wood of Basse Bevoye. Quietly
round towards the castle of Crepy crept the infantry,
and the affray began. Hitherto the Prussians had
but little notice of the approach of the troops ; but
now it became earnest hard work. Rattle after
rattle of musketry fire rang out from one side or
the other. At last the Prussians were overcome,
captured, and their rifles broken, after which
they were set free again. Meanwhile, another
portion of the French force pushed on rapidly to
the villages of Peltre and Mercy-le-Haut, which they
occupied and fired, completely razing the observa¬
tory. In one part of their retreat the Germans
entered a convent—called the Sisters of Providence
—whose walls were already loop-holed ; but under
a deadly fire an entrance was forced, and now com¬
menced a horrible sight for those poor peace-loving
sisters. Their church became a charnel-house ; the
very sanctuary was stained with blood ; and the
house of mercy was turned into the house of ven¬
geance. The Prussians craved, the French gave,
no quarter, and flight there was none. The railway
station close by was carried ; men were killed at
every step ; but there were here some patient look¬
ing quadrupeds which must be saved, whatever
became of the bipeds. The order of the day was
to take care of the cows and sheep. Cattle trucks
were broken open, sheep pens invaded ; the cows
were driven up the line, and the sheep tucked under
the arm, or borne on the shoulder. Sugar, coffee,
hay, straw, all needed, were found there, and
the railway carriages were filled and sent back
again. The German forces first assailed had fallen
back as far as Ars-Laquenexy, on the road to Cour¬
celles, which they supposed to be the point of the
French attack. Meanwhile another corps, the first
corps of the second army, prepared to attack the
French in flank, and to cut them off from retreat
to Metz. They, however, saw their danger in time
and withdrew, carrying with them their dead and
, wounded, the captured provisions, and a hundred
no
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
prisoners. Tlie guns of Fort Queleu kept up a
heavy fire during the whole affair, and Forts St.
Quentin and St. Julien also vigorously cannonaded
the Prussian positions opposite to them. In driving
back the French, the Prussian field-guns, which
opened a heavy fire on them, caused severe loss,
and set fire to the villages of Colombey and La
Grange-aux-Bois, both of which were wholly de¬
stroyed. So rapid and well-executed was the sortie,
that at 11.30 a.m. all was again comparatively quiet,
and, save the burning villages, little trace appeared
of an affray in which about 8000 men on each side
had been engaged.
Bazaine had been blamed for giving up the ad¬
vanced position of Peltre, which for a time was in
French hands ; but the sortie was not made with
a view of escaping from Metz, so much as ob¬
taining food for his army and provender for his
horses, both of which were getting exceedingly
scarce in the town. So far, therefore, the object
of the sortie was attained, and the measure of suc¬
cess which attended it encouraged the French on
the following day to make a similar effort, on a
smaller scale, in nearly the same direction. The
Prussian foreposts occupied in no great strength
the village of Colombey, where were three large
châteaux, in the upper stories of which a consider¬
able store of grain had been left by the original
occupants, who had taken refuge in Metz, and
probably gave information of the existence of these
stores. At all events, in the afternoon of the 28 th,
the French, in large numbers, and covered by the
artillery of St. Julien, made a dash at Colombey,
their advance followed by a number of empty
waggons. Once more they surprised the compara¬
tively weak Prussian foreposts, and drove them out
of the village. Covering their operations by throw¬
ing forward tirailleurs into the woods to the front
and towards La Planchette, they filled the waggons
with the grain, and started on the return journey.
In the meantime, however, the Prussian artillery
had come to the front, and the shells fell thick
among the Frenchmen in Colombey and the convoy
on the road. The former fell back in great haste
under the guns of St. Julien, and the waggons
went on at a gallop, but out of thirty-six only
fourteen succeeded in getting safe off. The others
were arrested in transitu, in consequence of the
animals which drew them being disabled by the
Prussian shells. Among the men the loss in killed
or wounded was not great on either side.
But while outside the city walls the monotony
of life was varied by these occasional sorties, within
Metz the autumn wore on heavily. There was
much to be feared. To calculate the duration of
the food supply ; to speculate on what Bazaine was
doing, or meant to do ; to build frail anticipations
on the prospect of a relieving army, and to find
them crumble into ruins ; to make paper balloons,
which, with their freight of letters, frequently fell
into the hands of the enemy ; to split into coteries,
and wrangle about the future of France ; to hunt
down spies, to vex the Prussian outposts, and
occasionally to engage in sorties—these were now
the sole resources of the beleaguered citizens and
army. The weather was often rainy and cold, and
the spirits of the people were depressed by the
sense of confinement and the monotony of exist¬
ence. The Prussians were in no hurry ; they
could very well afford to let the Metzers wear
themselves out. The Metzers fretted against the
manacles that bound them, but fretted in vain.
Every day brought the end nearer ; yet still the
way seemed long and wearisome. The citizens
felt that they were shut up in a large prison, under
sentence of being slowly starved ; and they knew
that their fate had been decreed by a power which
never faltered in its will or failed in its resources.
A little excitement was caused on Sunday, Sep¬
tember 25, by a grand review of the national guards
in the Place d'Armes in front of the cathedral.
They numbered four corps, and, together with
the volunteer artillery, mustered about 7000 men.
They were clad in blouses, but with distinctive
marks, giving roughly the character of a uniform
to the dress. Their arms were old-fashioned per¬
cussion muzzle-loaders, of various patterns, and
very ineffective. Not that there were not plenty
of Chassepots in store ; but the national guards
were suspected of republicanism, and were there¬
fore neglected and discouraged by the military
authorities, though popular with the townsfolk.
The sorties we have referred to, of course,
occupied comparatively few of the large army now
encamped around Metz ; and although a circle of
defence extending over nearly thirty miles afforded
ample employment for a still larger number, the
fact that no determined effort was made to break
away from the town, whose provisions were being
rapidly diminished by those outside, created great
dissatisfaction in it, and caused considerable relaxa¬
tion of discipline among the troops themselves,
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
Ill
great numbers of -whom bad taken no active part
in tbe war since tbe engagement of August 31 ;
indeed, tbe imperial guard had not fired a shot,
or ever moved from their encampment, since
August 18. Bazaine, therefore, notwithstanding
the almost hopeless nature of the attempt, deter¬
mined, early in October, to make a vigorous
endeavour to break out in the direction of Thion-
ville, about half way between Metz and Luxem¬
bourg. Thionville was at this time besieged by
a large force under General Zastrow, but was
extremely well supplied with provisions, the ob¬
taining of which would have been of immense
advantage to the marshal and his army. And
even if this scheme could not be fully carried out,
it was thought that a large part of the army might
possibly reach the Dutch frontier, thus leaving
Metz with so many the less mouths to fill, and-by
surrendering to a neutral save the ignominy of
capitulating to the enemy. The foggy morning of
the 7th October was therefore appointed to usher
in what turned out to be the most important and
determined sortie made by Bazaine since the failure
of the 31st August. The Germans recognized it
as the " Schlacht bei Meziéres." Battles there
were in plenty in this bloody campaign that showed
a larger total of killed and wounded ; but the
" Battle of Meziéres " made widows and orphans
in the Fatherland far beyond proportion, for the
men who bore the brunt of it were husbands and
fathers—the stout landwehr men of the Division
Kummer.
At an early stage of the blockade the Prussians
seized upon the fine old château of Ladonchamps,
which, had often played an important part in the
history of Metz. As it was necessary the French
should carry the position, a field-battery was
brought against it; but though there were the
guns and the sentinel, not a shot was returned
from it. Presently volumes of smoke rose up from
behind the château. The farm was evidently burnt,
and a rush was made to save the house. After a
few musket shots had been fired the Prussians
evacuated, and the French entered the place to
find that the guns they had so much feared were
simply portions of poplar trees neatly mounted on
the wheels of broken carts, and that the " sentinel"
was a man of straw. Such ruses, which were not
uncommon during the war, caused many a mirth¬
ful moment, and relieved the weary tediousness of
the siege.
Ladonchamps was taken by the chasseurs, who
held it, with some few intervals, up to the day of the
surrender of Metz, and it formed the avant garde
of the French lines. To the right of it were Great
and Little Maxe, and in front the two large farms
of Great and Little Tapes. It was felt by the
Prussians that it was dangerous to allow the French
to continue in possession of Ladonchamps, as from
it their batteries enfiladed the whole of the be¬
siegers' front across the valley. On October 6,
therefore, it was subjected to a most severe bom¬
bardment, resulting in the retirement of its garrison
towards Metz. The Prussians then threw forward
troops, establishing their replis in its rear, and sent
sergeants' parties to occupy it and Grandes and
Petites Tapes villages, which formed the key to its
possession. St. Rémy constituted the chief support,
and here lay the fifty-ninth regiment of the land¬
wehr. Maxe, close to the river and considerably in
advance, was occupied by outposts sent forward
by the tenth army corps, on the other side of the
Moselle. The two divisions of the landwehr
stretched right across the valley from the bridge
at Argancy, where they touched the tenth army
corps, to near Marange, where they met the fifth,
and to them was confided the keeping of the flat
alluvial tract on the western side of the Moselle.
From Metz to Meziéres, which was now the
headquarters of General von Kummer, command¬
ing the landwehr, there is a long trough with a
flat bottom, the alluvial margin of the Moselle.
This tract, which is about four English miles wide,
is bounded on the west by the heights of Le Ilori-
ment, and nearer Metz by Norroy and Saulny.
On the east it is bounded by a lower series of
bluffs, on which stand the villages of Olgy and
Malroy; but between them and the bottom runs
the Moselle, infringing considerably on the flat
expanse just opposite Olgy. Across this bottom,
at the narrowest part, lies a series of villages—the
two Tapes and St. Rémy, with Maxe and Ladon¬
champs, respectively, slightly to the east and west
front. In all of them there were more or fewer
Prussian troops.
About one o'clock on the 7th the Prussian bat¬
teries at Semecourt were heard delivering a vigor¬
ous fire, which was supposed to be caused by the
tardy evacuation of Ladonchamps by the French.
Over the valley hung a mist, which prevented any
extended observation; but little importance was
attached to the firing, although it grew louder and
112
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
louder, until an aide-de-camp galloped up, spread¬
ing the alarm in every direction, and dashing on
to General Rummer's quarters for instructions to
guide the front.
Covered by the dense fog, Bazaine had made
his dispositions with such adroitness, that when it
cleared away a little past one his arrangements
were already all but complete. The imperial guard
came down from the hills of Plappeville and defiled
into the valley of the Moselle. Several regiments
of infantry, under the direction of General L'Ad-
mirault, pushed their way through the woods to
the left in the direction of Nassoy and Feves. The
sixth corps sent some few regiments to assist the
guards, and together they marched into the valley.
A strong assault was first directed against Ladon-
champs, which the landwehr outpost held as if they
had been 10,000 instead of 100 men, and the
French infantry swarmed into it while their artil¬
lery played upon it. On went the French infantry,
shell after shell falling thick amongst them, but
they knew the nearer they got the less likely they
were to be stopped. They encountered a very
determined resistance. In addition to several
fixed batteries, the Prussians brought on the
ground a large number of field pieces, all con¬
verging on the French line of advance. The
brave General Gibon, who that day for the first
time carried his galon as a general in the field,
cried out, " Never fear, my lads, I'll serve as a
bastion for you and, placing himself at the head
of his brigade, on he went. But his career was
brief ; he fell in the affray mortally wounded. On
rushed the guards, unchecked by the bullets which,
like a storm of hail, assailed them. The shock
of exploding shells made the ground tremble.
Fire succeeded fire. The smoke of the sacrifice
rose not to heaven, but hung over the earth.
Inch by inch the ground was won, and Les
Grandes Tapes was at length reached. Twice
round the outworks a picked body of seventy-
five guards went ; at last, espying a " coign of
vantage," they with a shout leapt the trenches,
followed by their comrades, and Les Grandes Tapes
was theirs. Suddenly, also, the villages of Petites
Tapes, St. Rémy, and Maxe were overwhelmed by
a rush of Frenchmen. The fifty-ninth landwehr
in St. Rémy would not fall back, as in common
prudence it should have done, but stood in the
street till the French, having played upon it
with their artillery, and rained on it Chassepot
and mitrailleuse bullets, finally, by sheer numbers,
pushed backward the shattered remnant on to the
chaussée. The fusilier battalion of the fifty-eighth
occupied Grandes Tapes before, and occupied it
now, but with the dead and the wounded. The
battalion would not give ground, and may be said
to have been annihilated, as the men stood with
their backs to the wall and their faces to the foe.
The other battalions of the same regiment also
suffered severely. As soon as they had gained
possession of Les Grandes Tapes, the French
began loading their wagons with forage ; and,
though the Prussians shelled them vigorously,
they did not cease until they had got all they
wanted.
So far, then, Bazaine had succeeded. He had
re-occupied the chain of villages athwart the
valley, and had got a few batteries of artillery
out to their front to reply to the Prussian fire.
But the status quo he neither wished nor had
the ability to retain, prevented as he was by the
Prussian artillery throwing its projectiles from
three sides of the parallelogram. It seemed clear,
however, that Bazaine would not have done what
he did had he not contemplated something more;
and that, there could be no doubt, was a sortie to
establish connections with Thionville. His tactics
were well conceived. From St. Rémy and the two
Tapes he kept the Prussian fire engrossed, both
musketry and artillery. He sent forward from
Grandes Tapes swarms of tirailleurs, who fared
very ill at the hands of the landwehr. He massed
nearly 30,000 men on the bank of the Moselle,
under cover of the houses of Maxe, with the de¬
sign of cutting through the Prussian environment
where it was weakest, close to the river. The
moment was critical. The landwehr had all been
sent forward against the villages, with the excep¬
tion of one brigade that was in reserve. But the
tenth army corps had been crossing the pontoon
bridge, and massing between the river and Ame-
lange ; General von Voigt Rhetz, who was in command
of the day's operations, gave the order for several
regiments to advance. It was a sight never to be
forgotten. First came the fusiliers, extending at
a rapid run into skirmishing order, and covering
the whole plain with their thin long lines. TheD
the dense columns of companies of the grenadiers,
with their bands playing and their colours unfurled.
But all the work was not left to the infantry. The
artillery, letting the villages clone, concentrated
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
113
their fire on the advancing columns of the French
by the Moselle. Want of fodder, which caused
many of his horses to die of starvation, and the
demand for horse flesh as food, both in the camp
and town, had left Bazaine singularly weak in field
artillery, and the only reply to the enemy was from
the fort of St. Julien or from the ramparts of St.
Eloy. But the mitrailleuse sounded its angry whirr ;
making the skirmishers recoil as they crossed the
line of fire, and tearing chasms in the fronts of the
solid masses of which they were the forerunners.
The dense columns of the French staggered and
then broke, and a sauve qui peut ensued into the
village of Maxe. Once within shelter, they obstin¬
ately refused to go further. In vain the Prussian
artillery, advancing closer and closer in alternate
order of batteries, fired on the villages, with a pre-
cisionand rapiditythat couldnot have been exceeded
on Woolwich Common. That obstinate battery in
front of Grandes Tapes would not cease, and the
French tirailleurs still lined the front of the chaussée.
It was now nearly four o'clock, and the German
columns halted, as if for breathing time, before
storming the enemy's position. A shell from St.
Julien, falling near a captain of cavalry, blew him
and his horse into fragments; disturbing at the
same time a hare, which bounded from its form,
and scampered across the battle-field right in a
line with the gun fire. As the landwehr stood
in suspense, a staff officer galloped along the
front line with orders for a general advance to
take the villages by storm. The advance was to
consist of four brigades of the landwehr, supported
by two of the tenth army corps. In a few minutes
the command came sounding along the line, and
the men, springing from their cover, went forward
with that steady, quick step so characteristic of the
Prussian marching. The shells from the battery
in front of Grandes Tapes tore through the line,
the mitrailleuse and Chassepot poured against it
their bullets ; but still the landwehr, silent and
stern, went steadily to the front. Those who had
been in many engagements had never experienced
a more furious fire than that to which the centre
of this line was exposed. General von Branden-
stein, commanding the third brigade of the land¬
wehr, was shot down as he rode, and several of his
staff were wounded. At length the entrenchments
were reached, behind which were lying the shat¬
tered remnants of the fifty-ninth and fifty-eighth
landwehr. The fraternization consisted in the cry
vol. n.
of " Hurrah Preussen," and then " Vorwarts—
immer vorwarts," and the line threw itself to its
front in a run. The gunners from the battery,
brave men and stubborn, had barely time to get
round the corner before the landwehr were upon
them. The guns they left perforce. In the vil¬
lages the French made a last stand, but it was at
serious cost. The landwehr, with less of the con¬
ventional warrior in them than the line, were not
so much inclined to give quarter. Many a French¬
man that afternoon had for a shrift a bayonet
thrust. They fought furiously in the narrow ways
of the villages, and used the mitrailleuses with rare
judgment and effect. But then came the steady,
resolute stride of the landwehr, who by the lusty
use of the bayonet soon cleared Les Tapes and
Maxe of all save victors, dead, and wounded. The
village of St. Rémy was also taken in the same
way by the eighty-first regiment at nine o'clock in
the evening, with a loss to the Prussians of five
officers and over one hundred men. The end of
the day found the French, though dislodged from
the neighbouring villages, still in possession of the
old chateau of Ladonchamps, to the shelter of
which and its barricades they retired after the
determined charge of landwehr, which had proved
as resistless as that of the imperial guard at an
earlier hour. From this shelter after dark a large
body of troops sallied out, under the impression
that a regiment of their comrades were still out¬
side, and near the Prussian lines. A dim outline
in the distance was supposed to be that of the
absentees. On a closer inspection, however, the
outline was resolved into a body of Prussian
cavalry, who, for the purpose of disguise, were
singing a French chanson. The French officer
hesitated a moment or two, when all at once the
charge was sounded. There was no disguise then.
Horses' hoofs ploughed the ground, as, shouting
now in German, the riders came on. A scamper
was made by the French, which the Prussians
hastened by a roll of carbine fire. Up to the very
barricades they went, but the French were ready,
and many a riderless horse dashed on almost into
the outworks. The infantry having reformed, a
stream of fire from Chassepots ran all along the
front, which after a while caused the Prussians
to retire, leaving the enemy in undisturbed pos¬
session of the chateau.
In another part of the field, westward of St.
Rémy, and the two hotly-contested villages of Les
p
114
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
Tapes, the position lield by tlie Prussians on the
wooded and billy ground in the neighbourhood of
Norroy and Semecourt, formed from the peculiarity
of the situation a natural fortress. It had, however,
been strengthened by art. The ground in front
and facing Woippy had been cut up into a regular
honeycomb of " Schutzengraben," whilst behind
every wall a bank had been carefully erected, and
the masonry pierced for rifles. The Prussians had
become so accustomed to fortifying the small villages
they occupied, and had besides so many oppor¬
tunities of observing the dexterity with which the
French made such places tenable, that in a very
short time a battalion would convert a farmhouse, a
garden-wall, or a hamlet, into a fortification from
which generally nothing but artillery could dislodge
them. In the present instance, however, all this
elaborate defence proved of little avail, for the well-
conducted steady advance of the French guard was
irresistible. They carried the village of Norroy,
and were moving on Semecourt and Fèves, with
the intention, apparently, of penetrating towards
Thionville by way of Marange, when they were
attacked in flank by the troops lying at Aman-
villers, St. Privat-la-Montagne, and Roncourt. The
fire from Plappeville assisted them so long as they
were in the neighbourhood of Saulny; but that
assistance failed as soon as they got clear of their
own outworks and carried Norroy. Here an obsti¬
nate fight continued for many hours ; but the
Prussians having been reinforced, the French fell
back towards Saulny and Woippy, contesting every
inch of the road. With the light of a brilliant
moon, the big guns had no difficulty in opening
fire. Plappeville, the works in Devant-les-Ponts,
and some heavy pieces of the town itself, now took
part in the action ; but the Prussians seemed deter¬
mined to take Woippy, which they eventually did
at nine o'clock. They could not, however, hold it
for any length of time, and when about eleven
p.m. the action ceased, the French had regained
Woippy, and the Prussian troops held Saulny.
This battle, the severest and most important
which had taken place before Metz since the 31st
of August, was without positive benefit to either
side, as both lost heavily without gaining any
advantages. The sortie only demonstrated to
Marshal Bazaine the utter hopelessness of any
attempt to break the bars of his iron cage, while
the Prussians found it impossible to follow up
their victory by penetrating into the immediate
vicinity of the fortress. The French losses in
killed and wounded were stated to be 1100. The
estimate was published in Metz as, in some sort,
a reply to the clamour for another sortie, which
Bazaine was reluctant to risk. There is, there¬
fore, every reason to believe this total correct. If
so, the French losses were far less than those of their
enemy. Eighteen hundred killed and wounded,
and sixty-five officers, were the fearful sum-total
of these few hours, among the landwehr alone—
who, indeed, bore the brunt of the fray, and
checked the rush of the French advance, by hold¬
ing the villages while they had a man that could
stand upright and fire the needle-gun. To them
also was intrusted the grand final advance which
swept the French out of the villages. The Prus¬
sian force engaged consisted of the nineteenth,
fifty-eighth, and fifty-ninth landwehr regiments,
forming the Posen and West Prussian brigades;
the first army corps, the twenty-eighth, twenty-
ninth, eighth, and seventh line regiments, and a
portion of the seventh army corps. The number
of French engaged exceeded 45,000. The roar of
the artillery, mingling with the deadly clatter of
the mitrailleuse, was indescribable ; for not only
were the French and Prussian field and horse-
artillery engaged, but during the whole battle the
forts kept up a continual blaze from their garrison
guns. Singularly enough, this fire was fiercest
about nine o'clock, as if the French feared an
attempt upon the fortress, to follow up the day's
success.
During the time when these important events
were occurring, the imperialist cause, though un¬
popular, had not been quite forgotten by some of
its former supporters. At least one intrigue had
been attempted with the view of restoring the
Napoleonic dynasty ; and as it was partly carried
on in the city of Metz, it may be right to notice
it here.
M. Regnier was a landed proprietor in France,
and the Prussians were but a few leagues from his
residence when he and his family took flight for
England, which they reached on the 31st of August.
On the 4th of September the Empress Eugenie
quitted Paris. On the 11th he knew she was at
Hastings, and on the 12th wrote to Madame
Lebreton a letter, which he requested should be
communicated to her Majesty, apprising her of his
intention to submit proposals to the emperor at Wil-
helmshohe for the preservation of the Napoleonic
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
115
dynasty. The first of these proposals rested on
the assumption that the regent ought not to quit
French territory, of which the imperial fleet was a
part, and that a portion of the fleet ought, therefore,
to be occupied by her as the seat of government.
Madame Lebreton gave an interview to M. Rég¬
nier at the Marine Hotel, Hastings, when she told
him that the empress had read his letter, but that
she felt that the interests of France should take
precedence of those of the dynasty, and that she
had the greatest horror of any step likely to bring
about a civil war. M. Regnier then addressed
another letter to Madame Lebreton, and subse¬
quently saw three officers of the imperial household,
who told him that the empress would not stir in
the matter. He then proposed that certain photo¬
graphs of Hastings, which he had bought for the
purpose, might be inscribed by the prince imperial
to the emperor. On the 17th of September, M.
Regnier got back his photographs, on one of which
was a note running thus :—" My dear papa,—I send
you these views of Hastings, hoping they will please
you.—Louis Napoleon." The empress, through
M. Fillion, told M. Regnier that there would be
great danger in carrying out his project, and begged
him not to attempt it. Of course, M. Regnier made
light of the caution ; and on the 20th of Septem¬
ber, the very day of Jules Favre's interview with
Count von Bismarck, he was standing in the pre¬
sence of the North German chancellor. From him
he requested a pass permitting him free access to the
emperor at Wilhelmshohe, at the same time hinting
that his object was to give peace to France by
restoring Napoleon to power. On seeing the pho¬
tographic view inscribed by the prince imperial,
Count von Bismarck seemed disposed to attach a
little importance to M. Regnier's mission, and
explained to him the extremely embarrassing posi¬
tion in which the Prussian government found itself
by not having a definite government in France with
which to treat. He also expressed his regret that
the emperor and his advisers had not accepted his
suggestion, and signed a peace on Prussian terms
after Sedan ; adding, that as the self-constituted
government of France also refused to treat on those
terms, Germany had no alternative but to continue
the war until a disposition was shown to concede
the indispensable alteration of frontier.
Later in the day, after the famous conversation
with M. Favre, in which the latter refused to yield
a " stone of the fortresses or an inch of territory,"
Bismqrck saw M. Regnier again, and the latter
expressed his determination to go at once to Metz
and Strassburg, to see the commander-in-chief of
each place, and to make an agreement that those
towns should only be surrendered in the emperor's
name. Count von Bismarck's answer was : —
Sir,—Fate has already decided; to blind your¬
selves to that fact is the action not of an indomit¬
able, but of an undecided nature. Nothing can
prevent what is from being as it is. Do what you
can to bring before us some one with power to treat
with us, and you will render a great service to your
country. I will give orders for a " general safe-
conduct " which will allow of your travelling in all
German possessions, and everywhere in the places
occupied by our troops. A telegram shall precede
you to Metz, which will facilitate your entrance
there.
Disguised, and aided by Count von Bismarck's
safe-conduct, M. Regnier proceeded to Metz, which
he entered on the 23rd of September, and made his
way to the presence of Marshal Bazaine, who told
him that his position was excellent, and that he had
hope of holding out for a long period. Afterwards,
however, he changed his tone, and said it would be
as much as he could do to keep his ground till
October 18, and that only by living on the flesh
of the officers' horses. The marshal hailed with
evident satisfaction a proposal that he should be
allowed a free passage for himself and army, with
their colours, artillery, ammunition, &c., through
the enemy's lines, on strict parole not to fight
against the Germans during the remainder of the
campaign ; it being moreover understood, first of
all, that he and his army would put themselves
at the disposal of the Chamber and the imperial
government, which would then be, de facto, the
only legal one.
To explain all this to the empress, and pave the
way for a treaty of peace and the return of the
emperor, it was arranged that General Bourbaki
should leave Metz for Chislehurst; travelling, how¬
ever, in strict incognito, and not allowing the real
object of his mission to transpire. Though one
of the bravest of French generals, Bourbaki was
little skilled in diplomacy ; and as soon as he found
himself outside Metz his one feeling was that of
regret that he had left it. Meeting a comrade on
his way through Belgium, who taunted him with
treason in flying from France, he indignantly
produced the authorization of Marshal Bazaine,
116
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
and in maintaining his military honour exposed
the whole intrigue. He presented himself before
the empress at Chislehurst, on the understanding
that he was there by her orders, and was of
course surprised and chagrined to find that he
had been made the tool of imperialist manœuvres.
Bazaine signed his name under that of the
prince imperial on the stereoscopic view of
Hastings, as a proof to Count von Bismarck
that he had authorized M. Regnier to treat.
On the 28th of September, when the latter again
saw the German chancellor, he was told that his
powers were not sufficiently defined, and that
there could be no further communication between
them. Nevertheless, Count von Bismarck sent a
telegram to Bazaine, asking whether he authorized
M. Regnier to treat for the surrender of Metz, and
received for answer, " I cannot reply in the affir¬
mative to these questions. I have told M. Regnier
that I cannot arrange for the capitulation of the
city of Metz." Here the whole scheme of the
latter appears to have broken up. He reached
Chislehurst on the 4th of October, to find that
General Bourbaki had done absolutely nothing
in the affair committed to his charge, and that he
had left en route for Tours to offer his military
services to the provisional government. M.
Regnier laboured to persuade the empress to per¬
sist in endeavouring to re-establish the dynasty.
He told her of the fearful misery he had witnessed
in the country ; village after village entirely
deserted, the inhabitants seeking refuge in the
woods, and camping there without shelter or know¬
ing where to find food, and that on the approach
of winter famine would certainly overtake them,
threatening to involve all in destruction. All
was, however, in vain. He could not alter the
opinions of the imperial exile, who feared that
posterity would only see in her yielding a proof
of dynastic selfishness; and that dishonour would
attach to the name of anyone who should sign a
treaty based upon a cession of territory. Thus
M. Regnier's scheme, which had been effected
with much trouble and danger, ended, and with
it the hopes of those who saw in the imperial
restoration the only chance of maintaining future
order in France.
The failure of the sorties did not much depress
the people of Metz. On the contrary, they wished
to make common cause with the army, and memor¬
ialized the governor to be allowed to garrison the
forts while the whole disposable military force
made another sortie on a gigantic scale. The
expression of this wish they conveyed to him
through General Coffinières. At the same time
energetic attempts were made to effect a frater¬
nization with the army, and a spirited address,
signed by numbers of the citizens and national
guards, was circulated in the camps. " We will
shed with you," it said, " our last drop of blood;
we will share with you our last crust. Let us
rise as one man, and victory is ours. Long live
our brothers of the army! Long live France,
one and indivisible ! "
The marshal, however, who had accompanied
his men to the hottest part of the fight on the
memorable 7th October, and who knew the utter
inutility of the fearful sacrifice of life which
another sortie must occasion, declined for the
present to accede to the citizens' request. He
was deterred also by a consideration of the state
of his army, which was suffering exceedingly
from the exposure of their camps and the priva¬
tions to which they were subjected. About the
13th, the date of the memorial, there were, of
soldiers alone, 23,000 in ambulances and private
houses. There was also an enormous increase
of sickness amongst the civilians, as might be
expected in a place crowded with double the
ordinary number of inhabitants ; the surplus
largely consisting of the poorer class of agricultural
labourers, who naturally soon fell ill in a town
abounding in hospitals fitted only to be human
abattoirs, surrounded by huge camps where all
sanitary rules were utterly neglected. It was,
indeed, a marvel that Metz was not one huge
lazar-house; but except amongst infants and the
aged, the death-rate was by no means excessive,
and the dead were buried without murmuring.
We have already said that as a fortification
Metz might well have been deemed impregnable.
It was handed down to the present generation,
by Cormontaigne and other great engineers of
the last century, as a very strong fortress—
strong in its defensive works. The Second
Empire added to these a circle of seven very
large detached forts at distances of from two
and a half to three miles from the centre of the
town, so as to secure it from bombardment even
with rifled guns, and to transform the whole into
a large entrenched camp second to Paris only.
With an army, however, of about 180,000 men
THE FRANCO PRUSSIAN WAR.
117
added to the usual population of 60,000, and whole
villages of country people who had sought shelter
behind the forts, it was evident that the stock of
provisions, however large, must soon be exhausted,
and the terrible alternative of starvation or sur¬
render arise. This moment of grief appeared
now to have arrived. Whispered at first, with
bated breath, in quiet corners; then talked of
amongst twos and threes ; then murmured in
coteries and cafés; and at last the general com¬
manding the town called the municipal council
together and told them that the bread was done,
and the city must capitulate. " Capitulate—never !
not whilst a boot remains to be eaten," was the
response. Measures were now taken to at least
postpone it. But they came too late. Not a
pastry cook was allowed to bake a bun for luxury,
bran was mixed with the flour already existing,
and no more white flour was allowed to be made.
Other expedients were adopted, and good brown
bread was daily to be had. All were placed on
rations ; if any went out to dinner they had to
take with them their own bread ; but generally
indeed, dining out simply meant a feast of reason,
with an interlude of horse flesh. In the early
part of October a leg of mutton fetched eight
francs the pound. Potatoes rose to one or one
and a half franc the pound, and then disappeared
altogether. Salad vegetables existed, but the
places in which they were kept were very hard
to find. Fowls fetched almost any price, and
the lucky avant poste who could kill a rabbit
under the pretext of firing at a Prussian was a
wealthy man ; forty francs being the least he might
expect as a reward for his dexterity, plus the
rabbit. Eggs rose to one franc each, and sugar
sold at five francs and even at nine francs the
pound. Coals there were none, and the supply of
gas was almost exhausted when the end came.
But the greatest privation was salt; nine francs
had been paid for a pound, and he who could give
a pinch of it was regarded as a valued friend ; for
the only absolute suffering arose from the want
of it. Horse flesh required some seasoning to
make it palatable. All sauces had disappeared,
and food was equine in the extreme: horse-flesh
soup usually excellent; boiled horse flesh by no
means bad, often very good; horse beans as a
legume, varied by lentils occasionally and a roti of
horse, often tough beyond mastication—made the
unvarying round. Such rations were unsatisfy¬
ing and far from nutritious, as the animal had
generally lived as long as possible, and was only
killed to prevent his dying. The army was often
worse off than the town, frequently from want of
direction rather than of food. The avant postes were
often forty-eight hours without victuals through
the carelessness and neglect of the intendance;
and as no additional means of grinding corn had
been adopted, grain alone was often served out
instead of bread. Of this the soldiers had to make
the best use they could, bruising rather than
grinding it in coffee mills, and boiling or baking
the crushed mass.
The tedium of the siege to the inhabitants was
increased at this time by the rather arbitrary sup¬
pression of several journals; and a curious feature of
the siege was the excessive tenderness of the auth¬
orities towards the enemy. One newspaper, the
Indépendant, was even suppressed for inserting an
article severely condemning the Prussian proclama¬
tion which described the franc-tireurs as traitors,
and threatened them with death whenever captured.
The author of the article indignantly protested
against the suppression, declined writing again
under such liabilities, and threatened that, in a day
not far distant, he would once more use his pen
" to write history." To refer with any amount of
respect to the republic also procured the exclusion
of the article—for all articles had now to undergo
a preliminary inspection. At length the journals
retorted by suppressing anything that came to them
from the military authorities, or by refusing to
insert any communication with the word "capitula¬
tion " in it. Numberless sly hits were made at the
marshal, with that adroitness of inuendo in which
the French are always so felicitous ; and the town
swarmed with secretly printed pamphlets, not very
complimentary to the powers that were. There
was a great scarcity of paper in Metz at the time,
and the journals came out in all shades of colour,
from the brightest red to the deepest blue. The
people, however, considered themselves lucky when
they could get anything at all to read ; and were
equally compelled to be satisfied if they could
obtain a meal of horse-flesh and a ration of brown
bread.
With such a state of things existing in the town
and camp, it was impossible not to see that the end
was fast approaching. Other indications were not
wanting. From about the 15th October neither
besieged nor besiegers fired a shot, and a feeling of
118
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
cordiality again grew up between the outposts.
The officers bowed to each other, and the men
took off their caps in sign of friendship, and talked
together. Sorties indeed continued, but their char¬
acter was wofully changed. Instead of brilliant
and impetuous battalions, they consisted first of
tens, then forties, fifties, and even hundreds, of
wretched, haggard, half-starved deserters. For a
time these were received by the Prussians; but on
a body of 800 presenting themselves, they were
told they must go back and endure their troubles
a little longer. Another day, through the driving
sleet which flew like a thick mist across the plain,
a black mass was descried advancing towards the
Prussian lines, which at first was supposed to indi¬
cate a last desperate effort, and the alarm was at
once given. As the shower passed there stood
before the Germans, not soldiers, but thousands of
men, women, and children, the civil inhabitants of
Metz. The officer at once despatched orderlies in
all directions, with orders to the foreposts to allow
no individual to pass, and to fire upon any who
should persist in the attempt. One man, sent as
advance guard of this band, advanced a little too
near, and was shot. The unfortunate citizens came
to a standstill ; but a woman advanced with a white
pocket-handkerchief fastened on the point of a
stick. The Prussians by this time were keeping
up a sharp fire over the heads of this jaded crowd,
who took the warning, and in a short time went
back to Metz. The female kept advancing, but, on
looking round and seeing herself deserted, she also
turned and fled.
But if military operations were for a time sus¬
pended, diplomacy was not idle. On the 17th of
October Marshal Bazaine's aide-de-camp, General
Boyer, passed blindfolded through the German mili¬
tary lines to the headquarters of Prince Frederick
Charles. On the 18th he went to Versailles and
was conducted to Count von Bismarck. His appear¬
ance created such a sensation among the French
inhabitants, that a guard had to be sent for to keep
an open space in front of the count's windows.
According to an apparently trustworthy account
of their interview, published in the Débats in
June, 1871, and when there had thus been ample
time to obtain correct information, the general,
after a few formal remarks, asked Count von Bis¬
marck what were his aims and objects; in a word,
what he desired as the result of the war. To this
Count von Bismarck replied very frankly, that his
policy was most simple; that the French might
do as they please, that as for themselves (the Ger¬
mans) they were sure of Paris, its fall being merely
a question of time. " The French took Rome
without injuring its monuments; the Germans will
do the same with Paris, which is a city of art in
which nothing shall be destroyed. I have nothing
to say to the various considerations that you lay
before me. You tell me that your Metz army is
the sole element of order remaining in France, and
that it is alone capable of establishing and uphold¬
ing a government in the country. If this is the
case, constitute this government; we will offer no
opposition, and we will even render you some
assistance. The marshal will repair to some town to
be named with his army, and summon the empress
thither. In our eyes the sole legal government
of the country is still that of the plebiscitum of
the 8th of May; it is the only one we recognize.
You speak to me of the necessity for putting an
end to a war such as this one; but whom am I to
treat with? There is no Chamber. I had pro¬
posed to let the elections be held on the 2nd of
October ; the departments occupied by the Prussian
troops would have had full liberty in the selection
of their deputies. This offer was not taken advan¬
tage of. I then suggested the date of the 18 th of
October, with no better success." Count von
Bismarck, entering into another train of ideas, then
said with no little warmth, " I cannot say what
will befall France, nor what is the future that
awaits her; but I do know this, that it will redound
to her shame, to her eternal shame in all time,
in all ages, and in all tongues, to have abandoned
her emperor as she did after Sedan. The stain
which she will never wash out is the revolution
of the 4th of September." Finally, returning to
what was peculiarly the object of the interview,
the chancellor repeated that he would offer no
opposition to the reconstitution of a government
by Marshal Bazaine and his army.
General Boyer stayed two days at Versailles, had
two interviews with the count, and then returned to
the neighbourhood of Metz, before entering which,
however, he visited Wilhelmshohe. On the 23rd he
once more repaired to Versailles. From his state¬
ment it appeared that Bazaine was now quite willing
to surrender with his army, but the commandant
of Metz, General Coffinières, would not consent to
give up the fortress. Prince Frederick Charles
very naturally objected to take charge of 80,000
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
119
or 90,000 soldiers, Hampered with the condition
of having the same battle to fight for the city, and
his answer simply was, " Metz, or nothing at all."
Meanwhile, so confident were the German author¬
ities of the early surrender, that a chateau at
Frescati was prepared for the expected negotiations.
Morning after morning every eye was turned
anxiously in the direction of the town and out¬
works, until, on the 25 th, a flag of truce appeared
with a despatch to Prince Frederick Charles, inti¬
mating that General Changarnier would wait upon
him at twelve o'clock that day.
Marshal Bazaine had received, almost at the
same moment, a despatch from General Boyer,
and another from Count von Bismarck, in which
the latter declined all negotiations save on the
basis of unconditional surrender. On receipt
of these documents, which destroyed the mar¬
shal's hopes and plans, he immediately con¬
voked his council of war. The council decided
unanimously, with one exception, that the capitu¬
lation was necessary. Almost up to the last
moment General Coffinières desired to make
another attempt to break through the Prussian
investment. By seven o'clock in the evening,
however, Bazaine had succeeded in convincing
Coffinières that, even if successful, such an attempt
would only postpone the capitulation for a few
weeks, at a great sacrifice of life ; and accordingly
a messenger was sent to Prince Frederick Charles,
intimating an intention to surrender. This was the
first proposition which included both the fortress
and the army of Bazaine encamped outside. In
expectation of an outbreak on the 24th, Bazaine,
whether rightly or wrongly, had fully made up his
mind that further sorties were useless, and that
Metz must speedily succumb. The Viscount de
Valcourt contrived to escape in disguise through
the Prussian lines, with a despatch in a hollow tooth,
covered with a top dressing of gutta percha. This
was addressed to the authorities at Tours, and ran
thus:—" I must give up Metz in a day or two.
Make peace as soon as you can.-—Bazaine, Mar¬
shal," &c. On the 25th October the marshal
communicated to the council of war that he had
received a despatch from General Boyer, stating
that the empress would not accept the regency.
Bazaine added, that as Bismarck had now refused
to separate the fate of the town from that of the
army, nothing remained to be done but to en¬
deavour to get the best terms possible, and to
accustom both soldier and civilian to the idea
of capitulation.
General Cissy was then sent to arrange a meet¬
ing between the headquarters of the two armies,
and, as we have just stated, General Changarnier
subsequently had an interview with Prince
Frederick Charles. It was hoped that the vete¬
ran soldier of France now sent to negotiate
would be able to obtain exceptionally honour¬
able terms for a valiant army, which had held
the Prussians in check for three months and
a half, after having been beaten by them several
times. The prince gave the general an affable and
cordial reception, but told him, that as he did not
form part of the active army, he could not treat
with him regarding the conditions of the capitula¬
tion ; and that their conversation must be confined
to pure and simple details respecting local events.
He said, he knew well that Metz had victuals
for only three days, and showing Changarnier a
train in the railway station crammed with different
kinds of provisions, he added: "That is for the
city of Metz and for your army, which is in want
of everything. We wish to put an end to your
suffering ! " Changarnier, however, proved to the
prince that, although holding no separate command,
he was nevertheless officially attached to Bazaine,
and was acting in this matter with his authority.
He pleaded hard to obtain for the soldiers the
privilege of returning to their homes and families;
but of course such a request could not be granted,
and it is almost surprising that so old and experi¬
enced an officer should have thought of making it.
At the conclusion of the interview he was almost
heartbroken, and said, with a flood of tears, "We
shall fall, but with honour. I wish, gentlemen,
that neither you nor any brave soldier may ever
experience this." Changarnier was then conducted
back, as he had been brought, blindfolded, through
the Prussian camp, and General Cissy was once more
sent to continue the negotiation. He urged that
though the army capitulated, that was no reason
why Metz should surrender. The prince replied:
" Before the declaration of war, we knew as well as
you, down to the most minute details, the state of the
defences of the town. Then the forts were scarcely
sketched out, and the town could only make a
feeble resistance. It is since the presence of the
French army under its walls that Metz has become
what it is. Through your exertions it has been
converted into a fortress of the first class, and
120
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
must accept, as a consequence, all the conditions
of a capitulation which will make no distinction
between the town and the army." As no mitigation
of the humiliating terms thus seemed possible,
submission only remained, and General Jarras, of
the marshal's staff, was sent to arrange the clauses
of the capitulation.
The discussion of these details was long, obsti¬
nate, and often warm, the terms demanded by the
Germans appearing to their adversaries extremely
and needlessly severe. The evening of the 25th,
the whole of the 26th and the 27th, was occupied
before the clauses were finally settled. So certain,
however, were the Germans of the ultimate issue
of whatever negotiations were carried on, that their
second corps received marching orders for Paris at
noon on the 25th, and was on its way early in the
evening. On the 26th the interview became very
stormy on the part of the French commissioners.
They insisted on the officers retaining their side
arms, and it was found necessary to telegraph to
the Prussian king at Versailles for specific instruc¬
tions. The king conceded the privilege in a tele¬
graphic despatch which arrived at three a.m. on
the next day. Early on the morning of that day
the commissioners again met, there being present
General Jarras, Marshal Bazaine's chief of the
staff, and Colonel Fay and Major Samuele on the
part of General Coffinières, the commandant of
the fortress. The German commissioners were
Generals Stiehle and Wartenslebcn. The con¬
ference lasted until eight o'clock at night, when a
draught was signed for the absolute surrender of
Metz and all its fortifications, armaments, stores,
and munitions, together with the garrison and the
whole of Bazaine's army.
In addition to the leading points of the sur¬
render, the draught stipulated that the French
troops should be conducted, without arms, by
regiments or regimental corps, in military order,
to some place to be afterwards indicated by the
Prussians; that the French officers in command of
the men should, after their arrival at this place, be
at liberty to return to the entrenched camps, or to
Metz, on giving their word of honour not to quit
either place without an order of permission from
the German commandant; that the troops, after
surrender, should be marched to bivouac, retaining
their personal effects, cooking utensils, &c. ; that
the French generals, officers, and military employés
ranking as commissioned officers, who should en¬
gage by written promise not to bear arms against
Germany, or to agitate against Prussian interests
during the war, should not be made prisoners, but
should be permitted to retain their arms, and to
keep their personal property, in recognition of the
courage displayed by them during the campaign.
It was also agreed that all questions of detail, such
as might concern the commercial rights of the
town of Metz, and the interests and rights of
civilians and non-combatants, should be considered
and treated subsequently in an appendix to the
military paper of capitulation ; and that any clause,
sentence, or word which might present a doubt
as to its exact meaning, should be interpreted in
favour of the French people.
The Metz municipal council, wrought up to the
highest pitch of excitement by the reticence of
the military authorities, went on the 24th to
General Coffinières and demanded to be informed
how matters stood. The governor told them
he had no information to give, either as to the
position of affairs in the rest of France or of
those more immediately outside Metz; and advised
them to apply to the marshal, which they agreed
to do. The result of the inquiry confirmed their
worst fears, that a capitulation was in course of
arrangement. A thrill of rage and consternation
passed through the city as the truth flashed upon
it. The town council now met daily, and in
answer to their persistent demand for a true state¬
ment of the situation, General Coffinières, on the
morning of the 27th, issued the following official
proclamation :—
" Inhabitants of Metz,—It is my duty to faith¬
fully state to you our situation, well persuaded
that your manly and courageous souls will rise to
the height of this grave occasion. Round us is
an army which has never been conquered, which
has stood firm before the fire of the foe, and with¬
stood the rudest shocks. This army, interposed
between our city and her besiegers, has given us
time to put our forts in a complete state of defence,
to mount upon our walls more than 600 pieces of
cannon, and has held in check an army of more
than 200,000 men. Within our walls we have a
population full of energy and patriotism, firmly
determined to defend itself to the last extremity.
I have already informed the municipal council that,
notwithstanding the reduction of rations, notwith¬
standing the perquisitions made by the civil and
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
121
military authorities, we have no more food than
will serve till to-morrow. Further than this, our
brave army, tried already by the fire of the enemy,
has lost 42,000 men, after horrible sufferings from
the inclemency of the season and privations of
every kind. The council of war has proof of these
facts, and the marshal commanding in chief has
given formal orders, as he had the right, to direct
a portion of our provisions for the purposes of the
army. With all this, thanks to our economy, we
can still resist up to the 30th inst., but then our
situation will not be sensibly modified. Never in
the annals of military history has a place resisted
until its resources have been so completely exhausted
as this has, and none has ever been so encumbered
with sick and wounded. We are, then, condemned
to succumb; but it will be with honour, and when
we find ourselves conquered by famine. The
enemy, who has so closely invested us for more
than seventy days, knows that he has almost
attained the end of his efforts. He demands the
town and the army, and will not permit the
severance of the interests of the one from that
of the other. Four or five days' desperate resistance
would only place the inhabitants in a worse position.
Rest assured that your private interests will be
defended with the most lively solicitude. Seek to
support stoically this great misfortune, and cherish
the firm hope that Metz, this grand and patriotic
city, will remain to France.
« F. COFFINIERES,"
" the General, &c.
"Metz, 27th October, 1870."
This proclamation, though full of kindly feeling,
did not satisfy the people. The old question was
asked and re-asked—Why were we not told of
the shortness of provisions before? Why were
not some means taken to prevent waste? Waste
indeed there had been. On the retreat from the
battle of Gravelotte, coffee, sugar, and biscuits, to
the value of more than 100,000 francs, were burnt
because they encumbered the roads. More than
seventy carriages, which had been in the morning
full of provisions, entered Metz empty. The road¬
side ditches were choked with boxes of biscuit
bearing the English weight, and with the familiar
inscription, in large black letters, " Navy biscuit."
Soldiers filled their sacks with sugar, which they
sold in town, or returned with a sugar loaf on each
shoulder as a trophy of the maladministration of
vol. ii.
the army and the weakness of their generals.
" How was it," it was inquired, " that in the early
days of the siege officers were allowed to draw
their double rations in camp, and then to come
into the town and eat and drink as though no
allowance had been made them ! There were for
three-quarters of the time an average of 8000
officers, with double rations for at least fifty days
of the blockade, giving a total of 800,000 single
rations, and who, meanwhile, fed upon the pro¬
visions of the town. All this, if you knew we
had not sufficient provisions for a lengthened time,
you should have prevented."
There seems to have been some truth in this,
but expostulation came too late to serve any good
purpose ; already upon the walls was the proclama¬
tion of Marshal Bazaine, announcing the dreaded
event in even plainer terms than that of the com¬
mandant. It ran as follows :—
" genebal oedee. No. 12.
" To the Army of the Rhine.
" Conquered by famine, we are compelled to
submit to the laws of war by constituting ourselves
prisoners. At various epochs in our military his¬
tory brave troops, commanded by Massena, Klèber,
Gouvion St. Cyr, have experienced the same fate,
which does not in any way tarnish military honour
when, like you, their duty has been so gloriously
accomplished to the extremity of human limits.
" All that was loyally possible to be done in
order to avoid this end has been attempted, and
could not succeed.
"As to renewing a supreme attempt to break
through the fortified lines of the enemy, in spite
of your gallantry and the sacrifice of thousands of
lives, which may still be useful to the country,
it would have been unavailing, on account of the
armament and of the overwhelming forces which
guard and support those lines : a disaster would
have been the consequence.
" Let us be dignified in adversity. Let us
respect the honourable conventions which have
been stipulated, if we wish to be respected as we
deserve to be.
" Let us, above all, for the reputation of our
army, shun acts of indiscipline, such as the de¬
struction of arms and matériel, since, according
to military usages, places and armament will be
restored to France when peace is signed.
Q
122
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
" In leaving the command I make it a duty to
express to generals, officers, and soldiers all, my
gratitude for their loyal co-operation, their brilliant
valour on the battle-field, their resignation in pri¬
vations, and it is with broken heart that I separate
from you.
" The Marshal of France, Commander-in-Chief,
" (Signed) BAZAINE."
*
It is almost impossible to describe the excite¬
ment which prevailed when this order was issued.
The bewildered citizens ran to and fro in the streets,
seeking a leader but finding none. The national
guard refused to give up its arms, and assembled
in the Place d'Armes. Some few officers of dif¬
ferent regiments would have placed themselves
at their head, but they were without any plan or
point of union, and ran about like ants in an
invaded ant-hill. The door leading to the clock-
tower was broken in with the butts of muskets;
the staircase was carried, and the great alarm bell
of Metz was rung for the first time since 1812.
The population streamed into the square from all
quarters, and the streets were crowded with angry
citizens. In the caserne of the engineers, a huge
building on the esplanade, a band of officers of
artillery and engineers, who had long been discon¬
tented with their enforced inactivity, were gathered
together, and 8000 officers and men, divided into
bodies, hidden in different parts of the town, were
ready to put themselves under a general who had
promised to lead them; but at the last moment
he failed, and consternation and disorder were the
result.
Now was exhibited a ridiculous feature of the
outbreak. Foolish men crept in, and wise men
crept out. An editor of one of the Metz news¬
papers, who had before achieved glory by entering
the ante-chamber of General Coffinières and break¬
ing down the harmless bust of the ex-emperor,
preserving the whip with which he had done it as
a trophy of his prowess, mounted his horse armed
with a revolver, which he fired repeatedly in the
air. He was attended by a young lady, the
daughter of a gunsmith, who, mounted on one of
her father's horses, and armed with one of his
pistols, having a pocket handkerchief tied to it,
bore aloft her standard, like a second Joan of Arc,
through the streets of Metz. Ridicule speedily
put an end to the silly movement; but it had the
effect of defeating the seriously-entertained design
of spiking the guns which yet remained in position,
breaking the small arms contained in the arsenal,
and finally blowing up the forts. Men were
willing to brave death, but they feared being
laughed at. The voltigeurs of the imperial guard,
accompanied by the half of a regiment of the line,
quickly suppressed the disorderly demonstration.
The arms of the national guard were taken from
them, and the few officers who could fled in sorrow
from their last hope. Some of them managed to
steal through the gates of the town, and tramped
along the muddy road to Grigy, joined here and
there by a few stragglers. They crept through
the dark wood, but there all hope was lost. At
four mètres apart stood the Prussian outposts; to
proceed was death, to go back shame. They chose
the shame, and the last night they entered Metz
was one of weeping and tears.
Once more, and for the last time, the municipal
council of the French city of Metz assembled, and,
as if ashamed of the childish display of their
fellow-townsmen, addressed to them a manifesto
as follows :—
" Dear Fellow-citizens,—True courage consists
in supporting an evil without those agitations
which but serve to aggravate it. Afflicted as we
all are by that which has fallen upon us to-day,
not one of us can reproach himself with having
failed, even for a single day, to do his duty. Let
us not present the wretched spectacle of intestine
strife, nor furnish any pretext for future violence,
or for new and worse misfortunes. The thought
that this trial will only be a transient one, and that
we have assumed none of the responsibility to the
country or to history attached to it, should be in
such a moment our consolation. We confide the
common security to the wisdom of the population."
This proclamation was signed by the mayor and
all the council, but it had no date. The date was,
in fact, sufficiently fixed by the circumstances.
That black Friday—a day henceforth doubly un¬
lucky in the history of the city of Metz—needed
no formal date.
At one o'clock on the 28th it was ordered that
the French army should formally lay down its arms
within the city. There was no set ceremony, yet the
affair was imposing from its very simplicity. Each
corps, in order, laid down its arms in the neighbour¬
hood of its own station. The third armycorps—that
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
123
of Lebœuf—began the movement, and the marshal
himself came first, with a scowl upon his swarthy
features. He wheeled to one side, and stood by
the single Prussian officer whose duty it was to
superintend the stacking of the arms. Regiment
after regiment, the men defiled past, piling their
arms in great heaps at the word of command from
their own officers, who gave their parole, and were
allowed to retain their swords. Some, however,
declined accepting the terms, and preferring to go
into captivity in Prussia, laid down their swords
as the men did their Chassepots. The disarmed
troops then returned into their bivouacs, which they
occupied for one night more, before quitting for
others round which should stand Prussian sentries.
The weather on the 29th of October was as dismal
as the day was a dark one in the history of unhappy
Prance. Thick masses of black clouds rolled over¬
head, and the rain poured down in torrents as the
Frenchmen came forth and rendered themselves to
their captors. Prince Frederick Charles, with his
staff and officers, had posted themselves behind
Jouy, on the Frescati road. Bazaine appeared first
of all ; he rode at the head of his officers to the
prince, to whom he simply said : " Monseigneur, I
have the honour to present myself." The prince
motioned him to his side, and then began the march
of the officers and the army, partly classified accord¬
ing to their arms, partly pell-mell. Those who had
a command were on horseback ; the others had their
arms in the state in which they afterwards laid
them down in the town. Each corps, as it marched
out, was received by the Prussians covering the
respective section of the environment. They were
led by their own officers, who formally handed them
over to those of Prussia, after which those who'had
given their parole were at liberty to quit the ranks
and return to Metz. The men were then marched
out to the bivouac places, where wood for fires had
been collected, and a supply of provisions was ready
for distribution. The demeanour of the French
troops was on the whole becoming, though here and
there was evidence of considerable demoralization,
the men being in a state of intoxication, and their
clothes disarranged in utter disregard of decency.
The officers, however, were taciturn and downcast.
The reception of the prisoners, in the meadows near
the Jouy road, lasted from 1 till 9. The last corps
that finished the procession as evening closed in
was the finest of all—the grenadiers of the guard,
and they, as they parted from their officers, in many
instances embraced them, kissing them on both
cheeks. Never was seen more quiet, soldier-like
demeanour than that exhibited by this splendid
body of men as they marched past in perfect silence.
Not a word was spoken. All that could be heard
was the measured tread of thousands of feet as they
splashed along the muddy road. The Prussian
officers gazed with surprise and no little admiration,
as regiment after regiment filed past, and congra¬
tulated themselves that they had no longer to fight
such men.
At the same hour that the French commenced
leaving the city, a battalion of the seventh army
corps marched forward and took possession of
La Porte Serpenoise, one of the gates of Metz,
and another battalion from the same corps occu¬
pied the Porte Moselle. Two hours before the
occupation of the fortress, an artillery officer and
a small body of under-officers, accompanied by
engineers, had been sent forward from each of the
occupying detachments, to take over the powder-
magazines and the respective forts, and not till they
had reported that all was in order were the troops
allowed to march in. This precaution was no doubt
dictated by a recollection of the catastrophe at
Laon. As the party approached the gate their
wonderful discipline revealed the secret of their
victory. Steady, resolute, unimpassioned, not a
sign of exultation was visible on their faces. At
a word they scaled the slippery glacis, and ranged
themselves with mathematical precision along the
rampart's crest. Their officers marched in front,
keenly scanning the fosse, and guarding against
every possibility of surprise ; possession of the town
was taken with as much caution as though its occu¬
pants had formed the grand guard of an impending
battle-field. First the tête du pont was passed, the
ravelin was reached, and the same minute sur¬
veillance was used. Lastly, the town's gate was
entered with even greater precaution, and at twenty
minutes past one o'clock the first Prussian foot fell
within the city of Metz-la-Pucelle. Possession was
quietly taken of the Place Moselle, and at four
o'clock in the afternoon the battalion marched
through the sad and silent streets (in some of which
the houses were completely shut up), playing vic¬
torious German tunes. They entered the Place
d'Armes, where the first object they saw was the
black-draped statue of the gallant Marshal Fabert,
who, as the inscription on the pedestal recalled,
would, " rather than yield up a place intrusted to
124
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
him by his sovereign, place in the breach himself,
his family, his goods, and all he had, and never
hesitate a moment." Four bodies of infantry,
whose burnished helmets glistened in the fading
light, marched and counter-marched in the square,
speedily clearing it of the few idle gazers of the
lower classes who had gathered in it.
General von Kummer was appointed provisional
German commandant of Metz, and on the day after
his entry he issued the following proclamation :—
" The fortress of Metz was occupied yesterday
by the Prussian troops, and the undersigned is pro¬
visionally commandant of the place. I would wish
to maintain among the Prussian troops their known
discipline, the liberty of the person, and the secu¬
rity of property. Difficulties may occur at first to
the inhabitants before all affairs are properly regu¬
lated ; but they ought to be btought to me, and I
shall know how to appreciate the circumstances
under which the difficulties have occurred. If I
encounter disobedience or resistance, I shall act
with all severity and according to the laws of
war ; whoever shall place in danger the German
troops, or shall cause prejudice by perfidy, will be
brought before a council of war ; whoever shall act
as a spy to the French troops, or shall lodge or give
them assistance ; whoever shows the roads to the
French troops voluntarily ; whoever shall kill or
wound the German troops, or the persons belonging
to their suite ; whoever shall destroy the canals,
railways, or telegraph wires ; whoever shall render
the roads impracticable ; whoever shall burn muni¬
tions and provisions of war ; and, lastly, whoever
shall take up arms against the German troops, will
be punished by death.
" It is also declared that, (1) the houses in which,
or from out of which, any one commits acts of hos¬
tilities towards the German troops will be used as
barracks ; (2) no more than ten persons will be
allowed to assemble in the streets or public places;
(3) the inhabitants must deliver up all arms by
four o'clock on Monday, the 31st of October, at the
Palais, rue de la Princerie ; (4) all windows are to
be lighted up during the night in case of an alarm.
"YON KUMMER.
" Metz, October 30, 1870."
By the capitulation of Metz a terrible blow,
indeed, was inflicted on the French nation. Metz the
invincible, Metz which was always French in tongue
and race, even when it was a city of the holy
Roman empire, Metz which had been incorporated
in France for more than three hundred years
indeed, from before the English lost Calais—Metz
had fallen, and three marshals of France and a
vast army had surrendered with it to the enemy.
To the victorious Prussians the Sedan prize of an
emperor was of little use. But the great strong¬
hold and the beautiful city that the French loved,
along with the very flower and front of the army
of France, and a mass of munitions of war, among
which were 400 pieces of artillery, 100 mitrail¬
leuses, and 53 eagles—all these formed a- trophy
which the German armies looked upon as shedding
a new brilliancy on their victorious banners. The
material gains indeed were past calculation. The
strongest fortress in France, surrounded by works
so extensive and formidable that the army of
Bazaine could take refuge behind them without
fear of a direct attack, was now in the hands of the
Germans. On French territory they held a place
from which all the armies of France, if France had
armies, could not drive them. It was easily acces¬
sible from their own frontier, connected with North
and South Germany by lines of railway, and pos¬
sessed of it they could, even if they held nothing
else, command the north-east of France up to the
Argonne. Nor was this all. Metz was an arsenal
as well as a fortress ; to the guns on its fortifica¬
tions must be added those which were found inside,
as well as a vast machinery ready for the fabrication
of arms and munitions of war. The spoils of the
greatest army that had ever laid down its arms
within historical times were in the hands of the
victors. The entire army of the Rhine was armed
with the Chassepot, and every weapon, except those
which the French soldiers destroyed in their rage
and despair, would be available to arm the German
levies ; while such was the quantity of field artillery,
both of guns and mitrailleuses, which now fell into
German hands, that it would be in the power of the
king of Prussia to equip a first-rate army with the
spoils of a single day. As to Metz itself, the French
were, as we have said, intensely proud of their, till
now, virgin city—proud of her historical lame,
proud of her great strength, proud of her gardens,
and bridges, and promenades that made her the
queen of the valley of the Moselle. Her cathedral,
if less renowned than that of Strassburg, was yet
a noble and stately building ; and there was this
THE FRANCO PRUSSIAN WAR.
125
further point in her favour, when contrasted with
Strassburg, that she was a French city, and had
never belonged to Germany. It is true that she
was once, as a free town, under the protection of
the German empire ; but then, as now, Metz was
French in all her ways and habits, her speech
and costume. And in her present days of bitter
distress France had never ceased to look towards
Metz for some faint gleam of consolation and
hope. The sunlight that touched the grey
forts of the capital of Lorraine, seemed to shed
from thence a vague warmth and light of com¬
fort through the gloom that lay dark over the
nation. The hope of France was with Bazaine.
Bazaine was to do this and that ; the army of
the Rhine was suddenly to appear in the rear of
the Germans besieging Paris. Wild stories and
rumours grew and flourished amid these eager anti¬
cipations. Bazaine could get away if he wished.
Bazaine was amply provisioned for three months.
Bazaine was lying inactive only that he might
delude his foes, and strike hard and sharp when the
moment came for his co-operation with the nebulous
armies which, from over the whole of France, were
supposed to be floating like clouds towards him.
Nay, Bazaine had already broken through, and was
at Thionville. Such were some of the delusions
which the French people, following the example of
their rulers, had invented for each other to believe.
Long anticipated as it had been, the capitulation
of Metz came upon the German army with a strange
suddennesss. It had been announced but a day or
two before that the negotiations had been defini¬
tively closed ; and men prepared themselves as they
best could for another tedious period of on-waiting,
diversified with fighting. It was not till the fol¬
lowing proclamation of Prince Frederick Charles
was issued, that the men could fully comprehend
the extent of the victory their patient courage had
achieved :—
" Soldiers of the First and Second Armies,—You ,
have fought and invested in Metz an enemy whom
you had vanquished, for seventy days, seventy long
days, which have made most of your regiments the
richer in fame and honour, and have made none
poorer. You allowed no egress to the brave enemy
until he would lay down his arms. This has been
done. To-day at last this army, still 173,000 men
strong, the best in France, consisting of more than
five entire army corps, including the imperial guard,
with three marshals of France, with more than fifty
generals, and above 6000 officers, has capitulated,
and with it Metz, never before taken. With this
bulwark, which we restore to Germany, innumer¬
able stores of cannons, arms, and war material have
fallen to the conqueror. Besides these bloody
laurels, you have defeated him by your bravery in
the two days' battle at Noisseville and in the engage¬
ments round Metz, which are more numerous than
the surrounding villages after which you name these
combats. I acknowledge your bravery gladly
and gratefully, but not it alone. I estimate almost
higher your obedience and your composure, cheer¬
fulness, and resignation in enduring difficulties of
many kinds. All this distinguishes the good sol¬
dier. To-day's great and memorable success was
prepared by the battles which we fought before we
invested Metz, and—as we should remember in
gratitude to him—by the king himself, by the
corps then marching with him, and by all those
dear comrades who died on the battle-field or
through maladies here. All this previously ren¬
dered possible the great work which, by God's
blessing, you to-day see completed—viz., the col¬
lapse of the power of France. The importance of
to-day's event is incalculable. You soldiers, who
were assembled under my orders for this object,
are about to proceed to various destinations. My
farewell, therefore, to the generals, officers, and
soldiers of the first army and Kummer's division,
and a God speed to further successes.
" (Signed) The General of Cavalry,
"FREDERICK CHARLES."
" Head-Quarters, Corny before Metz,
" October 27, 1870."
On hearing at Versailles of the fall of Metz, the
king of Prussia telegraphed to Queen Augusta as
follows :—
" This morning the army of Marshal Bazaine and
the fortress of Metz capitulated, with 173,000 pri¬
soners, including 20,000 sick and wounded.
" This afternoon the army and the garrison will
lay down their arms.
" This is one of the most important events of the
month.
" Providence be thanked !"
There was at the time a general disposition to
sneer at his Majesty s way of describing a military
126
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
catastrophe of unprecedented magnitude as the
" most important event of the month." And yet
a very slight effort of memory will show that the
language was as strictly warrantable as simple.
July had the declaration of war and the arming
of Germany; August the triumphs of Woerth and
Spichern, of Vionville and Gravelotte ; September
the capitulation of Napoleon's army at Sedan; and
October, ere its close, gave into the hands of the
monarch of an united Germany the maiden fortress
which in other times Charles Quint beleaguered
in vain ! On the 28th the king conferred the
dignity of field-marshal on the Crown Prince and
Prince Frederick Charles ; and it was about this
time that rumour first began to speak of a restored
empire of Germany in the person of the Prussian
monarch—a project which was carried into effect
not many months later, and to which the extra¬
ordinary successes of the war were manifestly
leading the thoughts, and probably the desires of
the German people.
On the 3rd of November the event was further
alluded to in the following order of the day :—
" Soldiers of the Confederate Armies !—When
we took the field, three months ago, I expressed
my confidence that God would be with our just
cause. This confidence has been realized. I
recall to you Woerth, Saarbruck, and the bloody
battles before Metz, Sedan, Beaumont, and Strass-
burg—each engagement was a victory for us.
You are worthy of glory. You have maintained
all the virtues which especially distinguish soldiers.
By the capitulation of Metz the last army of the
enemy is destroyed. I take advantage of this
moment to express my thanks to all of you, from
the general to the soldier. Whatever the future
may still bring to us, I look forward to it with
calmness, because I know that with such soldiers
victory cannot fail !
« WILHELM."
That King William did not overrate the import¬
ance of the great event of October 27, was
abundantly shown by the way In which the news
was received throughout France. Her armies
might be defeated, her emperor made prisoner, her
fortresses of minor rank, or even Strassburg, fall
into the hands of the enemy; but that Metz, lier
virgin and greatest stronghold, should share the
same fate, seemed never to have entered the minds
of Frenchmen. At Lyons, some persons who
repeated the rumour of the capitulation were
assaulted and taken to the police station. Several
days after the Journal de Genève ventured to inti¬
mate that Bazaine had surrendered, but the Lyon¬
nais set upon the vendors, tore their papers, and
threatened to drown all who should be found
reading them ; while the copies which had been
supplied to the public establishments of the city
were publicly burned. In Marseilles, and several
other large towns, the news was repeived with a
feeling of grief and depression befitting the great¬
ness of the calamity. Immense crowds of work¬
men, displaying flags draped in mourning, but
crowned with immortelles, marched bareheaded
and in silence to the prefectures. When rumours
of the capitulation reached Tours, the delegate
government were besieged with crowds of excited
citizens eager to know the truth, and the following
official notice appeared in the Moniteur on the
evening of the 28th:—
" Grave news, concerning the origin and veracity
of which, in spite of my active researches, I have
no sort of official information, reach me from all
sides. The rumour of the capitulation of Metz
circulates. It is good that you should know what
the government thinks on the announcement of
such a disaster. Such an event could only be the
result of a crime, whose authors would deserve to
be outlawed. I will keep you informed of what
occurs; but be convinced, whatever may happen,
that we will not allow ourselves to be cast down
even by the most frightful misfortunes. In these
days of vile (scélérates) capitulations there is one
thing that cannot, and must not capitulate, and
that is the French Republic.
"LEON GAMBETTA."
As the unwelcome truth was gradually con¬
firmed, those of the French papers formerly
published in Paris, but which now appeared at
Tours, Poitiers, and Bordeaux, all commented upon
the fall of Metz in terms expressive of pungent
sorrow, and more or less of indignation. The
Français referred " with deep grief to this great
catastrophe. But before judging and denouncing
we feel bound to wait for an explanation of the
cruel necessities which induced Marshal Bazaine
to take that fatal step, and also for a statement of
the clauses of the capitulation. The disaster of
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
127
Sedan struck us down ; that of Metz overwhelms
us. It is now a time to repeat, with supplications
and tearful eyes, ' May God protect France !' "
The Gazette de -France recorded the fact " with
a broken heart. It is almost impossible to believe
that such a thing is possible. What curse is it
that weighs upon France? 150,000 men formerly
sufficed to gain victories over 400,000 enemies,
but now they only serve to hasten the capitulation
of a fortress. What a melancholy history is this !
Strassburg fell because it had not a sufficient
number of defenders, while Metz, in whose walls
the enemy's cannon had made no breach, suc¬
cumbed because it had too many soldiers shut up
within its defences."
The fall of Metz was an event so grave as to
justify a little caution in making it known to the
French nation, in the excited state in which it then
was. Anxious, however, to account for the event
in such a way as to save the credit of the country,
and at the same time, to detract from the triumph
of their enemy, the Tours government scrupled
not to heap upon the head of Bazaine charges
of the vilest treachery. The gallant Uhrich of
Strassburg, after having his praises sung through¬
out France for weeks, was at last accused of
treason; and after making a surrender on a far
greater scale, Bazaine could never have hoped to
escape the same fate. M. de Yalcourt, the officer
of his staff who had escaped from Metz and
arrived at Tours as the bearer of a despatch,
drew up a long indictment against his chief,
according to which Bazaine never seriously
attempted to make an exit from Metz, from the
18th of August, when he was first driven under
its walls. With a view to his own aggran¬
disement, he first of all deeply involved himself
in imperialist intrigues, and proposed to the king
of Prussia that the army of Metz should, after
being neutralized for a time, return to France to
u insure the liberty of elections;" his real design
being to establish himself as regent during the
minority of the prince imperial. But when his
majesty declined to listen to any overtures except
those of unconditional surrender, and Bazaine
became convinced that he could only bring France
and the Prussians to adopt the idea of a Bonapartist
restoration, by adding to the other misfortunes
which were already weighing down the unhappy
country that of the capitulation of Metz, then,
said M. de Yalcourt, the marshal made it his busi¬
ness to hasten it; and to secure his own ambitious
ends, delivered to the Prussians the town and
fortress of Metz, with the army of 120,000 men
encamped'in the intrenched enceinte.
Unless they could be fully established, charges
such as these against a soldier who had served his
country with distinction for forty years, came
with little grace from the delegate government.
There is no doubt that, for at least eight days
after the defeat at Gravelotte and retreat to Metz,
Bazaine gave way to a culpable inactivity. This
time was invaluable to the Germans; it gave them
the means of counter-intrenching their army so
strongly as to make egress from Metz very difficult,
and enabled them to withdraw the three corps
forming their new fourth army, to occupy the
line of the Meuse, and frustrate the effort of Mac-
Mahon to relieve his brother marshal. The latter
waited for his coming, and at his supposed approach
attempted his one real sortie, that of the 31st
of August, which opened the Prussian line east¬
ward of Metz at the time. But this attack was so
feebly followed up that at daybreak on the 1st the
enemy recovered easily the positions he had lost.
Strategically, indeed, it was so ill-directed that for
the time its success would have carried Bazaine
towards the Sarre, and left the first and second
armies between his own and that of MacMahon
which he had expected.
As to the later stages of the investment, when we
examine the French and the German accounts, and
compare with them the narrative already alluded to
of Mr. Robinson of the Manchester Guardian, who
spent the ill-fated seventy days with the army in
Metz, we find the most perfect agreement on one
point. No sortie after the 1st September ever
showed the slightest indication of a real design to
break out of the German lines. That of the 7 th
October, the most important, was conducted on a
scale which sufficed to draw the attention of both
armies to it, and to convince the French soldiers
of the difficulty of the undertaking; but it was
plainly not a serious attempt. It is perhaps possible
that loyalty to the Empire, the political state of
France, and the supposed prospect of an imperialist
restoration influenced Bazaine's conduct ; chiming
in, as it does, with his direct communication with
Versailles and Chislehurst, and with all that is known
of his movements during the seven weeks in ques¬
tion. With this may possibly have been mixed
up the idea, that in case of the tide of the Prussian
128
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
success being stayed in some other quarter, F ranee
would have been better served by her intact army
within the Metz lines than by its disorganized
remains, after a long and fiercely contested retreat
in open field. To those who witnessed the events
transpiring outside, it was clear that in detaining a
German army of more than 200,000 men around
Metz, Marshal Bazaine was rendering his country
a signal service, to the value of which every day
added greatly. .Thus, had he held out until the
French victory of Coulmiers, that is, just fifteen
days longer, the Germans must have raised the
siege of Paris. The fact of his capitulating
at the end of October, was, for France, the
most calamitous event of the war; as, just when
a gleam of success seemed to dawn on her strug¬
gling arms, it released an immense army to sweep
down upon her and stifle for ever her newly-
born hopes.
That a retreat was very difficult it is extremely
easy to see. Of course there would have been a
severe sacrifice. But it is doubtful whether this
sacrifice would have achieved this just result. It
was not only his army which the French marshal
must force through the German intrenchments,
but all the transport stores and provisions neces¬
sary to keep that army in a state fit to march.
When we remember that the necessary transport
for Bazaine's army would have covered 120 miles
of road, if arranged along one road; that this line
would have been perpetually assaulted in flank and
rear by the German forces; and that no resting-
place nor basis of operations offered him a friendly
aid—we may well stand aghast at the boldness of
the criticisms which have been so frequently
indulged in in the siege of Metz. Undoubtedly
there was great sickness among the troops, and it
is said that one marshal, twenty-four generals,
2140 officers, and 42,350 men had been struck down
by the enemy's fire. The statement of Marshal
Bazaine, if correct, and there is no reason to doubt
it, that when he surrendered he had only 65,000
men available for offensive operations, supplies,
when collated with the numbers comprised in the
capitulation, at once the strongest condemnation
of the soldiery, and an undeniable excuse for their
commander's inaction.
A calm investigation of all the circumstances
inclines us to believe that Marshal Bàzaine was
forced to capitulate by the immediate prospect of
starvation which threatened both his army and the
city. But on the other hand, there is no doubt
that the early exhaustion of food was the result of
the grossest waste and mismanagement, and that no
self-denial or restraint was practised by the French
officers, such as might have been expected under
the circumstances. Had the Metz supplies been
properly husbanded, and every one placed upon
rations at an earlier period, the place could have
held out for the few days then so inestimably pre¬
cious to France. But who at the commencement
could have foretold this?
CHAPTER XXI.
The Early Days of the Investment of Paris—The National Gnards and their New Duties—General Trochu's Plan of Action according to his
own Explanation — The German Lines of Investment strengthened and lengthened — Proclamation of M. Gambetta, to raise the
Spirits of the People after the fall of Strassbnrg and Toul—Extraordinary Precautions taken to prevent the Enemy from obtaining access
to the City through the Sewers or Subterranean Passages—Surgeon-major Wyatt's Report on the Condition and Prospects of Paris at this
time—The Rothschilds serve on the Ramparts—Reconnaissances from the City—Payment of Rent postponed—Demands of the Extreme
Republican Gardes Mobiles, especially as to the Election of a Municipal Commune—Exciting Scene at the Hotel de Ville—Speech of
Jules Favre—Count von Bismarck and the Diplomatic Corps in Paris—Fruitless Visits of General Burnside to Paris in the hope of securing
Peace—The Headquarters of the King of Prussia established in the Palace of Versailles—Description of his Triumphal Entry into the
Town—Distribution of the Order of the Iron Cross—The Extensive Preparations being made inside Paris—Firing of the First Shell by the
Besiegers—Sortie of the Garrison—Defeat of the French, but Great Improvement observable in their Troops—Burning of the Palace of St.
Cloud by the French—Sketch of its History—Proclamation of General Trochu as to the Mobilization of the National Guard—His wish
to obtain good Artillery before attempting Sorties on a large scale, and determination to pursue to the end the Plan he had traced out to
himself—The System pursued by the Germans in resisting Sorties—The Country around the City very unfavourable for such Operations—
The Germans massed in the largest numbers at some distance from the City, so that a Sortie was like "Pressure against a Spring"—All
Troops for outpost duty changed every Four Days—Great Sortie from Mont Valerien on October 21—General Description of the Engagement
which ensued—Improved Behaviour of the French Troops—General Ducrot and his parole—The Germans prepared to raise the Siege
if necessary—The Investing Circle widened—Attack on Le Bourget by the French—The Prussians completely surprised, and the French
thoroughly successful—Orders of Von Moltke to retake the Village at any cost—Very severe fighting on October 30—Incidents of the
Engagement—Complete Victory of the Prussians, who captured 30 officers and 1200 men—The Great Loss amongst the Francs Tireurs—
Depressing Influence of the Engagement on the Parisians, and Disturbances in the Capital on receipt of the News of the Fall of Metz—
Attack on Felix Pyat for asserting that Bazaine was in treaty for the Surrender of that City—Arrival of M. Thiers in Paris on October
30, confirming the News and bearing Proposals for an Armistice—Riots in the City—The Commune demanded—The Rioters form them¬
selves into a Committee of Public Safety, and arrest the Members of the Provisional Government—Energy of M. Picard on behalf of his
Colleagues—The Rioters' Feast and Disgraceful Conduct at the Hotel de Ville—Their Attempts to obtain possession of the Government
Offices defeated—Liberation of the Members of the Government without Loss of Life on either side—Proclamation from General Trochu
to the National Guard, explaining the real state of affairs—Plebiscite in the City—Enormous Majority in favour of the Government—
The hopes of the Germans that the Disturbances in the City would lead to its speedy capture not realized—The Position of the Government
much strengthened by the result of the Plebiscite.
In a previous chapter we have described the course
of events in Paris up to the time of its final invest¬
ment by the Germans, and have shown how fully
alive the Parisians were to the imminent danger of
their capital, and with what earnestness and energy
they set about defending it. The last communi¬
cations received from it by the ordinary channels
stated that the authorities were doing their utmost
in organizing troops, in manufacturing arms and
munitions of war, in strengthening the weak points
of their defences, in connecting the outlying forts
with chains of earthworks, and in husbanding
their commissariat in view of a lengthened siege.
The morale of the troops engaged during the early
days of the investment indicated an undoubted
source of weakness. The governor and his gen¬
erals were therefore unceasing in their efforts to
raise the standard of discipline ; and by accustoming
the soldiery to the military duties of the ramparts,
to the manning of the forts, to meet the exigencies
of the outposts, and to occasional reconnaissances
of the enemy's position, laboured to familiarize
VOL. II.
them with the perils of actual warfare. This
latter phase of General Trochu's duties was a most
important task. The Parisian national guards
formed a large part of the army of defence.
Thousands of those, before the outbreak of the
war, were indolent and pleasure-loving, the petits
crevés of the boulevards, inveterate loungers, " who
would have thought it preposterous to rise at nine,
and would have been horrified at getting their feet
wet." The hardships and fatigues of the siege
were weighty matters to such luxurious citizens,
although they passed their twenty-four hours' duty,
often in the cold and rain, without a murmur.
Each division of the national guard did duty by
rotation on the ramparts, when it was the object
of every one to make himself as cheerful and as
comfortable as possible. Besides his usual accoutre¬
ments he provided himself with a store of personal
comforts, by which, amid the vivacious conver¬
sation of his comrades, the duty was lightened,
and often regarded more as a pleasure than a ne¬
cessity. During the chilly nights, however, the
R
130
THE FRANCO PRUSSIAN WAR.
the guards to tantalizing recollections of their warm
cafés and comfortable beds, and rendered welcome
the sound of the réveille, at which they turned out
in the most fantastic costumes, smoked then-
cigarettes, drank their morning coffee, greeted
with cheers the relieving company, and then
marched to their quarters in the city.
Of the real business of a siege, however, the
Parisians for some time remained ignorant. The
main body of the armed defenders of the city had
hardly seen a German soldier. Even the garrison
of the forts, the regular troops, and the élite of the
provincial mobiles, who were stationed permanently
without the enceinte, knew as yet but very little of
their assailants.
A dangerous feature of the case, according to
the statement made by General Trochu in the
National Assembly in June, 1871, was that,
in the quota of National Guards returned by
certain quarters of the capital, there were some
6000 revolutionists, and 25,000 returned convicts,
whose influence was often felt during the siege,
and told with terrible effect after the capitulation.
General Trochu, in conjunction with General
Ducrot, had formed a plan for encountering the
invasion, which was at once intelligent and bold,
and under more favourable conditions would most
probably have insured success. It was not,
however, as generally supposed at the time,
founded upon the principle of making Paris the
great centre and rallying point of national resist¬
ance ; of detaining the Germans around its walls
until formidable armies organized throughout the
couutry should move to the relief of the capital,
and, by co-operating with the armed masses inside,
should compel the invaders to raise the siege.
The project, as subsequently explained by General
Trochu before the National Assembly, was rather
to utilize the forces under his command, to break
through the enemy's lines at a point the least
expected, to force a passage to Rouen, there to
establish a base of operations, and provision Paris
by the Lower Seine. Unlike the majority of his
countrymen, General Trochu did not depend on
the assistance of the army of the Loire, which
he knew could render none. A hastily got up
and undisciplined army, such as that was, could
never prevail in the field against a regular organ¬
ized force. The general wished that the army
of the Loire should confine itself to amusing
the enemy, by defending to the best of its power
such towns as might be attacked, while he was
preparing his troops and field artillery for active
operations. Circumstances, however, did not
favour the development of the scheme, which was
never seriously attempted, as will be seen in suc¬
ceeding chapters.
It is, perhaps, not a matter of surprise that no
important sorties were attempted in the early days
of the siege, although the red republican party in
the capital were inclined to clamour for more
offensive proceedings against the enemy. The
disciplinary operations above alluded to were,
however, continued with vigour, until the ramparts
bristled with artillery, and a constant fire was kept
up which interfered in a considerable degree with
the works of the besiegers, who on their side were
most active in securing their positions around the
capital, until their lines of investment began to
assume formidable proportions. The outer circle
formed a huge chain of nearly seventy miles, the
inner line extending over fifty ; and day by day
their grasp of the beleaguered city became more
tight and rigid. As soon as it was seen that Paris
would make a stubborn resistance, the invaders
applied themselves to strengthen their communica¬
tions, increase their forces, and accumulate stores
and supplies for a regular siege. In this work they
were very greatly assisted by the surrender of Toul
on the 23rd, and the fall of Strassburg on the 28th
of September, which gave them a line of railway and
main road of communication. These facilities were
immediately taken advantage of for the transport
of heavy siege guns and munitions of war, while
detachments were told off to keep open the com¬
munications, and flying columns organized to
collect provisions and other necessaries. The
German army, in fact, took the place of the popu¬
lation of Paris. The fertile country within a
radius of some thirty miles from the capital, which
in time of peace supplied the inhabitants with a
large percentage of their daily food, now yielded
its supplies to the invader, usually on payment,
sometimes on compulsion. The whole region had
become an immense camp of armed men, and with
some degree of complacency a German writer
avowed himself unable to guess how, after the
departure of the German troops, the population
of what was once the richest and most luxurious
district of Europe would find subsistence in a
region which would be as devoid of provisions as
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
131
the Desert of Sahara. While collecting supplies,
the foraging parties served at the same time as a sort
of observing force, intended to baffle any attempt
to disturb the operations of the besiegers.
The great extent and immense strength of the
fortifications, of which we have treated fully in
a previous chapter, presented obstacles to the
approach of the besiegers which would have
deterred a less resolute enemy. On reconnoitring
the neighbourhood of St. Denis, to the north of
the capital, where four distinct and formidable
fortresses formed a square, the Germans found that
it would have to be reduced by a regular siege
before Paris could be touched. The west side,
between Mont Valerien and St. Denis, was the
next point selected as most vulnerable. Between
these two great fortresses there is a space of
seven miles, partly protected by the river Seine,
which, after skirting Paris on the west, runs mid¬
way between them. To fill up this gap the French
had been hastily constructing a redoubt at Genne-
villiers, half-way betwixt Valerien and St. Denis.
This, however, like other projected defences, was
so incomplete when the siege commenced that it
had to be abandoned. Again, the east side of
Paris, as being the most exposed, was fortified
with almost superfluous precaution, with a num¬
ber of detached forts lying close together, and
enfilading the approaches to each other, at Auber-
villiers, Romainville, Noisy, Rosny, and Nogent,
with Vincennes and Charenton on the south.
This rendered attack very difficult, although the
Germans diverted the water of the Ourcq Canal
in order to strengthen the position of the Prussian
guards. Due south the same system of forts was
kept up by Ivry, Bicêtre, Montrouge, and Vanves.
The Germans therefore resolved on attacking the
south-west side. A concentration of forces accord¬
ingly took place around Versailles, and their first
attentions were paid to Fort Issy. When, however,
the commandant was summoned to capitulate, he
replied that he would not, " as long as breath
remained in his body." Shortly after the com¬
mencement of the siege the villages of Sèvres and
St. Cloud were occupied by the enemy, who erected
batteries opposite the Bois de Boulogne. The
terraces of Meudon, the heights about St. Cloud,
and the works at Montretout, were also all occu¬
pied by the German artillery. Thus the beginning
of October found Paris so completely blockaded
that its only means of communication with the
outer world was by carrier pigeons or balloons,
which sometimes fell into the hands of the
Prussians.
The discovery that the difficulties of the siege
would be greater than had at first been anticipated,
did not for one moment deter the German com¬
manders from facing them. Their unshaken
confidence was the more remarkable, when it is
remembered that General Trochu had 500,000
men under his command, half of whom were
employed as the garrison of Paris, and the
remainder formed into two armies intended for
operations outside.
A momentary gloom was cast over Paris by the
the surrender of Toul and Strassburg—especially
Strassburg, the defence of which the Parisians had
followed with intense interest. Their demeanour,
however, was quiet and dignified, and the minister
of the Interior issued a stirring and patriotic pro¬
clamation, which did much to raise the spirits of
both soldiers and people. " Citizens," wrote M.
Gambetta, " the increasing strokes of bad fortune
can no longer disconcert your minds nor lower
your courage. You wait for France, but you
depend upon yourselves—ready for all things.
Toul and Strassburg have just succumbed. During
fifty days these two heroic cities have been exposed
to veritable showers of bullets and shells. In want
of ammunition and of provisions, they still defied
the enemy. They have only capitulated after
having seen their walls crumble under the fire of
the assailants. In falling they have cast a look
towards Paris, to declare once more the unity and
integrity of La Patrie. The indivisibility of the
republic devolves on us the duty of delivering
them, with the honour of avenging them. Vive
la France! Vive la Republique ! " General Trochu
likewise issued a short but re-assuring proclama¬
tion to the troops. The elections for a National
Assembly were further deferred till, as was said,
they could be freely held throughout the entire
country.
As yet there had been no military demonstra¬
tions of an important character, but great activity
prevailed within the capital. A peculiar feature
of the defence was the armed vigilance of the
égouliers, employed in the main sewers of the
capital. These labourers were placed on guard
lest the enemy should attempt to debouch from
the outlets of those subterranean passages on the
banks of the Seine, into the very heart of Paris.
132
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
The engineers also fortified the interior both of
the sewers and aqueducts, while they blocked up
the shafts entering the catacombs and underground
quarries, and walled up every gallery that might
give access from the outside to the inside of the
circle of defences.
Besides the various journalists, whose com¬
munications furnished much valuable informa¬
tion respecting the daily progress of events,
Surgeon-major Wyatt, of the Coldstream Guards,
who had arrived a day or two before the final
investment, on a mission from the British
government to observe and report on matters of
sanitary hygiene and military surgery in connec¬
tion with the French medical staff, reported very
favourably on the condition of Paris with respect
to provisions. During the first weeks of the siege
he expressed a firm conviction that the capture of
the fortresses would prove a very difficult under¬
taking. " The zealous patriotism of all ranks,"
he said, is remarkable, and no exceptions are
asked for, the Rothschilds taking their turn of
duty on the ramparts, equally with all the other
citizens, as privates in the garde mobile. The
Prussians have now certainly lost all chance of
success by assault, for delay has rendered the place
almost impregnable."
The forts continued to throw shells into the
enemy's works, and reconnaissances were made
in several directions—a party from the Fort de
Noisy dislodging the Prussians from a post at
Bondy. A series of such movements was con¬
tinued in conjunction with the fire of the forts,
but generally with little result beyond disturbing
the operations of the enemy. For instance, in
front of Fort de Nogent, three companies of
mobiles and a detachment of spahis drove back
the advanced posts of the Prussians, but falling
into an ambush, were compelled to retire after
placing some twenty men hors de combat. Re¬
connoitring parties were also despatched towards
Clamart and Creteil, Malmaison and Gennevil-
liers, and on the route of the Lyons railway ;
but on each occasion they were driven back, the
Germans having been seasonably reinforced.
Decrees were published by the government post¬
poning the payment of the Michaelmas quarter's
rent, and ordering the reproduction, in bronze, of
the statue of the city of Strassburg in the Place
de la Concorde. On the 3rd of October General
Giulham, killed in the engagement of the 30th
September, was buried with military honours,
when General Trochu briefly addressed the troops.
In the afternoon of this day some 10,000 armed
national guards, under the command of M. Gus¬
tave Flourens, marched to the headquarters, and
demanded of the government that the levy en
masse of the entire nation should be decreed; that
an immediate appeal should be made to repub¬
lican Europe; that all suspected government func¬
tionaries, in a position to betray the republic, should
be discharged ; and that a municipal commune
should be speedily elected, through which distri¬
bution should be made of all articles of subsistence
existing in the capital. Once again during the
week Flourens headed five battalions of national
guards at the Hotel de Ville, demanding to be
armed with Chassepots, which it was not in the
power of the government to supply. A day or
two later a still more serious demonstration was
made, organized by the central republican com¬
mittee, in conjunction with citizens Ledru Rollin,
Felix Pyat, Blanqui, Delescluze, and Flourens, at
the Hotel de Ville, with the view of forcing the
government to consent to the immediate election
of a municipal commune. Many thousands of
people assembled, including a considerable number
of national guards; and in front of the open win¬
dows of the Hotel de Ville, where several members
of the government were seated, shouts of Vive la
Commune were raised. The only response to
this appeal was the display of an armed battalion
of national guards drawn up in line in front of the
building, behind which numerous companies of
gardes mobiles, with fixed bayonets, were posted.
Some delegates were eventually admitted, who were
told by M. Jules Ferry that the government would
not entertain their demand. Gradually the crowd
had enormously increased, when General Trochu
appeared, and rode unattended round three sides
of the Place, assailed with cries of La Commune!
La Commune! uttered in a menacing tone, to
which, however, he made no response. The gates
of the Hotel de Ville were closed, and the rappel
beaten, which brought other armed national guards
on the scene, prepared to support the government.
The commander-in-chief of the national guards
rode from group to group, haranguing the more
violent among the crowd, but to no purpose. They
demanded, and would have, the commune of Paris;
and not until the place became completely occu¬
pied by national guards who were friendly to the
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR,
133
provisional government, and pronounced emphatic¬
ally against the election of the commune, were the
agitators quieted. At this moment the members
of the government appeared on the scene, and
passed the national guards drawn up in line in
review. The warm reception they met with from
these citizen soldiers, and the great majority of
the people massed around the three sides of the
Place, furnished a convincing proof that the
demands made by the more violent demagogues
were entirely out of favour with nine-tenths
of the Parisians. Shouts of Vive la France!
Vive la Republique! Vive le Gouvernement!
Pas de Commune! arose on all sides, and were
prolonged until the members of the government
retired in front of the entrance to the Hotel de
Ville. There M. Jules Favre made an eloquent
speech to the officers of the national guard, con¬
gratulating them upon the attitude of their corps
and the union that had been shown to prevail,
and urging them not to harbour any feelings of
animosity in reference to what had transpired that
day. "We have no enemies," said he; "I do
not think we can call them adversaries. They
have been led astray, but let us bring them back
by means of our patriotism." Such demonstra¬
tions oft-repeated during the siege were a source
of constant embarrassment to the authorities, who,
however, generally pursued a conciliatory course,
combined with firmness sufficient to prevent an
actual outbreak.
As before stated, diplomatic agents of various
states determined to remain in Paris during the
siege. But difficulties speedily arose. In the first
place, a request in their name by M. Jules Favre
that Count von Bismarck should give a week's
notice before opening the bombardment, and that
there should be a weekly courier for the passage
of despatches to their respective governments, was
refused, though permission was granted for the
passage of open letters expressing no opinion on
the subject of the war. Against this, however,
the diplomatists protested, in a document signed
by the papal nuncio, the ministers of Switzerland,
Sweden and Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Hon¬
duras and Salvador, the Netherlands, Brazil,
Portugal, the United States, Monaco and San-
Marino, Hawaii, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia,
and Peru. But the German chancellor was inex¬
orable. After reminding them of his previous
warning that diplomatic intercourse must be sub¬
ordinate to military exigencies, he further said :—-
" The present French authorities have thought
proper to fix the seat of their government within
the fortifications of Paris, and to select that city
and its suburbs as the theatre of war. If members
of the diplomatic body, accredited to the former
government, have decided to share with the
government of the national defence the privations
inseparable from residence in a beleaguered fortress,
the responsibility for this does not rest with the
Prussian government."
Several journeys, to and from the besieged
capital, which the German authorities permitted the
American General Burnside to make at this time,
naturally excited considerable attention, but their
significance was in many quarters over-estimated.
The first visit had exclusive reference to the
diplomatists just alluded to ; but General Burn-
side had at no time any official authority. It
was simply from yielding to a generous impulse,
that he endeavoured, without any commission, to
effect some conciliatory arrangement between the
hostile parties. All the communications he carried
to the Provisional Government from the Germans
related to the cession of Alsace and Lorraine, and
an indemnity of £80,000,000, which it was hinted
at this early stage of the siege Count von Bismarck
also demanded. These terms the French govern¬
ment would not listen to, and his visits thus led to
no diplomatic result.
Outside the city the besiegers continued very
active. On the 5th of October the king of
Prussia left Meaux for his future headquarters in
the old palace at Versailles, and was met near that
place by the Crown Prince, attended by General
von Blumenthal and a portion of his staffi The
inhabitants of the town also turned out in consider¬
able numbers to see King William establish himself
in the heart of France, and re-occupy the historical
palace of their kings. The streets were lined
with German troops ; and awaiting his arrival
were General von Kirchbach, General von Voigts-
Rhetz, commandant of the city, and their staff, the
duke of Coburg, the duke of Augustenburg, two
dukes of Wlirtemburg, the Prince Hereditary of
Wurtemburg, Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern, the
Prince Hereditary of Mecklenburg Strelitz, with
their officers in waiting.
At half past five in the afternoon the king, accom¬
panied by the Crown Prince, arrived in an open
carriage, amid the vehement cheers of the officers
134
THE FRAN CO-PRU SSI AH WAR.
and troops, and the triumphal sound of drums and
trumpets. Count von Bismarck and General von
Moltke had been looked for with scarcely less
eagerness, but neither the one nor the other was
recognized by the crowds of soldiers or citizens,
and they passed unobserved to their quarters.
Nothing could have brought home more vividly
to the French nation the true nature of the crisis,
than this undisturbed possession of Versailles by
the Germans. On the day following the entry of
the king, he and his generals paraded the grounds
amid the cheers of the invading army. The
German colours waved over the palace, wounded
Germans were tended in the hospitals of the town,
and a little later the ceremony was gone through
of distributing the order of the Iron Cross to the
German soldiers who had distinguished themselves
in the campaign. The order of merit was distri¬
buted by the Crown Prince, who referred in
glowing terms to the acts of heroism which had
entitled the recipients to the honour.
Inside Paris the • spirit of the people was now
thoroughly roused. The iron-masters of the city
were turning out immense siege guns and batteries
of field artillery and mitrailleuses, while the
women were making a million cartridges daily.
General Trochu was likewise rapidly arming the
immense levies called to the defence of the capital.
He had already upwards of 200,000 breechloading
rifles, more than sufficient for his regulars and
the mobiles ; while M. Dorian was busily engaged
in manufacturing similar weapons for the national
guards.
On the 11th of October the first shells were
fired from the besiegers' works, one of which
lodged in Fort Ivry, and called forth a tremendous
reply from the southern line of forts, which was
taken up by the entire series of batteries. Owing to
this incident, probably, and to the agitation of the
Socialistic section of the populace for more active
efforts, the garrison made a second sortie on the
13th of October. The attacking force, consisting
of General Blanchard's division, issued from the
French lines in three columns, against the be¬
siegers' works on the heights of Clamart, Châtillon,
and Bagneux, southward of the city. To clear
the way for the troops the guns of Montrouge,
Issy, and Vanves opened a heavy fire in the early
morning, and the brigade of General Lusbielle
attacked with considerable intrepidity the barri¬
caded villages in their front. After a severe hand-
to-hand contest the enemy was dislodged and
driven out of his advanced positions; the French,
elated by this success, somewhat recklessly exposed
themselves, and Prussian reinforcements having
arrived on the ground, they were forced to fall
back with considerable loss, including the chef de
bataillon, Count Dampierre. In this action, how¬
ever, the besieged showed great improvement in the
manner of handling and serving the field-guns, as
well as in the manoeuvring of their troops. The
guns of the forts commanded the ground occupied
by the Germans, and it is clear from the fact of their
subsequently demanding an armistice to take away
their dead, that their loss was heavy, including
some fifty prisoners.
Nor was this action the only notable event of
the day. The French regarded with a jealous
eye the occupation of St. Cloud by the Prussians,
who used it as an outpost, and had previously
poured a heavy fire in the supposed direction of
their works. The Duke Max of Wiirtemburg had
also been wounded there by a French tirailleur.
T o prevent the château being turned to account by
the enemy, the guns of Mont Valerien now opened
fire upon the palace, and struck it with shell after
shell. Speedily a sheet of flame shot upwards
from it, as the batteries of Mortemart and Issy
joined those of Mont Valerien; and a few hours
sufficed to render the elegant château a smoulder¬
ing ruin. The village of St. Cloud was also made
a desolation by the French guns. The history of
St. Cloud is peculiarly interesting. As early as
533, some sailors, intrusted with a little child for
the purpose of its destruction, deposited it on the
banks of the Seine in order to save its life. Thus
providentially preserved, Clodoald became a monk,
and founded a monastery, whence the district
derived its name of St. Cloud. Being one of the
prettiest environs of Paris, it was always a favourite
summer residence, and the old French kings often
stayed there. The village was burnt by the Eng¬
lish in 1358 ; and it was there that Henri III. was
assassinated in 1589. In 1658 Louis XIV. pre¬
sented the place to his brother, the duke of Orleans,
in whose family it remained for more than a
century, when it again became a royal residence.
It was at St. Cloud where Napoleon Bonaparte
discussed and settled the arrangements which
made him master of France, and it afterwards
became his favourite residence. After witnessing
various other historic evolutions, it fell into the
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
135
possession of Napoleon III., who with the Empress
Eugenie were its frequent occupants, and it was
from it that the emperor started on the disastrous
campaign of 1870.
On the 16th October General Trochu issued a
proclamation to the mayors of Paris concerning
the mobilization of the national guards. From this
document he appears to have taken an exact mea¬
sure both of the exigencies of his position and of
his resources for meeting them. Alter referring to
the difficulties and delays which had taken place in
the matter, and the " very animated and legitimately
impatient patriotism" of the public mind, he said :
—"It is my duty to enlighten it while resisting
its enthusiasm, and to prove to it that no one has
more than I at heart the honour of the national
guard of Paris, and the care of the great interests
which will be at stake the day that that guard
carries its efforts beyond the enceinte. When I
undertook the defence of Paris, with the co-opera¬
tion of devoted fellow-workers whose names will
one day be remembered by the public gratitude,
I had to face a sentiment vastly different from the
one I am now discussing. It was believed and
asserted that a city like our capital, governed by
such various interests, passions, and requirements,
was incapable of being defended. It was hard to
believe that its enceinte and its forts, constructed
in other times and under very different military
circumstances to those which prevail at present,
could be prepared in such a manner as to offer,
unsupported by an army operating from without,
a serious and durable resistance to the efforts of a
victorious enemy. Still less was it admitted that
the inhabitants could reconcile themselves to the
sacrifices of every kind, to the habits of resignation,
which a siege of any duration implies. Now
that this great trial has been made, that is to
say, that the placing of the city in a state of
defence has reached a degree of perfection which
renders the enceinte unassailable, the outer fortifi¬
cations being at a great distance; now that the
inhabitants have manifested their patriotism, and
of their own accord reduced to silence the small
number of men whose culpable views subserved
the enemy's projects; now that the enemy himself,
halting before these formidable defensive prepara¬
tions, has confined himself to surrounding them
with his masses, without venturing upon an attack,
the public mind has changed, and shows now but
one preoccupation—the desire to throw out in
turn masses of soldiers beyond the enceinte and
to attack the Prussian army. The government of
the national defence cannot but encourage this
enthusiasm of the population, but it belongs to
the commander-in-chief to direct it, because with
this right are connected, for him, unlimited
responsibilities. In this respect it is necessary
to be guided solely by the rules of the general
experience of war, and by those of the special
experience which we owe to the painful events
that have overwhelmed the army of the Rhine.
These rules demonstrate that no infantry, however
steady it may be, can be safely brought face to face
with the Prussian army unless it be accompanied
by an artillery equal to that which the enemy has
at his disposal; and it is to the formation of this
artillery that I am applying all my attention. In
the next place, our percussion guns are excellent
arms behind a rampart, where there is no need
to fire quickly. But troops who with such arms
engage others provided with rapidly-firing rifles,
would expose themselves to a disaster that neither
bravery nor moral superiority could avert. As
regards the appeal made to the patriotism of the
companies destined for outside service, the gov¬
ernment cannot address itself exclusively to the
battalions provided with rapidly-firing arms; hence
the absolute necessity for a friendly exchange ot
arms, effected by the mayor of each arrondissement,
so that the volunteers destined for war service shall
be armed with the best rifles of their battalion."
After giving directions for recruiting and equip¬
ping the mobilized battalions, and intimating that
the battalions taking the field would be placed
exclusively under the orders of generals command¬
ing the active divisions of the army, and subject to
military laws and regulations, the document con¬
cluded as follows :—
" In the month of July last the French army, in
all the splendour of its strength, passed through
Paris amid shouts of à Berlin ! à Berlin ! I
was far from sharing their confidence, and alone,
perhaps, among all the general officers, I ventured
to tell the marshal-minister of War that I perceived
in this noisy manner of entering upon a campaign,
as well as in the means brought into requisition,
the elements of a great disaster. The will which
at this period I placed in the hands of M. Ducloux,
a notary of Paris, will one day testify to the painful
and too well-grounded presentiments with which
my soul was filled. To-day, in presence of the
136
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
fever which has rightly taken possession of the
public mind, I meet with difficulties which present
a most striking analogy with those that showed
themselves in the past. I now declare that, im¬
pressed with the most complete faith in a return of
fortune, which will be due to the great work of
resistance summed up in the siege of Paris, I will
not cede to the pressure of the public impatience.
Animating myself with the sense of the duties
which are common to us all, and of the responsi¬
bilities which no one shares with me, I shall pursue
to the end the plan which I have traced out without
revealing it ; and I only demand of the population
of Paris, in exchange for my efforts, the continu¬
ance of that confidence with which it has hitherto
honoured me."
On the 21st of October occurred a vigorous sortie
in the direction of Malmaison ; and as it was made
under almost exactlv similar conditions to those of
«/
Chevilly and Chatillon, previously narrated, it may
be as well to notice the system of investment by
which the Germans so successfully resisted these
repeated attacks.
It must be observed that the country around
Paris was not favourable for making sorties on a
large scale. The first difficulty was the river. It
was impossible to lay the bridges without the move¬
ment being observed by the enemy, and to march
a large force across pontoons required a consider¬
able time. Again, on those sides of Paris which
are most open to attack—those not naturally
guarded by the Seine—the defences are so close
together as not to leave sufficient room for the
manoeuvring of troops. A third obstacle existed
in the natural formation of the ground, which
is hilly and broken, except in close proximity to
the river ; and in the immense number of vil¬
lages, hamlets, and detached houses existing in
all directions.
The Germans did not form a fixed or continuous
line round Paris, but were massed in the villages
and hamlets ; and the further behind the advanced
posts the more numerous were the troops. The
besieging army surrounded the city in three
concentric zones. In the inner belt were the
outposts and the rifle-pits, where the advanced
guards were sheltered ; behind these were the
infantry of the army corps, with a large proportion
of the horse, and a smaller division of artillery;
and outside of all, the great mass of the field
batteries, supported by the reserves of the infantry
and cavalry. The pickets and advanced posts
were generally within easy communication with
each other, their supports, and the regiments from
which they were drawn, being placed as near as
circumstances would permit; but all the heavy
bodies of men were massed at a considerable
distance from the front. In consequence of this
arrangement, any sortie in force sufficed to drive
in the outposts ; but, as has been well remarked
by an English "writer, it was like pressure exerted
against a spring. The Germans had to retire to
a distance proportionate to the pressure. But as
they retired they gathered strength, until at last,
the momentum and impetus of the opposing force
being overcome, the spring expanded, and the
French were driven back within shelter of the forts.
To the comfort of the men occupied in the dan¬
gerous and arduous work of the German outposts
every attention was paid. Great care was taken that
they should be well and warmly clothed, and the
very best provision obtainable was supplied them
by the commissariat. Those at Versailles lived
in comparative security and luxury ; and all
regiments and detachments were therefore changed
every four days, so that the entire army might
share the privileges as well as the privations
incidental to their position.
The preparations for the sortie of the 21st were
made with great discretion and secrecy, and it was
the nearest approach to a surprise by the French that
had yet occurred. The attacking force was under
the command of General Ducrot, who massed his
troops in the rear of forts Mont Valerien and
Issy. On the night of the 20th a feint was
directed against the southern front of the investing
lines, and on the morning of the 21st Mont
Valerien opened a heavy fire on the supposed
positions of the enemy. Shortly afterwards
General Ducrot led out some 12,000 men, well
supported by artillery, and a strong force in
reserve. The alarm was soon taken at Versailles,
and the troops were immediately called to arms
and thrown towards the front, while the boom of
the guns could already be heard in the distance.
The king of Prussia, with his staff, hastened
towards St. Germains, and in company with the
Crown Prince watched the proceedings from the
top of the aqueduct of Marly, which commanded
a fine view of the scene of battle.
The French made a spirited advance under
cover of their guns, throwing out long lines of
THE FRANCO 1'
•RUSSIAN WAR.
137
skirmishers to ascertain the situation of the enemy.
The attack was directed against the high ground
in front of La Celle, St. Cloud, and the strong
position which the Prussians had taken up at
Bougival. The French were well led by their
officers, who could be seen at the head of their
regiments waving their swords and encouraging
the men. The most vigorous attack was made
upon tho*. heights of Berene ; but it made no
impression upon the Prussians, who had fallen
back into the woods, from which they could not
be driven. As the French advanced across the
open they caught sight of the spiked helmets of the
enemy, who, commanded by General Kirchbach,
were stationed along the vine-clad ridges in front
of La Jonehère, awaiting the attack. The French
were constantly strengthened from their reserves,
and threw forward a battery of their field artillery,
which incessantly shelled the woods in their front ;
but the Prussians held their ground, and their
assailants appeared to contemplate a dash at them.
The fire of the needle-guns, however, was rapid
and constant from the cover; and although Ducrot
gallantly rode in front of his troops, and a couple
of guns were detached from the foremost batteries
to fire on the German position, the French could
not be induced to advance across the open ground.
The critical moment had now arrived; reinforce¬
ments appeared in the rear of the Germans, and
speedily some battalions of the landwehr of the
guard, headed by their skirmishers, caused the
French to falter, and eventually to give way,
leaving their two advanced guns to fall into the
hands of the enemy, while four battalions of
zouaves narrowly escaped capture. The Germans
then pushed forward, and among the vines a fierce
hand-to-hand fight ensued, in which bayonets were
crossed and a heavy fire of musketry maintained
for a considerable time. The French were ulti¬
mately forced to retire, but their retreat was
covered by reinforcements which arrived, and
prevented the further approach of the enemy.
The Prussians, however, had held their ground;
and from that circumstance, coupled with the fact
of their having, as before stated, taken two guns
and above a hundred prisoners, they considered
their success complete. The official list of killed,
wounded, and missing on the French side was
given at 443, while the German loss was estimated
at 380. In this action the French behaved well;
but the force engaged was insufficient to effect any
VOL. II.
important practical purpose, and led to little more
than the casualties mentioned.
It may here be stated that General Ducrot, who
commanded on this occasion, and whose services
throughout the siege of Paris were highly valued
by General Trochu, was especially obnoxious to
the Germans, who officially accused him of having
broken his parole after the catastrophe at Sedan,
and of having returned to Paris to take a high
command in the army. But in a letter to the
governor, which was forwarded to the German
headquarters, he indignantly denied the charge
of a breach of honour, and showed that he had
escaped the Prussian sentries disguised as a work¬
man, after he had surrendered himself prisoner at
the appointed rendezvous. " The German press,"
replied the general, " doubtless inspired by com¬
petent authorities, accuses me of having made my
escape while a prisoner on parole, of having com¬
mitted a breach of honour, and of thus having
placed myself outside the pale of the law, and
thereby of having given to an enemy the right to
shoot me, should I again fall into his hands. I
heed the threat but little. Whether I am shot by
Prussian bullets on the field of battle, or when
leaving a prison, the result is always the same.
I am conscious of having done my duty to the
last, both as a soldier and a citizen, and failing
other inheritance, I shall leave to my children a
memory honoured by all good men, both friends
and enemies." That his version was substantially
correct was shown by the subsequent withdrawal
of the charges by the Germans.
The operations of the besieged which have been
detailed produced one result which might have
been serious for the. Germans, had not the back¬
ward state of General Trochu's immense levies
prevented him from making more effective diver¬
sions. The investing circle, although not broken
through, was widened, and the guns of the forts
swept the country in every direction to an extent
so considerable as to render an actual attack by
the besieging army very difficult. It is also
probable that at this period the investing army
was at its lowest point in numbers judged by the
German strategists to be safe, and the result of the
sortie of the 21st was awaited with considerable
anxiety. In the event of a reverse the Germans,
ever prepared for eventualities, had arranged for
the immediate removal of their headquarters, and
even for the raising of the siege of Paris, had it
s
138
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
transpired that the immense forces of General
Trochu were strong enough to break through their
lines, and defeat them in the open field. The prac¬
tical failure of these first sorties from the capital,
however, tended to render the Germans confident
of ultimate success, and from this time the belief
was general that no assault would be necessary.
They considered that they held Paris as in a trap,
as in the case of Sedan, and that little else was
required than to starve it into surrender.
The month of October, however, did not pass
without another sortie, which was of the most
sanguinary character, although again resulting in
no practical advantage to the French. The ham¬
let of Le Bourget, situated on a small rivulet that
runs into the Seine on the north-eastern side of
Paris, lay in the middle of a considerable plain
midway between the French and Prussian out¬
posts. The rivulet had been dammed up by the
enemy, and the country flooded. The village was
occupied by a company of Prussian guards to pre¬
vent its being used for offensive purposes against
them. The attack on it on October 28 was planned
with great secrecy by General Bellemare, who
ordered Commander Rolland, of the " Franc-
tireurs of the Press," to make a night assault,
supported by a part of the thirty-fourth regiment
and the fourteenth battalion of the mobiles of
the Seine. Taken by surprise, and not knowing
the strength of the attacking force, the Prussians
gave way, and retired in disorder, leaving knap¬
sacks and helmets behind. The French continued
their advance on the village. As the Prussians
made a show of defending the church, with the
design of taking them in flank the supports were
ordered up, and several guns and a mitrailleuse were
thrown forward, while a couple of heavy guns
were posted in front of Courneuve. On this the
Prussians were compelled to retreat, and on the
arrival of General Bellemare at eleven o'clock the
French were in complete possession of the village.
Orders were then given to strengthen the position;
provisions were brought up; the sixteenth mobiles
and twenty-eighth regiment of the line appeared to
relieve and support their successful comrades; and
engineers and sappers worked unremittingly in
making communications, crenellating houses, and
erecting barricades. The loss of the French
amounted to some twenty wounded and four or
five killed, while the Prussians appear to have
suffered considerably. The capture of Le Bourget,
said General Bellemare's report, " enlarges the
circle of our occupation beyond the forts, gives
confidence to our troops, and increases the supply
of vegetables for the Parisian population."
The Prussians, however, were not disposed to
bear their defeat with indifference. Throughout
the 29th they battered the village with their
artillery, and at one time a deadly combat raged
between the outposts of the combatants, in which
the bayonet was freely used.
The result of the attack had been at once com¬
municated to the German headquarters, and Count
von Moltke issued orders to the general command¬
ing the second division of guards to retake the
place at any cost—an order which they were not
slow to obey. General Budritzki, early on the
morning of the 30th, in turn surprised the French
with seven battalions of guards, and a bloody fight
ensued, in which the Prussians displayed great
exasperation of feeling, but were met with most
obstinate resistance. The French having barri¬
caded the streets, and made the most of every avail¬
able means of defence, it required a desperate effort
to force them out of their stronghold. At the
moment when the fight was at the hottest, and
the Prussians appeared in danger of getting the
worst of it, General Budritzki rode to the front of
the Elizabeth regiment on their advance, and, dis¬
mounting, seized the standard in order to lead
them to the storm. With heavy sacrifices a
firm foot was at last planted in the village. The
Queen Augusta regiment had also reached Le
Bourget. A detachment was about to advance,
when the colonel, Count Waldersee, who had so
far recovered from a wound at Gravelotte that he
rejoined his regiment ten days previously, was
struck by a ball which killed him on the spot.
An officer was hastening to catch the falling leader
in his arms when he too was shot. Colonel Zalus-
kowski of the Elizabeth regiment, and Count von
Keller, were also killed. These losses appear to
have roused the vengeful feelings of the Germans,
and shouting fiercely, they made an irresistible
onslaught, and swept the French out of the
village at the point of the bayonet, to within a
short distance of St. Denis ; and so closely pur¬
sued them, that some 30 officers and 1200 men
were captured, including a whole company of
mobiles, stationed to the north of Le Bourget, who
had not fired a shot. The franc-tireurs were so
cut up that, out of 380 men, only 150 remained;
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
139
and being all Parisians, tlieir fate caused great
mourning to their friends in the city, who had
lately rejoiced at their success. The fourteenth
mobiles also suffered fearfully. Out of a strength
of 800 men, 200 only answered the roll call after
the retreat. The Prussians also paid dearly for
their victory, for besides those whose names have
been already mentioned, the Augusta and Eliza¬
beth regiments lost at least 30 officers killed and
wounded, and upwards of 400 men. Gallantly as
the French acted in this affair, it was altogether
an unfortunate mistake, undertaken without the
authority of General Trochu, and executed without
any of that forethought and pre-arrangement which
were necessary in order to turn the temporary
advantage to account. Supposing it had been
desirable to leave a small French force in so
advanced a position as Le Bourget, it should have
been solidly supported.
The result of the engagement had a very depress¬
ing influence upon the Parisians, and coupled with
the unexpected news of another and far more
serious disaster, caused considerable disturbances
in the capital. On the 26th October a paper
published in Paris by the notorious communist
Felix Pyat, announced that Bazaine had been
negotiating with the Prussians for the surrender
of Metz. On the 27th the Journal Officiel con¬
tained a very emphatic contradiction, which read
strangely enough in the light of subsequent events.
After arraigning the "odious lines" before the
tribunal of public opinion, the official organ said,
"The author of these malignant calumnies has not
dared to sign his name ; he has signed Le Combat
—surely, the combat of Prussia against France;
for in lieu of a bullet which could reach the heart
of the country, he levels against its defenders a
double accusation equally false and infamous. He
asserts that the government deceives the public by
concealing from it important news, and that the
glorious soldier of Metz is disgracing his sword
and turning traitor. We give these two figments
the most emphatic contradiction. Officially brought
under the notice of a court-martial, they would
expose their inventor to the most severe punish¬
ment. We think the sentence of public opinion
will prove more effectual. It will stigmatize with
just severity those sham patriots whose trade it is
to sow distrust with the enemy at our gates, and
undermine by their lies the authority pf those who
fight him." The punishment of Felix Pyat, how-
over, was not left entirely to public opinion ; for on
the afternoon of the same day, the 27th, he was
mobbed and hustled on the boulevards, and ran a
narrow risk of falling a victim to the indignation
of the crowd. On the following day his office was
invaded by national guards, who, abusing him for
vending false news, hauled him to the Hotel de
Ville before M. Jules Ferry and M. Henri Roche-
fort, who, after hearing what he had to say for
himself, dismissed him with the assurance that he
must have been hoaxed.
As has been related, however, in the previous
chapter, the " hoax" was an accomplished fact at
the moment when M. Pyat was being mobbed in
Paris for hinting at its possibility—a fact which,
much as the Parisians might be indisposed to believe
it, was soon forced upon them by evidence that
could not be gainsaid. On the 30th of October
M. Thiers arrived in Paris with a safe-conduct,
confirming the surrender of Bazaine and the fall
of Metz, and bringing proposals of an armistice
by England, Russia, Austria, and Italy, with the
view of arranging for the convocation of a National
Assembly. These proposals, as we have seen in
Chapter XVII., led to no result, owing to the
French insisting on the victualling of Paris as a
condition of the armistice.
Thus a three-fold humiliation was inflicted upon
the Parisians. In the affair at Le Bourget they
were robbed of the first success, small enough in
itself, which had attended the military operations
of the siege; by the fall of Metz the last barrier
was removed to the full outpouring upon their
capital of all the warlike resources of Germany;
and to add to their mortification, their rulers were
actually willing to treat for an armistice with the
victors. It is therefore little surprising that the
temper of the revolutionary section of Paris was
inflamed, and their rage indiscriminating. Bazaine
was at Wilhelmshohe, beyond their reach, but
the government of defence was at hand, and
daring to suggest terms of agreement with the
Prussians. Jamais! A Vennemi! La guerre à la
mort! A bas les traîtres! cried the infuriated
populace ; and by noon on the last day of October
the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville and its approaches
were densely crowded by an excited mass from all
parts of Paris, demanding the resignation of the
government and the election of the commune. In
the crowd were many national guards, armed and
unarmed, including a considerable number from
HO
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
the neighbourhood of Belleville and other com¬
munist quarters, some of whom carried placards
inscribed "No peace!" or "No armistice!" and
" The commune for ever ! " General Trochu, Jules
Simon, and others, attempted at intervals to address
the insurgents, but their voices were drowned
by shouts of Pas d'armistice! Guerre à outrance!
During the tumult a shot was fired by an indi¬
vidual in the crowd, when immediately a tre¬
mendous uproar en§ued, accompanied with cries
that the citizens were being fired upon. Some of
the mob, calling themselves a delegation from the
people, a number of ultra-democrats, having pre¬
viously assembled in the hall of St. John, forced
their way into the Hotel de Ville, and in an
insolent and threatening manner demanded ex¬
planations from the government on the Bourget
affair, the capitulation of Metz, and the proposed
armistice. This self-styled delegation brought with
them the following decree :—" In the name of the
people, the provisional government of national
defence is dissolved. The armistice is refused.
The election to the commune will take place
within forty-eight hours. The provisional com¬
mittee is composed of the members whose names
are affixed. The delegation will signify the purport
of this decree to the members of the former govern¬
ment, who remain always confined ' to the hall of
their deliberations.' "
The delegation was received, in the first instance,
by M. Jules Ferry, speedily joined by General
Trochu and Jules Favre. Respecting Le Bourget,
General Trochu stated the facts which have just
been detailed. As to the capitulation of Metz, he
assured the delegates on oath that the government
knew nothing of it, and disbelieved it on the
morning of the 26th, when it was announced in
the Combat. With regard to the obnoxious armis¬
tice, he assured them that nothing was decided,
nor would be, without first consulting the popular
wishes. The latter part of his discourse was
drowned by tumultuous cries of " Down with the
government !" " No armistice ! " " The commune !"
A scene of indescribable confusion followed; all
the ill-disposed battalions of the national guard
surrounded the Hotel de Ville. Hundreds of
them, following the delegation, and headed by M.
Flourens, forced their way into the apartment
where the government were deliberating, and
proceeded to form themselves into a committee of
public safety. Flourens, mounting the table at
which the government were sitting, intimated to
them that they were under arrest. General Trochu
and his colleagues, who in the critical circum¬
stances acted with calmness and dignity, were
called upon to Bign their resignation, and other¬
wise grossly insulted. A little later a red flag
was hoisted from one of the windows of the Hotel
de Ville, and in the balcony underneath appeared
MM. Blanqui, Flourens, Ledru Rollin, Pyat, Mottu,
Greppo, Delescluze, Victor Hugo, and Louis Blanc,
who proclaimed themselves the government, and
that M. Dorian had been nominated president,
which post, however, the minister of Public
Works prudently declined. The announcement
was received with loud applause by the revolu¬
tionary section below, and the name of M. Rochefort
was added to the list.
But the success of the commune on this occasion
was short-lived. M. Ernest Picard had succeeded
in making his escape from the Hotel de Ville, and
hastened to the ministry of Finance, where he
took the speediest possible measures to counteract
the movements of the revolutionists, and release
his colleagues from their hands. He wrote to the
staff of the governor and the staff of the national
guard, ordering the call to arms to be made in all
the quarters of Paris. He had the national print¬
ing office occupied by troops, and prohibited the
Official Journal from printing anything not sanc¬
tioned by the governor. He also sent word to the
different ministries to hold themselves ready for
defence. In these conservative measures he was
assisted by the characteristic doings of the revolu¬
tionary party themselves, who, instead of imme¬
diately securing the various ministries, fell upon
the provisions stored in the Hotel de Ville, devour¬
ing the dinner prepared for the government,
distributing the other viands, and broaching in¬
numerable casks of wine, of which they freely
partook. They then set about amusing themselves
by destroying the furniture, breaking the mirrors,
and injuring the pictures in the palace, and defiling
the sofas and the painted walls and wainscots.
One of their partizans, however, did not forget the
" sinews of war." A messenger from the Hotel
de Ville was sent to the ministry of Finance, with
an order signed by Blanqui for 15,000,000 francs,
payable to bearer, who was, however, immediately
arrested, while M. Picard retained possession of
the order, as proof of Blanqui's participation in the
events of the day. Another communist, Citizen
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR,
141
Millière, thinking to steal a march on his col¬
leagues, left them at the dinner table and went to
instal himself as minister of Finance, but he, too,
was checkmated and missed his aim. An officer
of Blanqui's battalion, who repaired to the état
major of the national guard to give orders, was
also placed under arrest. The prefecture of police
was surrounded by 300 or 400 persons demanding
admission, but M. Adam, the prefect, resolutely
refused to yield to their demands.
After having lasted several hours, the tumult
was rapidly suppressed. A meeting of officers was
held at the Bourse, the assembly was sounded, and
Admirals de la Roncière and De la Châille placed
themselves at the service of M. Picard, who
throughout the disturbance acted with a cool¬
ness and presence of mind worthy of the highest
commendation. At nine o'clock he arrived at the
Hotel de Ville with the l06th battalion of the
national guards, who immediately ascended the
staircase, forced their way through the commune
guard, and having released General Trochu and
M. Jules Favre, compelled the insurgents to lay
down their arms and quit the building. The
governor, as soon as liberated, proceeded to the
Louvre, and being joined by M. Picard, General
Ducrot, and other officers, organized active measures
for the restoration of order, and the deliverance of
his colleagues who still remained in the hands of
M. Flourens and his party. Under Trochu's orders
several battalions of mobiles quickly assembled,
and the national guard at the same time collected
in the Place Vendôme. Just before midnight
parties of these troops defiled in the direction of
the Hotel de Ville, where MM. Gamier Pages,
Jules Simon, and Magnin were still kept in
confinement as hostages by two battalions from
Belleville. M. Jules Favre had shown great firm¬
ness with the rioters, telling them that, as he had
been chosen by the whole population, he would
only retire at the bidding of his constituents. The
ag/.tators who surrounded Flourens demanded that
the members of the government should be sent to
Vincennes; some made even more menacing pro¬
posals. About half-past twelve seven battalions
of mobile guards concentrated behind the Hotel
de Ville, where those from Belleville had barri¬
caded themselves. A company of the mobiles
now succeeded in effecting an entrance by a sub¬
terranean passage from an adjoining barracks, and
proceeded to open one of the large gates, by which
they admitted a goodly number of their comrades,
who gradually drove back the rioters to the upper
stories. At the same time numerous battalions ol
the national guard arrived on the spot, shouting,
" Long live the Republic ! Long live Trochu 1"
The mobiles, once masters of the Hotel de Ville,
shut the rioters up in the cellars, from which they
subsequently brought them out, disarmed them,
and set them at liberty. Their leaders were also
treated with great leniency, and freely allowed to
depart, although the Citizen Blanqui subsequently
complained of rough usage at the hands of the
troops. The mairies of the first and eleventh arron¬
dissements had been taken possession of by the
rioters. The former was occupied by a Dr. Pillot,
who was ejected at two o'clock on the following
morning by the commander of the eleventh bat¬
talion of national guards, and carried off in custody
to the hotel of General Trochu. The other mairie
was seized by the ex-mayor, Citizen Mottu, who
had been dismissed a week or two before for forbid¬
ding all kinds of religious instruction at the schools
in his district, and even interdicting the masters
and mistresses from taking their pupils to church.
He was, however, apprised of the order given for
his arrest, and thought it prudent to decamp
in the course of the night. At three a.m. ail was
quiet. The movement was merely a surprise, and
the national guard, by their behaviour in the course
of the evening, showed that it met with no
sympathy from them. The riot might have been
suppressed much sooner, but for the wish to avoid
bloodshed ; and happily the proceedings of the 31st
of October, as well as those of the 4th of September,
terminated without loss of life on either side.
On the following day General Trochu issued the
subjoined proclamation to the national guards:—
" Your firm attitude has preserved the republic
from a great political humiliation, possibly from a
great social danger, certainly from the ruin of our
forces for the defence. The disaster of Metz, fore¬
seen though it was, but deeply to be lamented, has
very naturally disturbed the public mind, and
doubled the anguish of the public. In connection
with that sad event the government of the national
defence has been insulted by the supposition that
it was aware of it, but kept it concealed from the
population of Paris, when, I affirm it, we only heard
of it for the first time on the evening of the 30th.
It is true that the rumour was circulated by the
142
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
Prussian outposts for the two days previous, but
we are so used to false statements of the enemy,
that we had refused to believe it. The painful
accident which happened at Le Bourget, through
a force which had surprised the enemy allowing
itself to be surprised in its turn by its utter want of
vigilance, had also deeply affected public opinion.
Finally, the proposal for an armistice unexpectedly
proposed by the neutral powers has been construed,
in utter disregard of truth and justice, as the pre¬
lude to a capitulation, when in reality it is a tribute
to the attitude and firmness of the population of
Paris. That proposal was honourable for us. The
government itself arranged its conditions in terms
which it considered firm and dignified ; it stipu¬
lated a suspension of hostilities for twenty-five
days at least, the revictualling of Paris during that
period, and the right of voting for the election of
a National Assembly for every citizen in all the
French departments. There was a wide difference
between these conditions and those previously
offered by the enemy—to wit, 48 hours' truce,
very limited intercourse with the provinces to pre¬
pare the elections, no revictualling, a fortress to be
given up by way of guarantee, and the exclusion
of the citizens of Alsace and Lorraine from any
participation in the elections. The armistice now
proposed has other advantages to recommend it
which Paris can fully appreciate, without its being
necessary to enumerate them ; and this is what is
reproached to the government as a weakness, nay,
rank treason. An insignificant minority, which
cannot pretend to represent the feelings of the
population of Paris, has availed itself of the public
excitement to try and substitute itself by violence
in the place of the government. The government,
on the other hand, is anxious to have protected
interests which no government ever had the duty
of watching over simultaneously—the interests of
a besieged city of two millions of souls, the inter¬
ests of absolutely unlimited liberty. You have
co-operated in the discharge of that duty, and the
support you have afforded the government will for
the future give it strength to put down our enemies
from within, as well as to oppose our enemies
without."
After the above episode in the history of the siege,
the conduct of the government of national defence
became somewhat dubious and vacillating. Early
on the morning of the 1 st of November the walls of
Paris were found covered with a notice, signed
by MM. Arago, Dorian, Schoelcher, and other
officials, apprising the inhabitants that they were
to elect on that day four representatives in each
arrondissement. An ambiguous notice, intended
as a disavowal of the one signed by the mayor and
the minister of Public Works, appeared later in the
day ; and later still, fresh intimations were posted
up all over Paris, intimating that the people would
have an opportunity afforded them of saying whether
they desired the commune or not. Again, on the
2nd November, the Journal Officiel published a
decree, to the effect that, on the day following, they
would be called upon to vote Yes or No, whether
they wished to maintain the government of national
defence, and that on Saturday the elections of the
mayors and adjoints of the different arrondissements
would be proceeded with. Decrees were also pub¬
lished revoking the commands of numerous chefs
de bataillons of national guards, including that of
M. Flourens, compromised in the proceedings of
the 31st ; and announcing that any battalion going
out armed without superior orders would be forth¬
with disarmed and dissolved, and the commander
brought before a court-martial. By these pro¬
ceedings the position of M. Rochefort in the
government of national defence was rendered
untenable, and his resignation was forthwith
announced, avowedly in consequence of the post¬
ponement of the municipal elections.
Notwithstanding that the plebiscite was or¬
dered immediately after the tumult caused by the
communists, the actual voting took place amidst
the utmost order and quietude. The machinery
for the working of the ballot in France is simple
and complete, and very easily put into operation.
The 3rd of November, therefore, passed off much
as any ordinary day; the only difference observable
being some small crowds collected in front of the
various mairies and other places where the votes
had been appointed to be taken. In the evening
it was commonly known that the government had
obtained an enormous majority; and at ten o'clock
a proclamation of the result, so far as then ascer¬
tained, was made by torchlight, on the Place de
l'Hôtel de Ville, by M. Etienne Arago, the mayor,
in presence of an immense assemblage, composed
principally of national guards. The crowd next
proceeded to the hotel of General Trochu, and with
enthusiastic cheers saluted the members of the
government who were there assembled. They, in
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
143
turn, all made their appearance on the steps of the
entrance doorway, from which General Trochu
and M. Jules Favre addressed short speeches to the
populace, thanking them for the confidence they
had shown in them by that day's voting. On the
following morning the official announcement of
the result of the plebiscitum showed that 321,373
had voted Yes, against 53,585 No. The voting of
the army, which was not included in the above,
was subsequently published, with the following
results: 236,623 Yes, against 9053 No; giving a
general total of 557,996 Yes, against 62,618 No,
being as nearly as possible at the rate of nine to
one. By order of the government, in the course
of the day about a dozen of the leaders in the
proceedings of the 31st were arrested, amongst
them Citizen Felix Pyat, who was at once con¬
ducted to the Conciergerie. Citizens Flourens
and Blanqui succeeded in concealing themselves.
A decree appeared in the Journal Officiel appoint¬
ing General Clement Thomas commander-in-chief
of the national guard, in place of General Tami-
sier, who had been severely injured in the tumult
of the 31st.
The news of the proceedings which have just
been related reached the besiegers in an exag¬
gerated and distorted form, and raised their
expectations of a speedy capture of the city.
Internal discord had from the first been reckoned
upon by Count von Bismarck as a powerful ally;
and it may therefore be easily understood that the
intelligence of the outbreak after the surrender of
Metz was received with great satisfaction, which
was, however, followed by disappointment when
the actual truth came to be known.
To the great bulk of the French community
this futile attempt at open rebellion brought a
positive relief. The fact of its utter failure secured
them to a certain extent against the efforts of the
disaffected, and by means of the plebiscite afforded
an opportunity of placing General Trochu and his
colleagues more firmly in their seats. Backed by
the universal suffrages of the citizens, the provi¬
sional government had now real claims to general
respect, and was enabled to proclaim that hence¬
forth it would not permit " a minority to attack
the rights of the majority, and by defying the laws,
to become the effective allies of Prussia."
CHAPTER XXI I.
The Provisional Government at Tours and the Fall of Metz—Imprudent Proclamation charging Marshal Bazaiite with Treason—Bad Feeling
caused by it in the Army—Protest of the Moniteur against the Proclamation and its Reasons for the " betrayal " of France—Reception of
the News of the Capitulation in other parts of France—General Feeling in the North that it was useless to attempt to continue the
Struggle after such a Disaster, and Efforts made there to bring about Peace—The Actual Position of Affairs at this Time—Patriotic
Addresses and Px-omises of Resistance from other parts of France—Strange Proceedings of the " League of the South "—Divisions,
and Distrust of the Republio in many Quarters—The Energetic Exertions of M. Gambetta—The Capitulation of Metz most fortunate for
the Germans—Improvement in the French Troops and slight Successes on their Side—The German Commander arranges for raising
the Siege of Paris if necessary—Capture of Dijon by Von Werder—The German Mistake as to the Strength of the French Army of the
Loire—Hesitation of its Commander—The Actual Condition of that Army at this time—Its strange medley of Uniforms and Arms—
Qualifications of General d'Aurelles de Paladine for its Command—His Strict Discipline and its Beneficial Results—He resolves to attempt
to annihilate the Bavarian Force in and around Orleans—Repulse of a Bavarian Reconnoitring Party on November 6—The French prepare
to assume the Offensive—Retreat of Von der Tann from Orleans—The Battle of Coulmiers—General Description of the Engagement—
Fierceness of the German resistance at Baccon—They are at last compelled to retreat and leave the French Masters of the Field—
General Review of the Engagement and its Results—Energetic Measui-es of Von Moltke to prevent the expected March of the French
on Paris—M. Gambetta visits the French Camp and issues a Proclamation of Thanks to the Troops—The Mistake of the French in not
following up their Victory—General Paladine's Reasons for refusing to Advance—Temporary Alarm of the German Headquarters—The
Operations in the North of France under General Manteuffel—Capture of Verdun after a Prolonged and Determined Resistance—Bombard¬
ment and Capitulation of Thionville and La Fère—The Germans advance to Amiens—Great Battle near the City on November 27—Defeat
of the French after a most Obstinate Struggle—Retreat of the French from Amiens and the Entry of the Germans—Vain Attempt to
defend the City by the Commandant of the Citadel.
On receipt of intelligence of the fall of Metz, the
Provisional Government at Tours seem to have
been lost in rage and humiliation. Assuming
that Metz could have held out, and that Bazaine
had betrayed it to the enemy, they issued an
imprudent proclamation, declaring that he had
" committed treason," had made himself the accom¬
plice of the " man of Sedan," had been guilty of
a " crime beyond the reach even of the chastise¬
ments of justice;" and that the " army of France,
deprived of its national character, had unknowingly
become the instrument of a reign of servitude."
So great was the irritation created among officers
by this proclamation, that on the following day
the Tours government issued another to the effect,
that the soldiers were " deceived, not dishonoured;"
that " those who called them accomplices were
calumniators;" that "their brothers of the army
of the Rhine have already protested against the
cowardly attempt, and have withdrawn their hands
with horror from the accursed capitulation"—
which, considering they were not asked to sign,
but only to submit to it, and did submit, was not
very intelligible. Altogether, the conduct of this
government at Tours was not fitted to reassure
the public. M. Gambetta and his companions,
in fact, forgot at the time that they occupied the
position of ministers of France, and that language
and behaviour which might be pardonable in a
demagogue holding no office, and without any
feeling of responsibility, were inexcusable in the
leaders of a great nation. It would seem, indeed,
as if the government were eager to accuse, lest
they should themselves be accused. It was of
them that France had a right to demand why,
during their six weeks' tenure of power, nothing
whatever had been done or attempted to relieve
Metz. They had allowed the enemy to go where
they liked outside Paris, and to besiege and
capture such towns as seemed best to them. Not
a single victory or success of importance had the
republic yet obtained; and fearing lest it should
be asked of them why Metz had been allowed to fall
unaided, after a siege of ten weeks, the government
apparently hastened to throw the blame upon the
generals who commanded. Their accusation suc¬
ceeded with the mass, whose favourite cry was
ever treachery, but it lost them much of the respect
and confidence of intelligent France.
The effect of the proclamation on the army was
pernicious. The serious difficulties which the sev¬
eral commanders had to encounter in maintaining
discipline, proved that the soldiers were not so well
disposed to obey and confide in their chiefs that
the minister of War could afford thus to inspire
them with mistrust. Admiral Fourichon refused
to sign the proclamation. A triumvirate of three
civilians it was that brought the accusation against
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
145
Bazaine—the soldier who had fought the battlcB
most honourable to France during the campaign,
who gave breathing time to Paris to fortify itself,
who had occupied 250,000 of the enemy's troops
for two months and a half, who had held out until
forced by famine to surrender—and that accusation
was recklessly urged without inquiry and without
knowledge. The army was indignant that no
efforts, no bravery, no sacrifices were accounted
of in the moment of a reverse, and that the men
who were trumpeted as heroes one day should be
denounced as traitors the next. The Moniteur,
without mentioning the proclamation itself, in¬
dignantly protested against this cry of " treason"
being raised upon the occasion of every misfortune.
We have been betrayed, indeed, it said, but
not as the multitude imply, by one or more indi¬
viduals, who have sold us to the enemy for some
pieces of money, but by the incapacity and care¬
lessness of most of those who have exercised an
influence upon the success of the war, either in
declaring it, or preparing for it, or conducting it.
The sovereign first was betrayed, a little by the
reports of his ambassadors and marshals, much
by his own blindness, his obstinacy before the
hostilities had commenced, and his indecision
afterwards. The generals have been betrayed by
their incapacity, and by the disorganization of
the administration, and by the negligence of their
subordinates. The inferior officers have been
betrayed by the vices of an organization, which
doubtless it was not their place to reform ; but
they have been betrayed also by their too great
confidence, by the insufficiency of their military
knowledge and preparatory studies. The soldiers,
in their turn, have been betrayed by the bad tactics
of their chiefs ; but they have betrayed themselves
frequently by their insubordination and undis-
cipline. Let us examine and correct ourselves,
and we shall be no longer betrayed.
Throughout the country the news of the fall of
Metz was variously received, and to many French¬
men, chiefly in the northern departments, it appeared
hopeless to continue the war after so terrible a mis¬
fortune, following on the crushing blows that had
descended on the nation. Almost the last regular
army of any importance which France possessed
had been handed over to the enemy, with weapons
and munitions of war that could not easily be
replaced. Of the fighting men who remained the
majority were raw troops, hastily raised, imperfectly
VOL. II.
drilled and armed, whom it seemed vain, as well as
cruel, to send against the tried and successful war¬
riors of Prussia; and many who had been hopeful
till then now cried for peace. Winter was ap¬
proaching, which would tell, indeed, against the
invader, but would also aggravate the sufferings
of the poorer classes of Frenchmen. The harvest
had been bad, the fields in many places cut up
by the struggles of embattled hosts ; trade and
commerce were almost destroyed; rinderpest was
spreading with alarming rapidity among the cattle ;
and the requisitions of the Germans became more
onerous every day. In the north of France, where
this feeling of apprehension especially prevailed,
an appeal to the members of the provincial coun¬
cils was circulated in favour of peace. This docu¬
ment stated that, as the ministry had postponed the
elections till the retreat of the enemy, while Prussia
would only conclude peace with a government
empowered by the nation; and that as these con¬
flicting views might prolong the war, it behoved
men of influence, such as those composing the
councils, to meet, and send a petition or deputa¬
tion to the government, urging the importance of
taking immediate steps to enable the nation to
declare either for peace, or for the continuation
of the war, if the Prussian conditions should be
deemed unacceptable. " One must place justice
higher even than patriotism," the circular pro¬
ceeded, " and must confess that it was France
which, badly influenced, declared war against
Prussia, and that, had the fortune of war been
so favourable to it that its armies had penetrated
to Berlin, it would scarcely have made peace
except on a rectification of frontier at the expense
of Germany. France, therefore, should not deem
it unreasonable if Prussia to-day makes the same
demand, as long as it restricts it within reasonable
limits. They will not be humbled who submit
to a peace, but rather those senseless people who,
in their mad pride and presumptuous patriotism,
approved the war, and contributed to its being
declared."
The tone of several of the northern papers was
in somewhat similar strain. The Courrier du Havre
exclaimed : " Peace ! That is the cry which at
this moment millions of voices raise in all quarters
of the earth, as well as in down-trodden France;
in Germany, intoxicated with unexpected triumph,
in intelligent England, in practical America, in
far-sighted Russia, in loyal Spain, and in Italy,
T
146
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
where war is still fresh in people's recollection.
Everywhere this cry is raised to the Almighty,
and seeks to make heaven gracious, seeing that
the leaders of the peoples are without mercy."
The Journal de Fécamp, commenting on this
article, said : "Yes ; conquered and humbled
Prance desires and demands peace. All resist¬
ance is for the future unavailing. It will only
add new hecatombs of a million of corpses
to the million of corpses mouldering on the
fields of Wissembourg, Reichshofen, Jaumont, and
Sedan. We are conquered, scattered, as a nation
has never been before. Let us cease to delude
ourselves with new hopes, and to calculate on an
impossible resistance. We are honourably con¬
quered. Our army, which is no more, has made
heroic exertions. It has even won the respect of
the victor. Honour is saved. We are conquered.
Let us humble ourselves. Let us assume the
dignity of misfortune. Silent and modest, let us
submit. Peace, peace alone, which is everywhere
demanded by all France, can save the country's
future, by its men and resources being spared. In
view of the country's misfortune, we must at this
hour have the courage to bow our necks, and sue
for peace."
Looking to the heroic efforts subsequently put
forth by Frenchmen on the Loire, or even by those
in the northern departments themselves, such lan¬
guage appears craven and unpatriotic; but a calm
review of the situation at this time could hardly
fail to excite the most anxious fear for the future
of France. The war had been begun with 400,000
men, ready for service, with some 1200 field-pieces,
and with two first-class fortresses on the frontier
to support the operations: 100,000 men killed and
wounded had fallen, and 300,000 were prisoners.
The 1200 field guns had nearly all been captured,
and the fortresses had surrendered ; the emperor
and his imperial guard were in the enemy's
hands, the most experienced officers wounded or
prisoners; and would France, with a third of its
territory occupied, be able with raw levies to turn
the tide which had swept away its veteran army?
The loss of men sustained by the Germans in actual
fighting was not greater than that of the French,
while the balance of prisoners was enormously in
their favour. It would be next to a miracle if the
raw levies of France could chase away the invader,
or even long hold him in check.
In spite, however, of such discouraging pros¬
pects, from almost every part of France except
the north addresses were sent to Tours, assuring
the government of support, and declaring that the
population were ready to die rather than surrender,
or accept a dishonourable peace. At Marseilles
the body styling itself the League of the South
issued a manifesto; concluding with a decree that,
in all the departments which have adhered to the
League, all citizens must hold themselves in readi¬
ness to quit their homes at the first summons, and
to march under the standards of the republic
against Prussian and monarchical despotism. " The
point of rendezvous for the national forces will
be the city of Yalence and the surrounding plains.
The delegates of the co-operating departments are
designated as general commissioners of the League
of the South. They will traverse the departments
to preach a holy war, to call together republican
committees in the various localities, and to act
in concert with them in order to effect, by all pos¬
sible means, a general uprising." The expense of
equipping the forces of the League was to be met
by public subscription, and the general commis¬
sioners were to arrange with the republicans of each
department for the election of cantonal delegates,
who should attend the general assembly of the
League of the South at Marseilles, on November
5. The document concluded by saying, that
" In the name of the republic, one and indivisible,
the members of municipal and administrative
bodies owe the most energetic assistance, as citi¬
zens, to the members of the League of the South,
created for the defence of the republic, and to
their representatives. Done at Marseilles, October,
1870."
It would have been better for France had these
southern republicans seen, that the safety of their
country at this painful crisis depended not so
much upon the promulgation of the republic, as
upon unity of co-operation with the government
of " National Defence," and the sinking of all
political predilections until the common enemy had
been overthrown. M. Gambetta himself, however,
had set the example of so mixing up republicanism
with his measures for national defence that, of the
two, he frequently appeared to be holding up
rather the banner of the revolution than that of
France; which led one of the most influential
papers, referring to his proclamation after the
surrender of Metz, to remark, " It is the republic,
one and indivisible, that must be greeted before
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
147
everything. One and indivisible ! And how are
you to avoid the division of the territory when
you scatter broadcast divisions in hearts and
minds, by charging with treason all those who
do not bow the knee before you, or who destroy,
even unintentionally, your calculations and your
lies ?" The article went on to observe that, while
Gambetta was stigmatizing Bazaine as a traitor,
a Marseilles club was condemning Gambetta as a
scoundrel. " How," it was asked, " could any
new form of government be permanently established
in the midst of such revolting confusion? or what
chance existed of the struggle being effectively car¬
ried on against the invasion?" A French clerical
paper, the Union, also speaking of the sarcasm
implied in the words " one and indivisible," when
compared with the distracted state of the country,
said that " at this moment it would be betraying
our country not to tell the truth. Every day
which is passing is only deepening the abyss into
which we are plunged. Resistance to the enemy
is weak; the Prussian flood is still rising, and
anarchy is extending its ravages more and more.
There are two governments, one at Paris, the
other at Tours. The investment of the capital
renders concert impossible, and the official bulletin
is exposed to registering contradictory decisions.
There exists at Marseilles a revolutionary power,
which is self-constituted, and oppresses a noble
city; Lyons has again become a free town in this
sense, that as the violent administration of that
great city only breathes demagogic ardour, it is
free from everything which restrained it. In
almost all our departments there is a tendency
among the prefects to obey Paris or Tours as little
as possible. The country is on the way to being
covered with governments, and all this being
developed alongside the Prussian invasion. These
are frightful complications which have no name
in political language."
There was a great deal of truth in all this,
though it is difficult to say that any one in parti¬
cular was responsible for the state of semi-anarchy
that prevailed. In fact, when it is considered
that France had now been two months without
any definite ruling power, and that nowhere in the
world is faction so general, it seems almost a
wonder to find order or unity of action present at
all. As a rule, the artizans supported a republic,
while the peasantry and trading classes were in
favour of some form of monarchy. The republic,
however, though not generally loved for itself,
was accepted as representing, for the time being,
the principle of nationality and the determination
to fight ; and with the majority the Provisional
Government, up to the present time (November),
had gained rather than lost in popularity by its
determination not to lower the national flag.
Men argued that France was lost if she permitted
herself to be disheartened, even by such a succes¬
sion of defeats as those she had endured ; and
no people that values its own historic reputation
can blame them for so thinking. M. Gambetta
became the most influential man in the Provisional
Government, because he was the most earnest in
devising means for continuing the war. Being
minister of the Interior as well as of the depart¬
ment of War he had, by the authority of the
government in Paris, been invested with two votes
in the Ministerial Council of Tours. He thus
acquired nearly dictatorial powers ; for unless all
the other three voted against him—a not very
likely circumstance—his will would be law. The
present and succeeding chapters will show with
what almost frantic energy he used this power.
The national defence during the autumn and
winter was mainly due to him; and though the
prolonged and agonizing struggle was destined to
fail, the endeavour cannot be said to have been
utterly vain, for, as we shall presently show,
France was never so near victory during the whole
course of the war, as in the autumn months that
followed the capitulation of Metz.
The internal state of the country being so
unsettled, the prospects of France in entering on
another stage of the war, were thus far from
cheering. On the one side were the hosts of
Germany, by this time flushed with their unbroken
successes, and, confident in their skilful generals,
their splendid organization, their enormous re¬
sources, and their perfect discipline and equipment,
regarding themselves as invincible. On the other
side were the half-formed armies of France, con¬
sisting for the most part of men who knew nothing
of actual war, who had never been under fire,
who had little confidence in themselves and less
in their leaders ; who in many instances were
poorly furnished with the necessary weapons,
and some of whom seemed to think that little
more was needed in meeting the enemy than to
cry " Long live the Republic." As we shall see,
however, in their future struggles they displayed
148
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
in many instances heroic courage and self-sacrifice;
and they more than once inflicted most serious
blows on their enemy.
For the German armies the capitulation of Metz
on October 28 came in very good time. Al¬
though the enormous forces around Paris, and
those on the Loire, on the Saône, on the Somme,
and elsewhere, had hitherto held their ground with
unshaken firmness, still it was no wonder if they
began to feel the strain which the task before them
put upon their energies. And there were not
wanting signs that the hastily-gathered levies of
France were beginning to gain the necessary
martial confidence and discipline that would enable
them to hold their own before the well-drilled
soldiers of Germany. In an engagement between
the Prussian royal guards and some of the Paris
garrison, General Trochu's raw levies did not fly
in " wild confusion," as they were wont to do
on former occasions. At Le Bourget, near St.
Denis, on October 21, the German outposts were
driven in by a sortie of the French, who proceeded
to entrench themselves on the spot, from which
they were not dislodged by the guards till the
23rd; and then only after a well-contested engage¬
ment, in which the Prussians took more than
1200 prisoners, and among them thirty officers,
but not without sustaining " heavy losses them¬
selves." In the north, on the 21st October, at
Formerie, a town of the Oise, between Amiens
and Rouen, an attempt made by the Prussians to
cut the railway line was frustrated by a party of
French regular infantry and mobiles, who were
left masters of the position.
These, indeed, were trifling advantages, only
to be noticed as slight breaks in that uniform run
of ill fortune which had so long attended the
French. But, independently of such incidents,
there was undeniable evidence that, on the one
hand, the German line around Paris had been
somewhat inconveniently thinned to strengthen
the detached forces under General von der Tann
and Prince Albrecht; and on the other, that the
Paris garrison had been making the most of the
respite allowed to it in acquiring that steadiness,
the lack of which had hitherto proved a bar to
its success. Besides, Von der Tann, though
apparently equal to maintaining his position at
Orleans and on the Loire, seemed to evince some
hesitation as to any further advance, and awaited
the onset of the French army under Aurelles de
Paladine; who, it was supposed, would soon muster
up strength and courage either to force the Prus¬
sian general's position at Orleans, or to turn its
flank and steal a march upon it on the way to
Paris. In the north, again, the invasion seemed
to have abated in activity, and people wondered
how long it would be ere Bourbaki had collected,
out of the various frontier garrisons and the solid
populations of those districts, a force large enough
to embolden him to take the offensive; while,
again, Bazaine's army at Metz, exhausted and dis¬
pirited though it was said to be, hung in the rear
of the German forces, and created some apprehen¬
sion of danger, however indefinite and remote,
that it might break loose and throw itself upon
their lines of communication.
Bazaine's capitulation put an end to these appre¬
hensions, and rendered Germany stronger, almost
to the full extent of the forces by which she
protected herself against danger from that quarter;
for, besides placing 173,000 men, four marshals of
France, 6000 officers, and one of the strongest
places in Europe in the hands of the victors, it
set free nearly 200,000 of them for new efforts
and triumphs. The general importance of this
event was, of course, apparent from the first; but
not until some weeks afterwards did it fully appear
how seriously its occurrence at this particular time
affected the fortunes of the war. Had Bazaine
been able to prolong the defence for another
month, a relieving army, of which even the
existence had come to be doubted, would almost
certainly have made its way to the neighbourhood
of Paris. In view of this contingency, indeed,
as we explained near the end of Chapter XX.,
the German commander had actually arranged for
raising the siege.
Of the immense force now liberated, one part
remained to garrison Metz ; another, nearly 50,000
strong, was despatched against the French army
of the north ; a third, comprising a single corps,
was sent to Paris to aid the besiegers; and the
remainder, about 75,000 men, under the command
of Prince Frederick Charles, was directed to the
south and east of France, to occupy the Upper
Loire, and to co-operate with the army under
Werder. For it must be remembered that, besides
the campaigns on the Loire and the Somme, there
had been for some time in the east of France
another struggle, which had resulted in the advance
of a German army, under this general, into the
THE FRANCO PRUSSIAN WAR.
149
departments of the Vosges, the Upper Saône, and
the Doubs, to Epinal, Vesoul, and Besançon; at
which latter place he seemed to pause, fearing, it
was said, the opposition of General Cambriels, at
the head of the so-called army of the Vosges.
Cambriels had recently reported that he had checked
the enemy on the Ognon, compelled him to fall back
upon Gray, and relieved from uneasiness not only
Besançon and Dôle—his own and Garibaldi's head¬
quarters—but also Belfort and Dijon. As a
practical reply to this boast, Von Werder, who
had gone back to the Saône at Gray, followed the
course of that river to Pontailler, and struck across
the country to Dijon, due north of Lyons and
almost due east of Bourges, at about 100 miles'
distance from either place. He appeared before it
on October 29, and took it after a short cannonade.
It will thus be seen that no portion of the
German forces liberated by the capitulation of
Metz was moved, in the first instance, against the
French massed on the Lower Loire, whom, indeed,
a combination of circumstances had caused the
German commanders, with less than their wonted
caution, to disregard. As stated in a previous
chapter, one corps of that army had been defeated
with great ease, in the middle of October, by a
Bavarian detachment, which had captured Orleans
and still held it; and as the entire body had since
made no sign, its real strength was not known,
and it was supposed to be worthless.
To serve a purpose, no doubt, there had indeed
been an immense amount of mystification about
this army, especially a statement that it had been
sent off northwards. Reports varied from day to
day regarding its discipline, proficiency in drill,
numbers, armament, equipment, artillery, trans¬
port. All that was known with any degree of
certainty respecting it was that it wanted officers,
arms, horses, all kinds of matériel, and especially
time. It had its origin in a collection of com¬
panies, of squadrons of regiments, where the
lancers mingled with the chasseurs, the dragoon
with the Turco, the chasseurs de Vincennes with
the zouave, a battalion of infantry with a battery
of artillery, gardes mobiles with franc-tireurs.
The large admixture of the latter corps gave an
extremely picturesque aspect to the miscellaneous
aggregate. Obedient to the summons, they had
flocked together in larger or smaller bodies from
every province of France, from the colonies, from
the United States and Canada, from Algeria and
Greece, from Italy and Spain, from Rio Janeiro
and Monte Video, Almost all wore the short
tunic or thick woollen blouse, generally of dark
colours, black, green, blue, and brown, while some
few corps adopted the grays and buffs in favour
among English volunteers. There were Tyrolese
and wide-awake hats of every description, with
cockades of all sizes and feathers of every tint.
The brigand was largely represented, reminding
the stranger of Fra Diavola and Massaroni, and
other well-known types and theatrical celebrities.
The South American corps was got up with a
particular eye to effect. Its chief, M. de Friés,
received the name of D'Artagnan, after Alexandre
Dumas' hero, and Mélingue himself never looked
the part better. He and his men wore the
South American poncho as an overcoat, carried
the lasso, and could noose a horse at full speed
and bring him to the ground. The Basque bat¬
talion, composed of hardy mountaineers used to
toil up Pyrenean steeps, and wearing their national
head-dress, the flat béret, red, blue, or white, with
a tassel pendant from its centre, presented a good
appearance. Then there was the mysterious
company of the Gers, consisting of fifty picked
men, in black costume, with skull and cross-bone
facings, and who never spoke. The arming of
the troops was various. Those worst provided
had the old Minie, but for this the Remington
or Chassepot was substituted as soon as obtain¬
able. Numbers of them carried revolvers and
poniards. The "Foreign Legion," which, it is
only just to say, was always cheerfully in the front
when the greatest danger and hardest fighting were
to be met, comprised among others about a score
of finely-built, soldierly-looking Englishmen, and
several Irishmen, lured to France at this juncture
either by zeal for the cause or by a love of adven¬
ture. Not the least picturesque feature was the
Arab cavalry, formed in the colony of Algiers,
of volunteers recruited in the great tribes of the
desert. The original design was that every pro¬
vince should supply a contingent; but it is doubt¬
ful if the total number of these Spahi warriors
in the Loire army ever exceeded 600 men. Their
presence was generally heralded by a clang of
barbaric trumpets, and a chief with a face like a
bronze statue headed the rather straggling columns
of fiery little Arab horses. The men wore their
native dress, their heads, as usual, being wrapped
up as if they had all been afflicted with toothache,
150
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
and they sat perched high up on their peculiar
Moorish saddles. The chasseurs d'Afrique, the
hussars, and the chasseurs h cheval, mustered
largely, but it could not escape notice how absurdly
overweighted the whole cavalry force was, by
having to carry all sorts of cooking pots, tentes
d'abri, and other impedimenta, which rendered
them utterly useless in a charge. Smartness,
cleanliness of horses, and pride of corps, as known
in the English service, seemed not to exist in the
cavalry of this army; and the men, seen on the
march, always gave one the idea that their first and
last business in life was to make their soup, not
to fight. Besides their sabres, which they were
hardly taught how to use, they were armed with
a long, lumbering carbine, which was slung at
their backs, and greatly hindered the use of the
sword-arm.
Such was someof the rather unpromising material,
gathered from every quarter of the globe, which,
in the hope that it might be welded into some¬
thing like an army, was intrusted to the command
of General d'Aurelles de Paladine, a soldier who
had seen hard service in the field, and had come
out of his well-earned retirement to organize the
forces of his country. By birth he was of an
Auvergnat house. At an early age he entered
the army, and in 1843 served in a campaign
against Abd-el-Kader, under the Due d'Aumale,
who was then governor of Algeria. At that time
d'Aurelles was chef de bataillon of the sixty-fourth
infantry, and considered an excellent officer. He
had the reputation of being a strict disciplinarian;
and his passion for order and prompt obedience
specially qualified him for reducing into shape the
loose mass of regulars, gardes mobiles, foreigners,
and franc-tireurs, dignified with the name of the
Army of the Loire, which he found little better
than a mob, and succeeded in rendering almost a
match for the best troops of Prussia. The mutinous
spirit which prevailed when he took the command
he put down by offering the alternative of obedi¬
ence or death ; and before firing a shot at the
Germans he shot down several score of his own
men. General d'Aurelles de Paladine in several
respects was like General Trochu. Both were
strongly imbued with a religious spirit; both had
lived in retirement for years—the one unknown,
the other known only to strategists; and on the
exertions of both seemed now to depend the last
hopes of France.
As may be imagined, the task of D'Aurelles
was not an easy one. For several weeks the
troops were kept in the open air, exposed to all
vicissitudes of weather, and engaged incessantly in
the varied exercises which were necessary to accus¬
tom them to the tactics of war. To enforce good
discipline amongst them proved for a time most
difficult. Their idea of subordination seemed to
be extinguished—a spirit which could be overcome
only by a rigorous discipline, like that maintained
in the Prussian army, in which insubordination
is always punished by death. There were many
loud and bitter complaints of D'Aurelles' severity;
but the good fruits of the hardy training were
soon seen in improved solidity and promptitude
in manoeuvring, in the excellent health of the
troops, and in their renewed hope and confidence.
The most ardent hopes of the French govern¬
ment, therefore, now centred in this army of the
Loire. Should it have the fortune to gain a con¬
siderable victory, the effect throughout France, it
was felt, would be incalculable in putting down
resistance to the government, and in converting
into soldiers, inspired with some confidence in their
leaders and some respect for themselves, those
hordes of armed men by courtesy styled armies.
The forces under General d'Aurelles de Paladine,
early in November, amounted to 180,000 men,
with 400 guns, and nearly 15,000 cavalry. Since
the disaster of Metz the authorities waited with
intense anxiety for some serious movement on
the part of this army before the victorious legions
of Prince Frederick Charles should have time to
approach. Although composed, as we have seen,
of such heterogeneous masses, it was from its
numbers by no means despicable ; and at this con¬
juncture an opportunity was afforded its leader of
striking a blow of which the results might have
been momentous. At the beginning of Novem¬
ber it was separated by a few miles only from
a single Bavarian corps of not more than 25,000,
scattered somewhat disorderly between Orleans
and Châteaudun, and virtually forming the only
German force between Orleans and the lines
round Paris. General d'Aurelles de Paladine saw
the favourable opportunity, and laid his plans
for cutting off, and if possible annihilating, the
small hostile corps which lay temptingly in his
front. For this purpose he resolved to cross the
Loire below and above Orleans, thus, by a con¬
verging movement, to close in completely on his
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
151
foe; and in case he should succeed in sweeping
away this only obstacle in his path, he intended to
march straight on Paris, and endeavour to relieve it.
It thus happened that the 9th of November,
which witnessed the surrender of Verdun, brought
to the French, as a compensation in another quar¬
ter, their first gleam of success. After the battles
before Orleans, Von der Tann, reduced to his own
corps by the recall of the twenty-second division
to Paris and the detachment of Prince Albrecht's
cavalry to Chartres, remained inactive on the Loire.
A force of 20,000, including Prince Albrecht's
horsemen, was at Chartres about the end of October,
to hold in check the army of Brittany; and Von der
Tann's right flank was covered by a detachment
at Châteaudun. Columns of various strength,
detached from the investment on the different
roads, occasionally suffering a reverse, formed a
large semicircle round the rest of Paris from
Compiégne on the north, by Montdidier, Breteuil,
Beauvais, Evreux, Chartres, and Châteaudun, to
Orleans on the south.
The occupation of Orleans, indeed, had proved
scarcely less difficult than its capture. For more
than a month the Bavarian general had kept the
French constantly employed and himself informed
of their movements, by a system of reconnaissances
and patrols, which extended over a comparatively
wide area, and necessarily exposed those engaged
in them to the constant attacks of franc-tireurs
concentrated at Tours, whose most energetic efforts
were directed to harassing the troops in the occu¬
pation of Orleans, while the larger army was form¬
ing below the Loire to attack the comparatively
small force at the disposal of General von der
Tann. The occupation of Chartres and Château¬
dun by General Wittich weakened the army at
Orleans, which, receiving no reinforcement from
other quarters, and reduced to a force of about
15,000 men, began to find itself in a somewhat
critical position. The position, in fact, of the
Prussian garrison of Orleans was one of even
greater danger than Von der Tann suspected, for
by about the end of October General d'Aurelles'
army had assumed a form which enabled him to
act, and it was agreed that he should begin to
move forward from Blois on the morning of the
29th, with the intention of driving back the
Bavarians, and then trying to reach Paris. But
at the last moment D'Aurelles changed his mind ;
he telegraphed to Tours on the night of the 28th,
to say that the roads were bad, the equipment of
part of the garde mobile very insufficient, and that
it was consequently imprudent to attempt an action.
It transpired subsequently that the news of the
capitulation of Metz had become known to General
d'Aurelles that very afternoon, some hours before
the Tours government heard of it; and this was
the main cause of his resolution not to move. His
decision caused great disappointment at Tours,
where it was immediately recognized that the Red
Prince's army, suddenly set free, would come west¬
ward as fast as possible, and that it was indispens¬
able to relieve Paris before its arrival, which was
expected to take place about the 16th or 18th of
November. But instead of hastening forward, the
Loire army was delayed by various circumstances
which it is difficult to determine with precision,
amongst which, however, the current reports that
an armistice had been concluded appear to have
had much influence on General d'Aurelles, and to
have disposed him to stop where he was. The
despatches afterwards made public, and a work
published at the close of the war by M. de Frey-
cinet, M. Gambetta's delegate to the ministry of
War, show that the hesitations of the commander-
in-chief were the object of continual correspond¬
ence between that officer and the ministry of War;
but however strong may have been the pressure
employed, it was not till the 6th November, more
than a week after the date originally fixed, that
the French army at last marched forward.
While this was going forward along the Loire,
the Prussians had decided to send reinforcements
to General Von der Tann. Some 30,000 men had
therefore been detached from the army before
Paris, and had been sent towards him under the
orders of the duke of Mecklenburg. The arrange¬
ment was made too late; for on the same day (the
11th November) that the duke reached Toury en
route for Orleans, Von der Tann entered the same
town with the remnant of his valiant but thoroughly
beaten troops, who, swept forward by the masses
of D'Aurelles, had escaped entire capture only by
a kind of miracle. We will, however, revert to
the first dispositions of the French commander,
which had resulted in this signal reverse for the
German arms.
On November 6, leaving one corps at Mer,
on the north bank of the Loire, to cover Tours,
three others, moving from their headquarters at
La Ferté (twelve miles south of Orleans), crossed
152
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
the river at Beaugency and formed, with the corps
from Mer, a general line extending from the Loire,
on the right, to Marchenoir, behind the forest of
that name, on the left. To ascertain the real
nature of this movement, which appeared to
threaten the Bavarian communications with Paris,
Yon der Tann, on November 7, ordered a recon¬
naissance, which, led by Count Stolberg, was
pushed as far as Autainville, in the direction of
Vendôme. This showed that the French were
massed in the forest of Marchenoir, in that neigh¬
bourhood, in a force estimated at 60,000 men.
The reconnoitring party consisted of 6000 men,
with cavalry and artillery, and had been despatched
with the further object of dislodging the French,
if possible, from the wood. The Bavarians,
however, had seriously under-estimated the number
of their enemies, and were repulsed with loss.
The French, elated with their success, on the
following day assumed the offensive, marched
forward to occupy various positions, with the
view of cutting off the communications of the
Bavarian army, and by interposing between
Orleans and the base of operations, render their
escape impossible. De Paladine had carefully
studied the situation, and a curious chance had
furnished him with the most reliable and precise
information. A paper, torn into the smallest pieces,
was found lying on a table in a château which had
been the headquarters of General von der Tann.
It proved to be the rough draft of his orders to
his officers, with a plan for the dispositions of the
troops. The pieces were carefully pasted together
by a person in Orleans, who obtained a translation
of their contents into French, and sent them to
the minister of War at Tours. This paper, con¬
taining the exact number of troops to be engaged,
precise instructions as to their disposition, and even
the place of each gun, was transcribed with fear
and trembling, in a house actually filled with Bava¬
rians; it proved of incalculable use to the French
troops, who, as the Germans owned, had never
before been so well directed as now. The French
army of Beaugency was ordered to advance towards
Orleans ; the right wing to halt on the side of
Ormes; but the centre and left wing, pivoting on
the right, were to proceed in the direction of Gem-
igny, St. Péravy, Boulay, and Briey, to meet the
cavalry corps which General Martin des Palliéres,
stationed a few leagues above Orleans, at St. Benoit-
sur-Loire, was bringing towards Cercottes.
As soon as General von der Tann perceived this
design, he ordered the immediate retreat of the
baggage and heavy material of the army by the
direct road towards Paris ; and, compelled to leave
about 1000 sick and wounded in the hospitals of
Orleans, he put himself at the head of the fifteen
battalions which still remained to him, and marched
directly to meet the enemy. Wishing to extricate
himself from the maze of woods and vineyards, and
to reach the open plain, where his cavalry and artil¬
lery would tell, he moved in a north-westerly
direction. For a day or two previously there had
been some excitement, the cause of which the
French inhabitants of Orleans could not make
out. It was supposed that a battle was going on,
but where no one knew. On the night of the
evacuation, however, all became clear. At about
ten p.m. there was a general running in the
streets, into which the inhabitants were not
allowed to go ; but the greater the running of
the Germans, and the driving of all sorts of
carriages, the stronger was the temptation of
Frenchmen to learn the cause of the stir. At
midnight the Place du Martroi, the Rue Royale,
the Rue Bannier, and all the adjacent streets were
blocked with gun, provision, and ammunition
carriages, and in the morning the regiment of
Bavarian guards were all that remained to tell of a
German occupation. About noon on the 9th these
filed off, with drums beating and colours flying, by
the Rue Jeanne d'Arc and Rue Bannier, as though
they had been going out for a promenade militaire.
The townspeople were naturally delighted when,
at the close of the day, they saw troops advancing
towards the town under the tricolor instead of
the abhorred black and white. Their exultation
was natural, though, judging from the following
notice issued by the municipality, it was rather
overstrained:—" The mayor of the city of Orleans
appeals to the generous feeling of the population ;
he is sure that the German wounded and prisoners
will be treated by his fellow townsmen in confor¬
mity with the dictates of humanity. The mayor
warns those of his fellow citizens who may have in
their possession arms and ammunition, consequent
on the disarming of the German soldiers, that they
must immediately lodge them at the Hôtel de Ville.
They belong to the state, and those detaining them
will be prosecuted according to law.—Orleans,
November 10."
There is no doubt that there was some haste in
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
153
the retreat of the Bavarians ; and that they were
followed up pretty closely, is proved by the
capture of Von der Tann's carriage and other
articles of his property, by the leaving of the
sick and wounded, and by the fact that many
of the inhabitants made prisoners of the soldiers
who had been billeted upon them. It was these
accidental captures to whose "disarming" the
notice pointed.
Early on the morning of November 9 the two
armies became aware of each other's presence near
Coulmiers, between that place and Baccon, a small
village about fourteen miles to the west of Orleans.
About ten o'clock the engagement began. The
spot had already been rendered classic as the scene
of a battle in 1409, in which the French, under
the Maid of Orleans, defeated the English under
Sir John Fastolf.
In the present instance, also, and for the first
time in the history of this war, the tide of victory
turned in favour of the French, who outnumbered
the Germans in the proportion of four to one, and
could not have been fewer than 90,000 men, with
120 field guns. The most that General von der
Tann could hope to accomplish against such over¬
whelming odds, was to make good his retreat in
the direction of Paris with the least possible loss of
men and material. The nature of the country was
such as to render cavalry operations impracticable,
and for more than seven hours his small force, of
little more than 12,000 infantry, succeeded in hold¬
ing the whole French army in check. The action
commenced by a well-sustained attack on the German
centre and right wing, forcing the latter to give
way, until General OrfF, with the second Bavarian
brigade, wheeled round the left wing to its support,
and for a moment almost seemed about to change
the fortunes of the day. The French, however,
brought up strong reinforcements, and were sup¬
ported by an admirably served marine artillery ;
an arm hitherto little feared in their hands, but
which was now employed with a precision and
efficiency which were the theme of universal remark
among the German officers, who perhaps, consider¬
ing their past experience, had begun to fall into
the not unnatural error of underrating their enemy.
From this time the French continued to advance
steadily towards Baccon, i.e., from the south-west
to the north-east. The Bavarians had taken up a
position which formed an acute angle with the
French line, their line of battle being nearly
VOL. H.
parallel with the range of woods extending from
Chaingy to some distance beyond Bucy St. Siphard.
To deploy their forces they availed themselves of
the ground between the farm of La Renardiere, the
fields of Huisseau, the farms and plantations of
Coulmiers on the one hand, to Rosieres and the
fields around Gemigny. At Baccon the French
met with a stubborn resistance. The Germans had
loopholed the houses, constructed barriers, and
taken advantage of every wall and every hedge for
cover. The village of Baccon is built on a hillock,
on which the houses rise in tiers ; the lowest being
scattered about the plain at its foot. From that
culminating point the Germans kept up a mur¬
derous fire on the French troops, who promptly
responded to the orders of their officers to move
forward. After a brief but desperate struggle,
Baccon was carried by storm, and the Germans
gave way. The French, even to the mobiles, most
of whom were in this action for the first time under
fire, behaved with great bravery and steadiness in
the heat of the fight ; but to the marine infantry
and artillery, previously alluded to, D'Aurelles
subsequently awarded the highest praise.
Notwithstanding, however, the repeated and
furious assaults of the French, and the fearful loss
they managed to inflict upon their opponents, they
could not force them from the position they had
occupied during the day, and night closed in, leav¬
ing the Germans worn out and decimated by the
fight, but not vanquished. They had already
marched all the preceding night; they had fought
during the whole day of the 9th ; and now their
only chance of escape was to make another night
march on Artenay. Leaving about 700 of their
comrades, including 42 officers, dead and wounded,
in the hands of the enemy, they turned their backs
on the bloody field of Baccon as soon as the dark¬
ness set in, and under a fall of sleet and snow
tramped their weary way to Artenay, having for
thirty-six hours scarcely tasted a mouthful of food.
It is said that, when Prince Frederick Charles
asked Marshal Bazaine why the French army did
not follow up their partial success on the 16th of
August, and escape from their critical position
before Metz during the night, he replied, " On
ne marche pas la nuit." The Germans under Yon
der Tann, eschewing this comfortable principle,
succeeded in reaching Artenay on the following
morning in perfect order, and without much loss
of material. The Bavarian life guards, who, it
u
154
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
will be remembered, had been left at Orleans, and
who quitted that city on the 9th, found themselves
separated from the main body of the army by the
events of that day, and came into unexpected
proximity to the enemy, from whom they only
escaped by a forced and arduous night march of
fifteen hours, during which they were compelled
to pass almost within earshot of the French posi¬
tion. Finally, the morning of the 10th found
the gallant little army of Yon der Tann united at
Artenay, where, by having outmarched the enemy,
they were enabled to enjoy a day's rest after their
brilliant retreat, and take up a defensive attitude.
The result of the engagement was made known
to the government at Tours by the following des¬
patch on the 10th :—" The army of the Loire,
under the command of General d'Aurelles de
Paladine, carried Orleans yesterday after two
days' fighting. Our losses in killed and wounded
do not reach 2000; those of the enemy are more
considerable. We have taken more than 1000
prisoners, and this number is being increased by
the pursuit. We have also captured two guns of
Prussian make, more than twenty powder and
munition waggons with their horses, and a large
quantity of fourgons and provision waggons. The
principal seat of the action was round Coulmiers,
and the ardour of the troops was admirable, not¬
withstanding the bad weather."
While the French thus acknowledged a loss of
2000, the official report of the German commander
gave that of the Bavarians, in killed and wounded,
at 42 officers and 667 men. The 1000 prisoners
were the sick and wounded left at Orleans, and
the two guns were two small unlimbered useless
cannon which the Germans abandoned, as encum¬
bering their movements. The despatches and
report of General d'Aurelles de Paladine respecting
the battle of Baccon were, however, written with
a fairness and modesty which were new to the
French, and the advantages he gained were not
overstated. Had he claimed to have reduced the
effective strength of the Bavarian corps by at least
4000 men, he would have been quite within the
truth. Nor was this the only advantage gained.
The morale of both men and officers was much
improved. Cheered by a victory after continuous
defeat, they did their duty better and more
smartly; and all believed that the day had at last
come when they would be able to beat back the
invader, and re-asscrt their old standing amongst
the warriors of Europe. Under their commander
the new army had learned the very important
lesson of light infantry duty, which the first French
armies seemed to have quite forgotten—the art of
protecting flanks and rear from surprise, of feeling
for the enemy, surprising his detachments, pro¬
curing information, and taking prisoners. It was
at length the Germans who had to grope in the
dark in order to ascertain the position of the
enemy.
But the energetic measures which General von
Moltke took to meet its expected march upon Paris,
furnished the most remarkable proof of the respect
which the army of the Loire now inspired. As
we have before remarked, so well had the prepara¬
tions of this army been concealed that its very
existence was doubted amongst the Germans.
Now, however, even at the risk of actually raising
the investment of Paris, the Prussian strategist
found it necessary to hold in readiness against
it the greater portion of the blockading forces on
the south side of the city. He changed at once
the direction of march of the two armies arriving
from Metz, so as to draw them closer to Paris,
that thus the whole of the German forces might
be concentrated around it; and steps were also
taken to surround the siege park with defensive
works.
M. Gambetta was not slow to congratulate the
army on its success. He at once visited the
camp, and published the following proclamation
to the troops:—
" Soldiers ! Your courage and your efforts have
brought back victory. To you France owes her
first consolation, her first ray of hope. I am
happy to convey to you the expression of the
public gratitude, and the praises and recompenses
which the government awards to success. Led
by chiefs vigilant, faithful, and worthy of you, you
have recovered discipline and strength, you have
retaken Orleans with the ardour of old troops
accustomed to conquer, and have proved that
France, far from being overwhelmed by reverses
which have no precedent in history, intends to
assume in her turn a vigorous and general offen¬
sive. The advanced guard of the country, you
are on the road to Paris ! Let us not forget that
Paris awaits us. Our honour is staked upon our
succeeding in loosening the grasp of the barbarians
who threaten her with fire and pillage. Redouble
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
155
your constancy and your ardour. You now know
the enemy. Their superiority consists in the
number of their cannon. Recover the French
dash and the fury which ought to help to save
the country. With such soldiers the republic will
issue victorious from the struggle."
The army .of the Loire, however, had yet to
prove its mettle in a general engagement with the
" barbarians " in numbers more nearly equal ; and
as subsequent events showed that it was unequal
to this task, we are confirmed in the opinion that
it was a fatal error its success at Baccon was not
at once followed up.
It is impossible for Frenchmen to recall the
important phase of their great struggle which we
have just described, without a pang of bitter regret
that the successes of D'Aurelles at Baccon were
not promptly followed up, presenting, as they did,
by far the fairest and most promising opportunity
during the war for reversing the ill-fortune of
France. The Germans themselves admitted that
if they had been pursued, every one of them, from
the general to the last camp-follower, would inevi¬
tably have been taken prisoner. Having marched
all night to come into action, they had to march
all the next night to get away from it; and it was
with the most intense astonishment that the ex¬
hausted Bavarians discovered on the 10th that
General d'Aurelles was not attempting to come
after them. And this was not their only surprise.
On the 11th the duke of Mecklenburg met Yon
der Tann at Toury; and the latter was proposing
arrangements to unite their two armies, so as to
make a stand against the victorious French and
cover Paris, when to his bewilderment instructions
were telegraphed from Versailles to abandon the
direct line of defence, and to immediately march
north-west to Preux (leaving D'Aurelles to do what
he liked), in order to stop another French army
which was said to be marching straight on Ver¬
sailles from Argentan and Laigle. Looking back
at all this in the light of what subsequently trans¬
pired, it seems incredible that the clever Prussians
should have been so utterly taken in by the fear of
an army which really did not exist, that they left
the road to Paris wide open before D'Aurelles ;
and, more incredible still, that the Tours govern¬
ment should have failed to profit by the prodigious
opportunity which was offered to them by this
mistake of General von Moltke. The altogether
insignificant character of what the German com¬
mander imagined to be an army approaching from
the west is explained in the following chapter,
and the explanations of General Chanzy and M. de
Freycinet afterwards enlightened the world as to
why the opportunity of capturing the defeated
Bavarian army and of raising the siege of Paris
was not utilized.
It appears that, when the fight began on the
morning of the 9th, General Reyan, with ten regi¬
ments of cavalry and some batteries of horse-artil¬
lery, was ordered to cover the French left wing
and turn the German right. General Reyan had
been at some distance from the scene of action,
and on the morning of November 9, after a long
and tiresome march of fourteen hours, he came
within view of German batteries. Instead of has¬
tening on to the battle-field and executing the
manœuvre ordered, he opened fire on the batteries
alluded to, and at two o'clock reported to D'Aurel¬
les that his artillery had lost heavily in men and
horses, and had no more ammunition, and that his
cavalry had met with serious resistance every¬
where. He added that he feared the enemy would
outflank him, and he thought he should have to
fall back. At five o'clock General Reyan again
sent word that a column of infantry was now
appearing before him at Villamblain, and he con¬
sidered it indispensable to return to his encamp¬
ment of the previous night. It was soon discovered
that the column in question was composed of French
franc-tireurs; but, unfortunately, the cavalry had
already fallen back, night was coming on, and
exhausted as they were with continuous marching,
it was impossible to get the regiments forward
again. The force, therefore, which was effectually
to have cut off the retreat of the Bavarians, did
not come into the engagement at all; and when
the battle was won by the centre and right no
cavalry was up to pursue the victory, or to ascer¬
tain the movements of the retiring Germans. The
French slept on the field, but it began to rain and
snow; the night was bad, there was no wood for
fires, and the supplies of food and ammunition
were got to the front with much difficulty. When
day broke Admiral Jaureguiberry sent his own
escort, forty-five men, in pursuit of the Bavarians,
and they took two guns, 130 prisoners, and quan¬
tities of baggage and ammunition. If forty-five
hussars could do this, what would General Reyan's
ten regiments have effected? General d'Aurelles
156
THE FRANCO PRUSSIAN WAR.
does not seem, however, to have thought of follow¬
ing up his victory, though he must have had at
least 80,000 men still in good fighting condition,
against about half that number under Mecklen¬
burg and Yon der Tann, supposing, indeed, the
two latter to have united and made a stand. The
days following the 9th were occupied in organizing
convoys, in completing the artillery, and in pro¬
curing clothes for the soldiers, arrangements which
it seems a singular lack of foresight to have left
till a time like this. Day followed day, and the
French did not move; their outposts advanced,
but the army remained inactive. Yon der Tann
left a few troops at Etampes, and marched away
with the rest to join the Duke of Mecklenburg at
Chartres; so that, by the 14th, there were not more
than 3000 Germans between D'Aurelles and Paris.
With these facts before us, it is easy to under¬
stand the alarm which we have described in
Chapter XXIV. as prevailing at Versailles at this
time. General von Moltke knew that nothing would
stop D'Aurelles if he matched resolutely on by
Etampes to the Seine ; he feared that Mecklenburg
would not get into position between Chartres and
Dreux in time to paralyze the other imaginary
army, which was supposed to be driving on
Versailles in that direction; so that on the 14th
and 15th November the German headquarters
expected to be attacked behind from Rambouillet
and to be cut off from their line of communications
eastward by D'Aurelles. It is not strange, there¬
fore, that they should have packed up their boxes,
as was actually the case; it seemed impossible to
the energetic Prussians that their enemy should
not rush at them instantly, and make a desperate
attempt to break the line of investment south of
Paris, before Prince Frederick Charles could reach
it. But when they learnt, on the night of the
15th, that D'Aurelles had made no sign, that the
Red Prince's outposts had reached the line of
which Montargis is the centre, and that no
French army had shown itself beyond Dreux, they
took courage, stopped where they were, and so
evaded the grave moral consequences which would
have ensued on an evacuation of Versailles.
While the German headquarters were in this
critical position, a conference had taken place, on
November 12, between the French generals and
M. Gambetta, who had come up from Tours to
congratulate the troops On the victory of Coulmiers.
General Borel, a very able officer, afterwards chief
of the staff of Marshal MacMahon during the
Communist siege of Paris, proposed to march
straight to the Seine, but General D'Aurelles would
not have that at all ; not only did it seem to him
impossible to continue the offensive, but he con¬
sidered it was dangerous even to remain at Orleans.
M. Thiers, who, as described in a previous chapter,
had been endeavouring to arrange with the Prus¬
sians for an armistice, had just returned from
Versailles, and reported that he had come through
an army of 80,000 men ; his imagination, in fact,
having more than doubled the force, which was
none other than that of the duke of Mecklenburg,
now off to the west. To D'Aurelles, however,
this was sufficient reason for not advancing. He
said the enemy would be back on him directly;
that an indisputable eye-witness had seen 80,000
Prussians marching down from Paris; that he was
certain to be attacked in a day or two, and that
his army was unfit to stand the shock. Finally,
he proposed to immediately evacuate Orleans,
and to return to his old position at Salbris. M.
Gambetta, M. de Freycinet, and General Borel
energetically opposed these arguments; but all
they could obtain from D'Aurelles was, that
instead of abandoning Orleans, the army should
intrench itself round the town: no forward move¬
ment should be made, for the moment at least;
but it was admitted that Paris should still be
considered to be the destination of the army. A
fortified camp was immediately formed round
Orleans, new troops arrived, and in a few days the
French had more than 200,000 men in position.
Leaving for the present the army of the Loire,
we will glance at the events then transpiring in
the north of France, which, next to those south
of Paris, were the most important that occurred
during the month of November.
Of the large force detached to operate in the
north under General Manteuffel, a considerable
portion was sent to assist in reducing several fort¬
resses which had hitherto been rather invested than
besieged, but whose fall, on the release of the
immense siege matériel from around Metz, might
now be counted on in a few days. The first place
which followed the fate of the great Moselle strong¬
hold was Verdun, a fortress of the second class,
standing on the Meuse, where it begins to be navig¬
able, about 150 miles east of Paris, 120 west of the
Rhine, 30 north-west of Bar-le-Duc, and 40 from
Metz. It has 13,000 inhabitants ; and although
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
157
partly fortified byVauban, its strength is not great
against modern artillery, as it is commanded by the
adjacent hills, and the river is fordable in several
places near the works. Its fortifications consist of
a citadel, separated from the town by an esplanade,
and of an enceinte of ten bastioned fronts. The
place had been the object of much attention ever
since the German armies crossed the Moselle. In
the attempt to gain it, the army of the Rhine had
fought the great battles of Vionville and Grave-
lotte ; an immense store of provisions having been
accumulated here as soon as Bazaine's retreat
was contemplated.
Yerdun was first invested on September 25,
but not so strictly as to prevent the garrison from
being subsequently largely increased. Early in
October the place was completely closed in, and
the usual summons to surrender made. Baron
Guerin de Waldersback, the commandant, replied
by expressing to the Prussian envoy his resolution
to hold out as long as one stone remained on
another; adding, "We shall meet in the breach."
The breach, however, was precisely the place
where, in this war of sieges, no German and French
officers ever did meet. The bombardment from the
German artillery was terrific, and was effected from
two strong batteries, the one situated due north, the
other east, of the place. On the 13th and 14th of
October a perfect hurricane of shells was poured
upon the devoted town, but without shaking the
determination of the garrison. The brave General
Marnier, sub-commandant of Verdun, putting him¬
self at the head of some 3000 men, made a sortie
in a north-easterly direction on the 28th. Without
firing a shot, at the point of the bayonet he drove
back the German advanced posts. He then attacked
the batteries, and carried them by assault, destroy¬
ing the works, dismounting and spiking the guns,
and returning safe to Yerdun. The conduct of
the civilians, like that of their fellow-countrymen
at Strassburg, Toul, and elsewhere, was honourable
and spirited. From the first they were anxious to
make the best possible defence, irrespective of
personal losses. During the furious bombardment
they took refuge in the cellars, where some of the
more timid remained during almost the whole of the
siege, while their houses were burning over their
heads. This state of things could not, of course, con¬
tinue long. Disease—small-pox especially—was
adding its ravages to those of the enemy's cannon,
and the mortality increased rapidly from day to
day. Prospect of relief there wTas none. So long
as Metz stood, and there was a possibility of
Bazaine's army, or any portion of it, forcing its
way through Prince Frederick Charles' lines, and
throwing itself upon Verdun, there might have been
a propriety in continued resistance. But the fall
of Metz changed the whole position of affairs, and
it then became simply a question whether the barren
honour of holding out to no purpose for a few days
longer was worth the penalty that must be incurred
in the demolition of the remains of .the town, and
the slaughter of a great portion, at all events, of
the surviving garrison and inhabitants.
At this point, too, the severely-tried endurance
of the townspeople began in some measure to fail
them. So long as their sufferings were of any use
to France they had borne them with exemplary
patience, and had shown as little desire to yield as
General Guerin himself. But they now felt that
nothing was to be gained byprolonging the struggle.
The devastation wrought was greater even than at
Strassburg, as the German guns easily dominated
the entire town. It was this almost complete
destruction that led to the ultimate surrender of
the place, which was coerced into submission with¬
out having had to endure any very serious want of
food, the supplies of which would, at the time of
the surrender, have enabled the inhabitants to hold
out for a while longer. The 9th of November,
which, as we have seen, brought the first and
most considerable victory of the war to the French
arms, witnessed the capitulation of Verdun, when
two generals, 160 officers, and 4000 men were
made prisoners, and 136 guns and 23,000 rifles,
with a considerable store of material of war, were
taken.
As soon as Metz had fallen, Thionville also was
very soon vigorously bombarded, and set on fire.
Until the surrender of Metz the position of Thion¬
ville gave it an importance in the war with which
no other fortress of its size and strength, except
Toul, could compare. At the end of July it sup¬
ported the left wing of the French army of the
Rhine. During the operations before Metz its
proximity was a cause of extreme annoyance to
Prince Frederick Charles, as its abundant supplies
presented a constant temptation to the hungry
garrison of the larger fortress to endeavour to
establish a communication with it, in which they
once nearly succeeded. The town has between
7000 and 8000 inhabitants. The fortress is built
158
THE FRANOO-PRUSSIAN WAR,
almost entirely on the left or western bank of the
Moselle ; that part of it which stands on the right
bank consisting of a fort of modern construction,
containing magazines and fine cavalry barracks.
It was formerly the residence of the Merovingian
and Carlo vingian kings, has been a fortified place
since the thirteenth century, and has sustained
numerous sieges, from that of 1643, when the prince
of Condé took it, until 1814, when General Hugo,
lather of Victor Hugo, successfully defended it
against the Prussians. When besieged by the
allies in 1792, the citizens hung the figure of an
ass over the wall with a bundle of hay at its
mouth, and the inscription, " When the ass eats the
hay you will take Thionville." The story illus¬
trates the short range of artillery eighty years
ago. Besiegers and besieged must have been very
close together, or the placard could not have been
legible. From 1815 Thionville was the advanced
post of the north-east of France, between Metz
and Luxemburg and Sarrelouis. Its fortifications
belong to different epochs and systems of engin¬
eering. The corps de la place consists of an
irregular heptagon, with demilunes, contregardes,
and lunettes. The fort of the Double Crown is
on the right bank. The full complement of the
garrison of Thionville is 8000 men, but at the
time pf its investment there were not more than
half this number. The fortress, however, held out
until November 24, and was expected, from the
boastful declaration of its commandant, to resist
much longer. Less than three day's experience
of the German artillery, however, was enough for
him ; and with a great part of the town in flames,
a Capitulation was signed, which gave the Prussians
4000 more prisoners and an additional 200 cannon.
In the course of General Manteuffel's progress
towards Amiens, the only other fortified place which
had not yet surrendered was that of La Fère, near
the confluence of the Oise and the Serre, fourteen
miles north-west of Laon, and on the road from
that town to Amiens. It was invested about the
middle of November, and on the 20th a courageous
attempt to relieve it was made by a French force,
which, however, was repulsed with heavy loss. On
the 27th La Fère capitulated after two days' bom¬
bardment, yielding 2000 prisoners and 70 guns.
By a ministerial decision of November 18,
General Bourbaki was summoned to take com¬
mand of the newly-formed eighteenth French
corps d'armée at Nevers ; General Farre being
intrusted provisionally with his charge in the
north. It would seem from this that M. Gambetta,
now the presiding genius of France outside
Paris, had underrated the danger which menaced
the wealthy and populous cities of the north from
the advance of ManteufFel. So little, indeed, had
been heard of the movements of this commander,
that it was generally supposed he was hesitating
to venture into a district where the brilliant fame
of General Bourbaki had in a short time made
him the rallying point for a French army of no
mean pretensions. The fact was, that the advance
of the first German army had been halted on the
receipt of the news of the French movements
about Orleans on the 9th, and its dispositions then
seemed to indicate an intention to remove south¬
ward. This, however, was not the case. General
ManteufFel left Rheims on November 17, and at
this time his troops were reported as never having
been in better case to meet an enemy, or to
encounter the exigencies of a campaign. The
artillery and cavalry horses were in splendid con¬
dition. Dysentery and other sickness, which pre¬
vailed around Metz, had gradually disappeared
through change of air, exercise, and a good com¬
missariat, and every thing was hopeful. Soissons
was reached on the 19th, Compiégne—where
the German commander occupied the emperor's
chateau—on the 21st, and from this date little
more was heard of Manteuffel's advance until the
24th, when a detachment forming his advanced
guard was defeated in a smart skirmish with a
large body of French, mostly mobiles. This
occurred in the Santerre district, the eastern part
of the Somme, and at the same time Prussian
scouts were signalled in the neighbourhood of
Amiens, plainly indicating an early advance upon
the city.
Afraid to defend the slight intrenchments thrown
up just outside the place, and reluctant to bring a
battle so near their chief northern city, the French
army moved out and took up positions extending
from Boves to Yillers-Bretonneux, about twelve
miles east of Amiens. Here were constructed strong
earthworks and batteries, which early on Sunday
morning, November 27, were assailed by a vigor¬
ous fire from the German artillery. The division
of General von Goben had come to the front, and
a battle along the whole line shortly commenced.
The French army of the north, numbering about
50,000 men, were divided into three corps—at
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
159
Vfflers Bretonneux, a large manufacturing village
commanding the road to Fergnier, at the entrance of
the plains of Santerre ; at Boves, which commands
the road to Paris ; and at a little village called
Dury, commanding that to Breteuil. The artillery
force was largely composed of seamen, who came
very prominently into notice during the later
phases of the war, and on all occasions bore
themselves with signal bravery. In the present
instance they sustained the heaviest brunt of
the fight, and were almost all killed or wounded,
only three officers escaping with their lives. The
mobiles also showed great steadiness and resolu¬
tion, and were the last to leave the field when
the fortunes of the day proved decisive against
them. The battle was to a large extent an
artillery contest. The most serious engagement
took place in front of Yillers. At Boves the
chief event was a charge of the ninth Prussian
hussars upon a battery of marine volunteers, who
were completely cut to pieces, though with con¬
siderable loss to the Germans, including Prince
Hatzf'eld, who was killed. Later in the day the
thirty-third regiment advanced to the ravine
between St. Nicholas and Boves, to storm the
village and the French position ; whilst a battery
of artillery stationed themselves at a distance of
2000 yards, about a quarter of a mile in front of
the farm at Cambos. No sooner had the thirty-
third deployed, and, covered by half a company
of skirmishers, advanced to the attack, than the
French opened the most determined fire. They,
however, were weak in artillery, and after about
half an hour were driven from their position, the
thirty-third storming the village of Boves, and
taking 300 prisoners.
The French right rested in Hebecourt, a village
in front of Dury ; and the sixteenth division was
sent to oust them from their positions, and drive
them back upon Amiens. This done, Dury
was stormed. Both these hamlets lie on the
Amiens and Dunkirk road. About three-quarters
of a mile beyond Dury were the French works,
with a battery of four heavy guns placed upon the
road itself. Immediately in front of these works,
at a distance of 300 yards to the left of the road,
was a small graveyard, surrounded by a hedge.
For upwards of two hours this graveyard was held
by two companies of the seventieth regiment, in
face of the French battery, and of the long line of
rifle-pits lying right and left of it. The only cover
the men had was the gravestones, of which there
were very few, the greater portion of the monu¬
ments being iron crosses. A display of more
determined courage the campaign did not present.
The Prussian batteries at Dury took up a position at
1200 yards, and although they lost five officers and
half their horses, nothing would induce the com¬
mandant to retire to 2000 yards. It was principally
owing to their fire that the French were ultimately
driven out of the works and retired into Amiens.
The final storming of the village was witnessed
from a neighbouring church tower by an English
officer, who, fascinated by the splendid advance
of the thirty-third regiment, and forgetful of the
elevation on which he stood, enthusiastically threw
up his hat into the air, and incurred the penalty
of having afterwards to trudge a long distance
bareheaded.
Around Villers-Bretonneux a fierce battle raged
between the main portion of the two contending
armies for several hours. Between Boves and
Yillers is a wood, under cover of which the Prus¬
sians advanced, debouching about noon, with
eighteen guns, which immediately opened on the
French, who were massed on the plateau of Villers.
After awhile they showed signs of wavering, but
at this critical juncture reinforcements, principally
in artillery, came up from Amiens, and roused the
sinking spirit of the French troops ; at every
point their enemies now seemed to be giving way,
until, at half past four o'clock, they had been
driven some three kilomètres from Villers-Breton¬
neux. The Germans, like history, seem fond of
repeating themselves ; as, indeed, is also the case
with the French. In several engagements, the
moment at which the invaders appeared ready
to yield was precisely that when they were pre¬
paring a last great effort to advance. When,
on the other hand, the French troops had gained
a slight advantage, they—forgetting that the lull
among the enemy foreboded a storm—fell too
speedily into the mistake of congratulating them¬
selves. At half past four o'clock the Prussians
seemed defeated ; but from that hour they made
a determined advance, and swept the enemy before
them. The firing having for a time ceased, the
French assumed that they were masters of the
field, and had begun to establish themselves, when
a murderous fire was suddenly opened upon them
from positions where no enemies were supposed
to be. Altogether taken by surprise, they at
160
THE FRANCO PRUSSIAN WAR,
once fled. Fortunately for them, night came to
their assistance ; and before the sun of the next
morning had arisen they were many miles away
from the scene of conflict. Following up their
advantage, the Prussians entered Villers, causing no
small panic among the inhabitants. The women
with children in arms shrieked and rushed wildly
about. A number of them heedlessly ran in the
line of fire, and were killed by shot and shell, and
many more were drowned in the marshes about the
city. Finding further resistance hopeless, General
Farre ordered a retreat along the whole line ; and
great was the disappointment of the good citizens
of Amiens to see approaching the disorderly rem¬
nants of that army of the north which it was
expected should turn the fortunes of France, and
drive back the Prussian veterans of Gravelotte in
confusion.
On arriving at Amiens a council of war was
hurriedly convened, at which it was resolved not
to make any further stand behind the entrench¬
ments around the city. The retreat was therefore
continued, headed by General Farre and brought up
in the rear by the prefect of the Somme. Before
leaving the town, the following proclamation was
addressed by the latter to the inhabitants:—
"Citizens,—The day of trial has come. In spite
of the incessant efforts made by me for three
months, to the feeble extent of my means of action,
the chief town of the department falls, in its turn,
into the hands of the enemy. The council of
superior officers has just determined on the retreat
of the army of the north and the disarmament of
the national guard. I am absolutely obliged to
leave you, but in the firmest hope of an early
return. Calmness and confidence !—France will
be saved. Vive la France ! Vive la Republique!"
The mayor, left to his own devices, immediately
followed with another:—" The generals intrusted
with the defence of Amiens have suddenly departed
with the troops, and, considering them too feeble,
have abandoned us. The military committee has
not been consulted. The prefect quitted Amiens
to-night. As for me, I remain with my municipal
council in despair, but without forces against the
enemy: devoted to my fellow-citizens, and ready
for all sacrifices in their behalf."
As it was well known to the German com¬
manders that the forces opposed to them greatly
outnumbered their own, it was deemed unwise to
follow the pursuit too far, and orders were accord-
ingly given to remain on the defensive. Very
early on the morning of the 28 th there was an
unusual stillness, and no sentries were visible in
front of the spot where the French were supposed
to be. The commanding officer, therefore, sent
forward a patrol the distance of some 300 yards to
reconnoitre ; and great was the surprise when,
entering the works, they found nothing but the
cannon and the dead bodies of those slain in the
recent combat. Intelligence was immediately sent
to General von Gôben, who at once ordered an
advance of the troops. Taking the road through
Hebecourt and Dury, over a course thickly strewn
with military accoutrements and the bodies of dead
men and horses, the victorious army soon came upon
an undulating plain, bounded by the town of
Amiens. On the highest ridge of the plain the
French had thrown up long lines of rifle pits ; and
the road was defended by a battery mounting two
howitzers and two 16-pounder rifled guns, all of
which remained in the hands of the victors. Right
and left of the road the barracks of the troops came
into view—plain wooden huts, on each side of
which were raised platforms covered by straw mat¬
tresses. Half way between the.R. lines and the
town were two emplacements tor guns, one to the
right, the other to the left. The position was
strong, and if resolutely defended would have been
no easy matter to take. After some little delay
Amiens was entered by three battalions of the 40th
regiment, and two batteries of artillery, which
filed past the general in the principal part of the
town. The 45,000 Frenchmen that should have
held it were in rapid retreat upon Arras, Doullens,
and Rouen. The citadel had not, however, sur¬
rendered, and the commandant refused to give in
upon any terms.
The mayor of Amiens took an early opportunity
of waiting upon General von Goben, and with tears
begged him to persuade Captain Fogel, the old
line officer who commanded the citadel, to capitu¬
late, and thus to set free 300 gentlemen belonging
to the best families in the city, who were only
increasing the general misery by a useless resist¬
ance. So far, however, from complying, the officer
caused the citadel to open fire upon the town, the
" gentlemen of the best families " thus doing all
they could to destroy their own homes and kins¬
folk. Two companies, therefore, of the 40th regi¬
ment took possession of the houses in the immediate
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
161
neighbourhood of the glacis, and opened a small-arm
fire upon the place, which was returned by the
garrison with artillery and Chassepot fire. All day
long this sort of guerilla warfare continued. On
the evening of the 29tli it was determined to shell
the earthwork, and eight batteries marched out at
three in the morning, taking up their positions
right and left of the citadel at 2000 yards. But,
as day dawned, the white emblem of submission
was seen waving from the ramparts ; the com¬
mandant having been killed during the night.
The citadel was much stronger than had been
supposed. The garrison was composed of 400
men and twelve officers, with thirty pieces of
ordnance. The height of the revêtement was 80
feet from the bottom of the ditch, so that to cap¬
ture the place would have taken some little time,
and occasioned no small loss ; but the death of
VOL. II.
the commandant—killed while superintending the
training of a gun—put an end to farther resistance.
The loss of the defenders was four killed and thir¬
teen wounded. Within the citadel were found
one officer and sixteen men of the fourth Prussian
regiment, who had been taken prisoners a day or
two previously in the fight before the town, and
who were agreeably surprised when their country¬
men knocked in the door of the room in which
they were confined.
In the end, the city of Amiens had to pay dearly
for its resistance, and the possession of the citadel
enabled the general to take far more troops with
him in his farther progress than he could have
otherwise done. Very speedily a German prefect
and sub-prefect were appointed, under whose aus¬
picious rule, much to the astonishment of the
mayor, affairs soon assumed their ordinary aspect.
x
CHAPTER XXIII.
M. Gambetta the Real Governor of France early in November—The French Position after their Victory at Baccon—Mistake of General
D'Autelles in not advancing at once on Paris—Military Reasons for his remaining inactive—Determination of the French to march on
Paris at all Costs—The worst time possible chosen by them for this purpose—What might have happened had they made their way to the
German Lines—The new Disposition of the German Forces in consequence of Von der Tann's Defeat, and the celerity with which they
were carried out—Difference of the French Prospects on November 10 and November 19—The Cause of the False Alarm at Versailles—
General D'Aurelles made Commander-in-Chief of the whole of the French Armies South and East of Paris—His Dispositions of his Troops
—The Duke of Mecklenburg withdrawn from Le Mans and other Reinforcements sent to Von der Tann—Positions of both Armies on
November 26—The Advantage still on the Side of the French—Reluctance of General D'Aurelles to Advance—Battle of Beaune-Ia-
Rollande on November 28—Incidents of the Fight—Critical Position of Affairs for the Germans—Great Bravery and'Defermination of the
Hanoverians—Arrival of Prince Frederick Charles, who turns the Fortunes of the day—The French compelled to Retreat—Losses on both
Sides—Another Fatal Delay on the part of D'Aurelles taken Advantage of by the Enemy—A Plan of Combined Action arranged between
D'Aurelles and Trochu—Battle at Patay between the French, under General Chanzy, and the Bavarians, on December 1—Another hard-
earned German Victory'—Arrival of Balloon Despatches from Paris, and Great Excitement at Tours—Further Engagement on December 2
and Retreat of the French—The Germans assume the Offensive on December 3, bring on the Battle of Chevilly, and achieve another Victory—
Scene on the Battle Field at Night—Resumption of the Engagement at Cercottes on December 4, and ultimate Recapture of Orleans by the
Germans—Difference between D'Aurelles and Gambetta as to Defending the City—Narrow Escape of M. Gambetta—The Scene in Orleans
on December 4—Complete defeat of the Loire Army and Loss of 15,000 Prisoners—General Review of the Operations on both Sides from
November 28 to December 4—Superior Strategy of the Germans—Operations in the Eastern Departments of France—Fighting on the river
Ognon—Bombardment and Capitulation of Dijon—The Proceedings of Garibaldi—His Animosity to the Clergy, and Desire to establish the
"Universal Republic"—Victory of Ricciotti Garibaldi over the Germans at Châtillon—Garibaldi himself advances to the Relief of Dijon-
Extraordinary Panic amongst his Troops, who are compelled to beat a hasty Retreat—Ill-feeling between Garibaldi and the French Generals
and the Priesthood—The Composition of his Army—Capture of Neu Breisach by the Germans—Proceedings in Brittany—A Common Plan of
Defence agreed on for the South of France—Unpopular Decree of the French Government annulling the Exemption of Married Men and
Widowers from Military Service—Formation of Camps for the Instruction and Concentration of National Guards—The Bells of the Churches
offered for Cannon—The Triduum, or Exposition of the Real Presence, celebrated throughout France—Exports of Guns and War Matériel
from the United States to France—The Friendly Feeling between America and Prussia nevertheless continued—Contrast with the Feeling
manifested towards England—Important Circular of the Russian Government repudiating part of the Treaty of Paris of 1856—Reply of
Lord Granville—General Indignation in England and Expectation of War—Count von Bismarck's Proposal for a Conference adopted—
The Pros and Cons on the side of Prussia—Change of Feeling in England with regard to Germany and much Sympathy shown for France
—Celebrated Letter from Mr. Carlyle on the German side.
We have shown in the preceding chapter that,
early in November, the operations of the French
on the south and south-west of Paris were no
longer those of incoherent bodies of timid recruits,
but those of a regular army under a general in whom
it had confidence ; and that they were conducted
on a most extensive scale. M. Gambetta, too, had
established himself as the temporary dictator of
France. His efforts to revive the spirit and draw
out the military resources of the country had been
equally unremitting and successful. He made
and unmade generals, and nothing was heard of
his colleagues. The fiery, thorough Frenchman
of the southern type, in fact, alone governed, and
his government was recognized. In the east of
France he appointed several new generals, and those
deposed could only offer piteous protests against
his misconstruction of their conduct. He ordered
Bourbaki to give up the command of the army
of the north, and Bourbaki obeyed. France,
outside Paris, had a government once more ; it
had a large army ; it kept the enemy in check. At
Paris the Germans made apparently no progress in
the direct operations of the siege. They seemed
unable to take the forts ; and had probably been
led to abandon all thought of an assault as too
dangerous and costly, by the immense preparations
made against it since the investment of the city.
The boast of General Trochu that Paris was im¬
pregnable, seemed so far justified ; while the pro¬
vinces were not merely doing their best, but doing
a very great deal, to relieve it. The news of the
French victory at Baccon had given new life and
spirit to the city population. It appeared, as M.
About put it, that after all there was such a thing
as provincial France ; and the Parisians, who
thought themselves deserted, were now ready to
co-operate with their deliverers as soon as they saw
a fair chance. The successes of General d'Aurelles
de Paladine on November 9 had, in fact, given to
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
163
France a new soul as well as a new army, which
was designed for the relief of Paris ; and in the
opinion of every one except De Paladine himself,
the auspicious day of hope and of triumph had at
last dawned.
There are moments in almost every campaign
when a single bold stroke, well aimed and delivered,
will gain extraordinary results from fortune. Had
General D'Aurelles, after his success at Baccon,
pushed forward rapidly, either by the roads which
lead straight from Toury to Paris or by the more
circuitous route by Chartres, he could scarcely
have failed to overwhelm the small force in his
front, or at least to compel it to retreat with loss ;
in which case he would have found his way to the
German lines open. When the news of the combats
of the 9th and 10th arrived, the great general on
whom devolved the direction of the German opera¬
tions, alive to the extreme danger of a possible
attack from without and within, had, as already
stated, made preparations for removing his head¬
quarters and raising the siege should it turn out
that D'Aurelles was advancing on the French
capital. But at this critical hour the latter was
found wanting in genius and determination. He
shrank from following up his success, and instead
of making at once for Paris, he fell back on Arthe-
nay and Orleans in order to obtain reinforcements
and to form an entrenched camp under the screen
of the forest, intended as a base for future opera¬
tions. This was unquestionably a most unhappy
resolve; but in justice to a veteran officer, who
possessed no common organizing skill, it is fair
to say that military reasons of a plausible kind
may be assigned for it. There is no evidence
to show that General Trochu, who communicated
frequently with the provinces by balloons, pigeons,
and other devices, expected relief at this moment;
and if he had been unprepared to attack as soon
as D'Aurelles appeared outside, the army of the
Loire would perhaps have found itself in a danger¬
ous position. In one respect General Paladine
was, by what appeared a good authority, entirely
misled as to the military obstacles in his path
to Paris. M. Thiers had alarmed the French
commander-in-chief by his report of having wit¬
nessed 80,000 Prussians on the way to Orleans;
although this force, as explained in the previous
chapter, was less than half the strength attributed
to it by the veteran statesman. And whatever
this army may have amounted to, it was quite
diverted from the Orleans direction a day or two
alter M. Thiers had seen it, by being sent west¬
ward to Dreux, to cover the investing circle from
the expected attack in that direction. The road
from Orleans to Paris was thus left wholly unde¬
fended; for Prince Frederick Charles, although
known to be coming, did not arrive from Metz
till a fortnight later. It is true that the army of
the Loire was as yet imperfectly trained, that its
commissariat and ammunition service was but very
indifferently organized, and that the depression
caused by appalling reverses hung like a spell
on the French commanders ; and this may help us
to understand why D'Aurelles hesitated to attempt
the course which a bolder captain would have taken.
The fact, however, remains, that this was the
one golden opportunity of the war, and the respon¬
sibility of neglecting it must rest with the com¬
mander-in-chief, whose extreme caution led to his
ultimate removal. When at last the patience of
the minister of War was exhausted, and a letter
by balloon from General Trochu, which unfortu¬
nately fell in Norway, informed Gambetta of the
intended sortie by Ducrot, he allowed the generals
near Orleans no further discretion in the matter.
Accordingly, from November 28 to December
2, the operations of the army of the Loire took
place which we shall presently describe ; but
unfortunately they were carried out by D'Aurelles
at the most unfavourable moment that could have
been chosen, whereas a fortnight earlier would
have been the best. In the words of an anony¬
mous, but very able military critic in the Times,
to whom we have been greatly indebted, and
whose impartial résumé of the events of the
campaign has since been republished, * " It is
useless, perhaps, to speculate on what would
have been the probable result, had D'Aurelles
made good his way to the German lines in the
middle of November. We do not agree with
those who think that the Germans, caught between
two fires, would have suffered a terrible reverse;
Yon Moltke would have certainly drawn off in
time, as Napoleon did before Mantua when he
became aware of the approach of Wurmser ; and it
may be assumed that the army of the Loire would
before long have been compelled to retreat. Never¬
theless, the siege would have been raised ; the
armies of Paris, now in fair order, would have
* The Campaign of 1870-71. Republished by permission from the
Times. London : Bentley and Son.
164
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WaR.
marched out and made the renewal of the invest¬
ment in winter almost impossible; and it is difficult
to imagine what the effect would have been on a
brave and emotional race like the French. This
indicates what a misfortune to France was the fall
of Metz at the close of October ; how, in the
words of one in the German camp, the capitulation
' came in the nick of time.' Had the fortress held
out ten days longer no additional corps could
have been moved to Paris; in all probability the
Grand-duke of Mecklenburg could not have been
detached from the besieger's lines ; no apparition
of Prince Frederick Charles could have alarmed
the chief of the army of the Loire—and, in these
events, we can hardly doubt that D'Aurelles, who
had already defeated, would have overwhelmed
Von der Tann, and marched with his whole force
to Paris."
General von Moltke, alive to the danger with
which he had been threatened in consequence of
Von der Tann's defeat, made a new disposition of
the German forces without the delay of an instant.
While the grand-duke of Mecklenburg and Von
der Tann were kept on the arc between Dreux
and Toury, observing D'Aurelles and the French
army of the west, the corps intended to march
northwards were placed on an interior line from
Laon in the direction of Rouen. Prince Frederick
Charles received orders ta suspend his movement
towards the Upper Loire, to send a detachment
to co-operate with the besiegers to the south of
their lines, and to push " by forced marches " past
the Upper Yonne, and take up positions in which
he could communicate with Von der Tann and
the grand-duke, and menace the right flank of
the army of the Loire should it venture to make
a move northwards. These movements were
executed with the precision and celerity of well-
commanded armies. Within a week after D'Aurelles
had fallen back to his camp near Orleans, Manteuffel
had formed a covering force against any incursion
from the north ; and the advanced guard of
Prince Frederick Charles, reaching Fontainebleau,
Nemours, and Pithiviers, and approaching the
extreme left of Von der Tann, had almost closed
the vast semicircle designed to oppose an iron
barrier to the French armies of the Loire and
west. Thus, the prospects of France, which on
the 10th of November would have been really
full of hope had a great commander wielded her
forces, were overclouded by the 19th, and an oppor¬
tunity equally favourable for repairing her disasters
did not again occur.
Meanwhile great uneasiness had been caused at
Versailles by the appearance of bodies of French
troops on the roads leading to Paris from Rouen,
Evreux, and Dreux. It was believed that the
French armies of the north, and especially of
Brittany, were about to make a convergent move¬
ment on Paris in combination with that of the
Loire, and the French movements at Dreux seemed
to confirm the belief. Detachments of the fifth
and twelfth corps were therefore ordered from
the neighbourhood of Versailles to support the
grand-duke of Mecklenburg in meeting the antici¬
pated attempt along the roads to Chartres and
Dreux. This commotion proved, however, to have
been caused chiefly by mere detachments of the
forces of Brittany, which, upon the news of Von
der Tann's retreat, had been pushed towards Paris.
Dreux was held by about 6000 mobiles and marines,
who, on the appearance of the duke of Mecklen¬
burg, fought well; but as the opposing forces
numbered more than 30,000 men, the French
retired in great confusion towards Nonancourt.
Here they rested for the night, and were preparing
the inevitable coffee early the following morning,
when the alarm spread that the Prussians were
coming. The headlong flight was resumed in the
direction of Le Mans. For thirty leagues they
were harassed by their pursuers, whose tread they
could still hear while traversing with difficulty the
woods under cover of a fog. It was this handful
of Breton mobiles and of marines which had thus,
perhaps unintentionally, given to their comrades
of the Loire the immense opportunity to which
we have alluded. General von Moltke had been
completely deceived as to its numbers, and in
order to disperse it he had left the road from
Orleans to Paris entirely undefended, and sent
westward an army beyond all proportion to the
danger he had to fear.
After the victory of the 9th, M. Gambetta, who
showed much of real greatness and capacity at this
crisis, determined that at any rate divided counsels
should be no impediment to vigour of action.
General Reyan, who on the 9th had not been
successful in outflanking Von der Tann, was civilly
got rid of by an order removing all retired generals
lately appointed to the staff; an order construed
by Gambetta as applying to those only whom it
was not considered desirable to retain, for General
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
165
D'Aurelles stood in the same list with the officer
thus superseded. Longuerue, who had been under
Reyan at the first, succeeded him, and D'Aurelles
was promoted to the command-in-chief of the
whole Loire army, having at the time of the battle
had charge of only two corps, his own and the
fifteenth. The former was handed over to General
Pallières, one of the officers promoted by Gambetta
after the battle, in recognition of the first success
obtained by a French army in the war. Bourbaki
was removed from his separate charge in the north
to serve more immediately under D'Aurelles in
the command of the eighteenth corps, and the
independent command of General Fièreck and
Count Keratry were also abolished. These ar¬
rangements were readily acquiesced in by all except
Count Keratry, who hastily resigned his command,
in a letter betraying a feeling of injured dignity.
Thus constituted generalissimo of the entire
French forces south and east of Paris, General
d'Aurelles de Paladine disposed of the army of the
Loire as follows :—On the extreme left the seven¬
teenth corps, under General Sonnis, was placed at
Châteaudun, between which and Artenay, on the
left also, was General Chanzy, with the sixteenth
corps. The fifteenth corps, under General Martin
des Pallières, was in the centre, with the head¬
quarters behind Artenay; the twentieth, known
hitherto as the army of the East, now under General
Creuzot, was placed on the right about Ladon, nine
miles due west from Montargis, and seven south¬
east from Beaune-la-Rollande ; the extreme right,
formed by the eighteenth corps under General
Bourbaki, took up a position near Montargis. The
united strength of the army thus brought into
line amounted to 200,000 men, with about 14,000
cavalry, and between 500 and 600 guns.
After the false alarm at Versailles of a move¬
ment on Paris by Dreux was dissipated by the
duke of Mecklenburg's successes over the petty
levies which had created it, his triumphant pro¬
gress towards Le Mans was suddenly checked by
orders directing him to return and close in upon
the right of Von der Tann, who lay isolated in
front of the French camp. It had been discovered
that D'Aurelles had not really moved; and it was
either known or conjectured that behind his
screen of wood he was receiving large reinforce¬
ments, to enable him to make a direct advance in
overwhelming strength.
Whilst the duke of Mecklenburg drew in from
the vicinity of Le Mans, and marched due east¬
ward on Châteaudun, still more important rein¬
forcements were on their way towards the other
flank of Von der Tann. The march of Prince
Frederick Charles with the three corps set free
from Metz, was reported from day to day to be
directed steadily on the passages of the Yonne,
which crossed, he would be able to cover all the
country between Fontainebleau and the Loire
with the head of his columns. By November 24
these various corps had arrived, and the united
armies of the grand-duke of Mecklenburg, Von
der Tann, and Prince Frederick Charles now
stretched away in a great arc of some 130 miles,
trending nearly east and west, from Mamers by
Chartres and Pithiviers to Montargis. The duke
of Mecklenburg commanded on the western side of
the arc, Von der Tann under him in the centre,
and Prince Frederick Charles, whose headquarters
were at Pithiviers, on the east. The principal
forces of the Germans were on a line curving
round from Senonches, eighteen miles south-west
of Dreux on the left of Beaune-la-Rollande. Von
der Tann's corps was between Bonneval, nine miles
north from Châteaudun, and the Paris and Orleans
road. The ninth Prussian corps was across that
road in front of Toury; the third corps was in
front of Pithiviers, and the tenth, forming the
extreme left, was at Beaune-la-Rollande.
Such, about the 25th and 26th of November,
were the positions of the armies intended to relieve
and cover the siege of Paris. A glance at the map
will show that, strategically, the French had a
great advantage; from Marchenoir by Orleans to the
road to Montargis, they had possession of the chord
of the arc from Nogent-le-Rotrou, Chartres, Toury,
to the left of Prince Frederick Charles, still some¬
what to the east of Montargis; they held the
principal roads to Paris, and could concentrate by
shorter lines and more quickly than the enemy
in front. United, they were in the proportion of
nearly two to one to the Germans, for Prince
Frederick Charles had not more than from 55,000
to 60,000 men, after the detachment he had made
to the besieger's lines; Von der Tann and the
grand-duke of Mecklenburg had probably not more
than 45,000; and though the French troops, as a
whole, were not to be compared with their foes,
one half of them certainly were very fair soldiers.
The arrangements did great credit to the military
skill of D'Aurelles, and the zeal and patriotism of
166
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
the French people; they showed either that the
German commanders underrated the strength of
the army of the Loire, or were still exceedingly
hard pressed ; and though they did not present a
prospect of success equal to that of the 9th and
10th November, a great commander would have
known how to turn them to good account. In
fact, with this difference, that his numerical
strength was not half, but double, that of his foes,
D'Aurelles was in a position similar to that of
Napoleon when he invaded Belgium in 1815.
During all this time Prince Frederick Charles
had been marching with extraordinary speed. His
brigades advanced separately, by various roads,
to their general rendezvous at Pithiviers; but
D'Aurelles let them come without attempting to
attack them, though General des Pallières asked
to be allowed to march against them with his
division, and though M. Gambetta wrote a despatch
on the subject on the 13th November. General
D'Aurelles, however, invoked the old arguments
of bad weather, bad roads, and ill-clothed troops;
and time passed uselessly until the 19tli November,
when M. Gambetta seems to have lost patience.
On that day he wrote to the general as follows :—
" We cannot stop eternally at Orleans. Paris is
hungry, and calls for us. Prepare a plan which
will enable us to reach Trochu, who will come
out to meet us." General D'Aurelles declined,
however, to prepare a plan, on the ground that
he could not do so without knowing what General
Trochu meant to do. It was not till about the
23rd November that orders were at last given to
get ready to march, and to send forward a few
divisions to open the road.
The first movement of D'Aurelles, judged by
strategic principles, apart from its eventual failure,
cannot be said to have been the wisest or most
promising operation. He threw forward his right
wing by Ladon, Maizières, and Montargis, without
any similar advance of his centre and left; and on
November 28 he attacked with two corps, more
than 60,000 strong, the tenth Hanoverian corps
of General Voigts-Rhetz, which held the left of the
Prussian line, and lay in position between the
towns of Corbeille and Beaune-la-Rollande, across
the road to Fontainebleau and Melun. The attack
was begun on the outposts, early in the morning,
by the advanced guards of several French columns
which debouched from the wooded country in
front. Tbey showed in such force that the Prus¬
sian pickets were obliged to retire hastily on their
supports, which took up a position between Beaune
and the Montargis Railway, covered in front by
a small brook, and withdrew from Corbeille alto¬
gether. The French advanced rapidly, and soon
after eleven a.m. drew up in a parallel line, their
main columns being concealed in the hollows of the
undulating ground. Swarms of their skirmishers
opened a biting fire on the position of the Prus¬
sians, who replied as warmly, and obstinately held
Beaune. The French artillery advanced at a
gallop and crowned a high mound or hill which
almost overlooks the town; while several heavy
columns of infantry prepared to storm it under
their fire. The artillery actually came within 500
yards of Beaune and seemed to riddle it, as well
as the barricades at its entrance, with their shell
splinters. Bullets came thick in return from these
barricades and through the loopholed walls; but
General Voigts-Rhetz could only hold his own.
The French, who were in far superior numbers,
began to extend their left, and enveloping the
Prussian right, threatened to cut it off from
Pithiviers, whence Prince Frederick Charles was
bringing up supports in person. And sorely were
they needed. The French left gradually closed
round more and more. At one o'clock a mitrail¬
leuse battery was established on the very road to
Pithiviers. It opened on the rear of the hard-set
Prussians, while the shell and mitrailleuse batteries
on the hill referred to above tore their front; and
on three sides they were assailed by a continuous
fire of musketry from the infantry, which Hart-
mann's cavalry in vain tried to check by frequent
demonstrations on the flanks. The position was
most critical. It was only the courage and con¬
stancy of the men which rendered it tenable at
all. General Voigts-Rhetz, seemingly with a
presentiment of the desperate work the defence
would involve, had issued orders for the corps to
hold the village to the last man, and above all not
to be made prisoners, even if surrounded. The
corps was Hanoverian, and had never yet been
beaten, even during the war of 1866, in the course
of which, indeed, they had seen the backs of their
Prussian foes. General Wedel, who commanded
in Beaune, responded to the order of Voigts-Rhetz
by expressing his determination to hold the place
as long as he had a man left. The French General
Creuzot had been bombarding the place for several
hours, his troops throwing ball and shell into the
THE FRANCO PRUSSIAN WAR.
167
dwellings of their own countrymen, whose severe
sufferings caused them to fly into the surrounding
woods for shelter from the fire of their defenders.
The town was on fire, but through smoke and
flame the white jets of the musketry fire spurted
out continuously with the roar of the artillery and
the fitful grunts of the mitrailleuse. Meantime
a sustained action was going on between the two
other brigades of Voigts-Rhetz's corps and a French
force which exceeded them in number; but for this
the superiority of the Prussian artillery in open
ground compensated.
The tenth corps, unsupported, had now held
their position against overwhelming odds for nearly
six hours. They were entirely surrounded by
three French divisions, but refused to yield to a
summons to surrender; on which the French
suddenly pushed forward a great column to the
assault of Beaune-la-Rollande, down the road to
the main street. Men fell fast, but the column
went on till it reached the barricade, where it was
greeted with glistening bayonets, and soon melted
away beneath a rolling fire. Long lines of dead
and dying marked its path, thickest where the
crossing of the brook caused a momentary delay
and gave a steadier aim to their enemy. General
Voigts-Rhetz, however, was very dangerously
pressed, and his ammunition was expended almost
to the last cartridge, when he received the wel¬
come news that the " Red Prince " was close at
hand, who, with his troops, began to show in the
rear along the Pithiviers road. With steadiness
and coolness, as if on parade, the columns drew
up and formed in order of battle across the road,
while thirty guns dashing forward covered a ridge
north of Beaune, and opened fire on the French
left. The arrival of these troops turned the day.
Before they had formed up, the French began to
withdraw their left, and D'Aurelles' took up a
position in a line on the front of those troops who
were fighting beyond the brook. But rapidly and
skilfully as the French left retired, it could not
avoid the attack directed against it by Stiilpnagel,
who drove straight at the heights over Beaune,
and captured more than 1000 prisoners, who had
held the various farmhouses. Voigts-Rhetz, thus
relieved, at once assumed the offensive; but it was
now dark, and pursuit was not possible, except
in such charges as, by the light of the blazing
town, Hartmann's cavalry could make on detached
parties. The French artillery covered their retreat,
and they drew off unmolested ; but they left
behind them their dead and wounded, and lost in
all nearly 7000, including prisoners and missing;
while the Prussians estimated their loss at only
1000 in that desperate fight.
At the time it was thought that this attack
of the 28th was concerted with General Trochu
in Paris, and that it threw a clear light on the
object proposed by the latter in his sorties of the
29th, when Ducrot's attack on Villiers, postponed
to the 30th on account of the rising of the Marne,
was to have been made simultaneously with the
demonstrations against Choisy and other points of
the investing circle. It is now known, however,
that the attack of the 28th was made in compliance
with the urging of the Tours government, rather
than as the result of any arrangement between
D'Aurelles and Paris. A combined movement
was certainly proposed by General Trochu, but,
as we shall presently explain, it did not come to
the knowledge of the commander of the Loire
army until after the battle of Beaune la Rollande.
Trochu's plan was limited to effecting a lodgment
on the further side of the Marne, close to the
besiegers' lines, and holding it until the arrival of
a French army from the south, which he looked
for on the 1st of December. As will be shown in
the next chapter, he entirely performed his part of
the plan; and it is obvious that, had an attack
been made on the rear of the Wiirtemburgers by
the troops coming from Beaune, at the same time
that Ducrot assailed them in front, the Germans,
obliged to concentrate their forces for a great battle,
must have raised the investment. How nearly the
only half-arranged plan succeeded is clear from
the fact that, had the arrival of Prince Frederick
Charles been delayed only one hour, he would in
all likelihood have met the tenth corps in full
retreat, and the two victorious French corps might
then have marched to Paris by Fontainebleau.
D'Aurelles, who in this operation had committed
the grave strategical error of first striking at the
strongest part of his enemy's line, now fell
back towards his camp at Orleans, and remained
inactive for two days, a delay which his adversaries
turned to fatal account against him.
On the 13th November M. Gambetta had sent
a pigeon-telegram to General Trochu, informing
him of the victory of Coulmiers, and proposing
joint action between the Loire and Paris armies.
A balloon reply was received, agreeing to the
168
THE FRANCO PRUSSIAN WAR.
proposal, although Trochu himself had previously
contemplated a great sortie in the direction of
Rouen, and was rather disconcerted than other¬
wise at the success at Coulmiers. Another balloon
left Paris on the 24th November, carrying word
to D'Aurelles that a sortie on a large scale would
be made on the 29th, in the hope of breaking the
investing lines, and of effecting a junction with
the army of the Loire. Most unfortunately, how¬
ever, this balloon was carried into Norway, and it
was not till the 30th that its intelligence reached
Tours by telegraph. Such a definitive announce¬
ment from Paris was of course of the highest
importance, and M. de Freycinet, M. Gambetta's
delegate, was instantly sent up from Tours to
General D'Aurelles, with instructions to send the
whole army forward next morning towards Pithi-
viers, where the Red Prince's troops were supposed
to be massed by this time. A council of war
was called to meet M. de Freycinet, whose arrival
was announced by telegraph; and though a march
forward under such hasty circumstances was con¬
sidered to be dangerous, and was objected to by
the generals present, M. Gambetta's will prevailed.
It was decided to attempt to form a junction with
General Ducrot from Paris at Fontainebleau, and
the details of the operation were discussed and
settled. A large stock of food, representing eight
days' rations for 300,000 men, had been prepared,
and was to be sent after the army directly Pithi-
viers was taken.
These arrangements were made in the two
days which followed the engagement of the 28th
November. In the meantime, however, Prince
Frederick Charles, warned by the affair of Beaune-
la-Rollande, and having learnt, perhaps for the
first time, the real strength of the French, per¬
ceived at a glance the disadvantageous position
of the German forces, and issued orders for their
concentration upon a narrower front, taking care,
especially, to close the interval between Yon der
Tann and the grand-duke of Mecklenburg. Before
this could be effected, however, the sixteenth and
seventeenth French corps, under Chanzy and Son-
nis, on December 1st attacked the Bavarians at
Patay. Isolated as the Bavarians were, they were
unable to withstand the impetuosity of a force
nearly three times their Strength ; and for the
greater part of a short winter's day a gleam of
success warmed the hearts of the ill-fed and ill-
supplied legions of General Paladine. Von der
Tann's brigade was driven back with heavy loss;
but it was almost immediately supported by two
other brigades, and after a bloody fight the French
were, by night-time, repulsed, though not until
they had inflicted upon their adversaries losses
amounting to above 400 in killed and wounded,
of which the proportion of officers was unusually
great. Had they been able to follow up their
first advantage, and to push on somewhat further,
the communication would have been severed be¬
tween Yon der Tann and the duke of Mecklenburg.
On the same day, December 1, another balloon
reached Belle Isle, bringing news of the first day's
sortie from Paris, announcing a victory, and stating
that the battle would go on next day. Thereupon
General D'Aurelles issued a proclamation to his
men, saying, " Paris, by a sublime effort of courage
and patriotism, has broken the Prussian lines.
General Ducrot, at the head of his army, is march¬
ing toward us ; let us march towards him with a
vigour equal to that of the Paris army." Des¬
patches were sent to Generals Briand at Rouen,
and Faidherbe at Lille, begging them to support
the movement by a concentric march on Paris, so
as to occupy the Germans at all points. M. Gam-
betta telegraphed all over France that the hour
of success had come at last, and in the course of
a speech delivered at Tours the same day, said,
" Thanks to the efforts of the entire country, vic¬
tory returns to us, as if to make us forget the long
series of our misfortunes. It favours us from every
point. In effect, our army of the Loire has for
three weeks disconcerted all the plans of the Prus¬
sians, and repulsed all their attacks. Their tactics
have been powerless against the solidity of our
troops, who have now vigorously launched them¬
selves in advance. Our two great armies march
to meet each other. In their ranks each officer
and soldier knows that he holds in his hands the
fate of the country itself. That alone renders them
invincible. Who then would doubt henceforth the
final issue of this gigantic struggle ? The Prus¬
sians can appreciate to-day the difference between
a despot who fights to satisfy his personal ambition,
and an armed people which refuses to perish. It
will be the everlasting honour of the republic to
have given back to France the sentiment of herself,
and, having found her in the depths of abasement,
her armies betrayed, her soil occupied by the
stranger, to have brought back to her military
honour, the discipline of her armies, and victory.
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
169
The invader is now upon the route where he is
awaited by the fire of our population raised in his
rear. Behold, citizens, what can be done by a
great nation which wishes to preserve intact the
glory of its name, and to assert the triumph of
right and of justice in the world ! France and
the universe will never forget that Paris first of
all has given that example, has inculcated that
policy, and has thus established her moral supre¬
macy in remaining faithful to the heroic spirit of
the Revolution."
Alas, that such fair prospects should be doomed
to be so speedily extinguished ! In the night fol¬
lowing the battle of the 1st Yon der Tann and the
duke of Mecklenburg effected a junction with their
respective forces, and on the morrow a more difficult
task lay before the army of D'Aurelles. His troops,
however, nothing daunted, resumed their attack on
the 2nd, and a desperate conflict ensued, known
afterwards as the battle of Bazoche-des-Hautes,
which raged most fiercely round the chateau of
Goury, a position which the French would certainly
have captured but for the timely arrival of the
Hanseatic brigade. Shortly afterwards, Prince
Albrecht's cavalry also arrived, and the French
retired to the village of Poupry, where for a time
they made a gallant resistance. But though rein¬
forced, they were unable to resist the steady wave
of opposition which rolled upon them from nearly
every side. The most they could hope to do was
to retire as slowly as possible, and in this they
succeeded, fighting well, and showing far more
élan, the German officers said, than had been dis¬
played by any of the troops they had already con¬
quered. The village of Poupry was stormed soon
after the middle of the day, and resulted in the
capture of several coveted positions, sixteen guns,
and about 2000 prisoners. The cost to the Germans
was serious, but the result enabled them to inter¬
pose between the two French corps engaged (the
sixteenth and seventeenth) and Pallières' fifteenth
corps, which in consequence of the exposure of its
left flank fell back before the enemy to Chevilly.
Prince Frederick Charles by this time had the
whole German army nearly in hand, and resolved
in turn to deal a decisive blow at the enemy now
extended before him. Directing one of his corps
to Beaumont, he restrained and paralyzed the whole
French right wing, and struck rapidly at the com¬
paratively scattered left and centre with the rest
of his forces. On the 3rd he directed his ninth
VOL. II.
corps against Pallières' (fifteenth French corps) at
Chevilly, and his third from Pithiviers, against
Creuzot's twentieth corps at Chilleurs-aux-bois (due
east from Artenay on the road from Orleans to
Pithiviers). His tenth corps was advanced from
Beaumont so as to interpose between the French
eighteenth corps at Ladon and the twentieth at
Chilleurs.
The engagements of December 3 were not of
the sanguinary character of those of the two pre¬
ceding days. The vast plain between Artenay
and Orleans affords ample scope for the manœuvres
of immense masses of troops, and as there could
not have been fewer than 150,000 men visible at
one time in battle array, the spectacle was unriv¬
alled. Here large bodies of cavalry scoured the
plain ; there artillery dashed to the front, and
opened suddenly on the enemy, as any fresh points
were exposed in his retreat ; while dense masses
of troops steadily advanced to the attack of
new positions. The main point of assault was
Chevilly. The troops looked well in spite of the
searching severity of the weather, and of their
having, for the most part, bivouacked unprotected
under wintry skies and on the cold ground. The
landscape, of broken woodland, somewhat resem¬
bling the neighbourhood of Strathfieldsaye, was
slightly covered with snow. Forage was difficult
to get, for the country, thrice fought over in six
weeks, had been eaten bare. But Prince Frederick
Charles' commissariat had done its duty, and the
men went into action with the full stomach that
so remarkably ministers to courage. The snow
was not deep enough as yet to muffle their tread,
and the roads, hard as iron, gave out a ringing
sound under every galloping hoof. Once in the
day the French made a desperate attempt to turn
the grand-duke's right flank, but the Bavarians
gallantly baffled it, and got round south as far as
Giday. For the most part, however, the tactics
of the French were defensive ; and assisted by the
heavy batteries of position so well served by the
marines, they made the work of the assailants
arduous and costly. At one time a dexterous and
bold charge was made by a regiment of hussars,
who crept round a French battery, rapidly charged
it from the rear, and simply escorted it off with
every horse, gun, man, sponge, and stick belonging
to it; a few hours afterwards the Germans had all,
beautifully complete, exposed to view just behind
the Great Louis' statue in front of the château
Y
170
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
near Orleans. Night, however, which came so
early at that season of the year, and which might
well fall upon drawn battles, saw the French line
abandoned. Five villages blazing in unison, the
fair result of deadly and mutual fire, shed a lovely,
if lurid, light over the snowy prospect; and by
their assistant flames the victors read in deserted
entrenchments and surrendered guns the measures
of that day's success.
The troops bivouacked on the ground won, and
the scene was as full of picturesque interest as that
of the day. The night of the 3rd found at least
50,000 men of the German army sleeping " unter
freiem Himmel." Huge fires of unthrashed wheat
straw added their quota of blaze to the burning
villages, and the heavens were aglow with ruddy
lights. Around these fires were grouped crowds
of soldiers unable to do more than take brief naps
on account of the cold, and constantly making
short pilgrimages between the straw in which they
tried to bury themselves when asleep, and that
straw at which they warmed themselves when
awake. It was melancholy to see the amount of
food thus necessarily burnt. In the two miserable
farmhouses which compose Beaugency, were quar¬
tered the grand-duke of Mecklenburg and his train,
including more than one other royal personage,
all of whom had to content themselves with straw
to lie upon and short rations ; for the column
which contained the army provisions had not
arrived, and the men had to put up with such as
might happen to be in their pockets. But the
morrow—after a darkness not too long for rest or
respite—brought them face to face with another
iron line. Chevilly had been won; but behind it
stood Cercottes, and behind Cercottes were the
lunettes and batteries of Montjoie If ever a
hard day's work was set for an army flushed, yet
fatigued, with victory, it would seem to be the work
of that unsabbath-like Sabbath. Would Orleans be
reached before the frosty stars once more glittered
upon their weakened ranks ? There were eighteen
marine pieces in position at Cercottes, six to the
right and twelve to the left; another twelve stood
ready to defend Montjoie ; whilst the intersection
of four railways immediately north of Orleans itself
was known to have been turned to very important
account. Yet with all the excellence of their
position and its adjuncts, the French fought but ill.
Their guns were admirably served, but there was
no heart in the infantry ; and when an entire battery
was triumphantly carried by a battalion of jagers
at the point of the bayonet, there were no serried
lines ambitious to retake it. The troops, once
finding themselves hurrying to the rear, though
they did not actually run away, were not suffi¬
ciently disciplined to obey their commanders
blindly; and, like a horse who has taken the bit
between his teeth, moved steadily backwards,
fighting as they went, but refusing to wait any¬
where long enough permanently to arrest the
advance of the enemy. The latter, finding them
in this mood, and feeling sure of their object, did
not press them unduly, and hence, perhaps, the
comparatively small loss on their part, and the
order with which the retreat was conducted. It
seemed almost as though it had been arranged that
the one party should recede, and the other advance,
at a given pace. There is no doubt that the Ger¬
mans saved a great many lives by this policy; but
it is not the less certain that, had they pressed the
enemy as severely as they might have done, the
enormous stores and materials of all sorts collected
in Orleans for Paris would have fallen into their
hands. These the French succeeded afterwards in
carrying away in safety. Before twelve o'clock
on the 4th Cercottes had been carried, and late in
the afternoon, Montjoie ceased to resist. At five
o'clock darkness descended upon victors and van¬
quished; the latter still keeping up a sullen fire as
they retreated. The darkness, however, was not
for long. At seven the moon rose, not quite full,
but clear, and brightening the frosty air ; and with
it came the cry of " Forward."
The fifteenth French corps had fallen back,
routed, on Orleans; the twentieth, prevented from
gaining that city by the turning of its left, retreated
across the Loire at Jargeau towards Yierzon. The
eighteenth, thus isolated, retired to Sully on the
Loire (about midway between Jargeau and Gien),
and thence by Gien towards Bourges. These two
corps then pursued their retreat separately, and
were ultimately united at Bourges, with the fif¬
teenth corps comftig direct from Orleans, under
Bourbaki. On the other flank, the sixteenth and
seventeenth French corps, forming the right wing,
had been cut off from all communication with the
centre; and thus the fifteenth corps under Pallières
was alone available for the defence of Orleans, which
was supposed to be intrenched. In reality, a few
earthen batteries had been thrown up, but uncon¬
nected with each other; while nothing effectual had
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WlLLIAM MACKE.Z.E, M»,, ^ ^
îoigra-ved. "bj- Robert "Waïfcer.
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
171
been done towards clearing their line of fire in
front, or for connecting them with each other, so
that the position could be got through at almost any
point by the enemy's skirmishers. With the large
amount of labour available after the reoccupation
of Orleans, there was apparently ample time to
have constructed a really strong intrenched posi¬
tion, behind which D'Aurelles might have made
an effective stand with the whole French army.
As it was, these imperfect works were quite in¬
sufficient to reassure the young levies under his
command, demoralized by defeat and hardship. If
ever a lesson was to be learnt of the importance
of the spade in war, it was here.
General D'Aurelles having sent word to Tours
that he considered it impossible to defend Or¬
leans successfully, Gambetta instantly replied by
telegraph: "Your despatch of to-night causes the
most painful stupefaction. I can see nothing in
the facts it communicates to justify the desperate
resolution with which it concludes. Thus far
you have managed badly, and have got yourself
beaten in detail ; but you still have 200,000 men
in a state to fight, provided their leaders set them
the example of courage and patriotism. The
evacuation you propose would be, irrespective of
its military consequences, an immense disaster.
It is not at the very moment when the heroic
Ducrot is fighting his way to us that we can
withdraw from him ; the moment for such an
extremity is not yet come. I see nothing to
change for the present in the instructions which I
sent you last evening. Operate a general move¬
ment of concentration, as I have ordered." The
greater part of D'Aurelles' army had by this time
been beaten and scattered ; and to Gambetta's
telegram he replied at eight on the morning of
the 4th: "I am on the spot, and am more able
than you are to judge the situation. It gives me
as much grief as you to adopt this extreme resolu¬
tion. Orleans is surrounded, and can no longer
be defended by troops exhausted by three days of
fatigue and battle, and demoralized by the heavy
losses they have sustained. The enemy's forces
exceed all my expectations, and all the estimates
which you have given me. The city will fall into
the enemy's hands to-night or to-morrow. That
will be a great misfortune; but the only way to
avoid a still greater catastrophe, is to have the
courage to make a sacrifice while it is yet time. I
therefore maintain the orders which I have given."
This brought back, two hours later, another angry
protest from Tours, leaving, however, to General
d'Aurelles the power to retreat on his own respon¬
sibility. This despatch left Tours at 11 a.m. on
the 4th, and at noon D'Aurelles wrote from Or¬
leans as follows:—"I change my plans. I send to
Orleans the sixteenth and seventeenth corps. I
have summoned the eighteenth and twentieth corps.
I am organizing the defence. I am at Orleans, at
my post."
The Prussians, however, arrived near the city
before either of these corps could be brought up,
and from three p.m. till after dark the fifteenth
corps sustained a severe onset, which resulted in
their retreat on the town. M. Gambetta came up
by special train from Tours in the afternoon, with
the idea that his presence might produce some
effect; but on getting within about ten miles
of 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, and he escaped almost
by a miracle. Severely shaken though he was
by the shock of the collision, the minister got
back on foot to Beaugency, where he took a
carriage to Bcouis, in the hope of there getting
some news from Orleans, but he could find none.
He then made his way to Blois, where at nine
in the evening he received, through Tours, from
D'Aurelles the disheartening despatch:—" I had
hoped up to the last moment not to evacuate
Orleans; but all my efforts were useless. I shall
evacuate to-night."
The general belief in the efficient state of the
army of the Loire, the news about Ducrot, the
success on the 1st of December, followed by the
decoration of Chanzy with the grand cross of the
Legion of Honour, and certain intimations of the
archbishop while conducting a special divine ser¬
vice,had not prepared the people of'Orleans to expect
the reverse which had already occurred. But the
vague rumours which began to circulate on the
3rd, and which were considerably strengthened
by the arrival of fractions of the defeated regular
regiments, had begun to excite fears among the
inhabitants that they might once more fall into
the hands of the Germans. Many wealthy families,
therefore, who, since the reoccupation of Orleans
by the French, had returned to their homes, again
began to prepare for leaving. Saturday night (the
3rd) saw the beginning of the flow of emigration,
172
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
which was then ascribed mainly to timidity and
exaggerated fears. Circumstances which occurred
on the 4th, however, justified these apprehensions.
A fearful noise of military carriages and waggons
driving towards the bridge of the Loire had been
heard through the whole night; all the stores of
provisions intended to be carried into Paris as soon
as an opportunity should occur, were sent to the
southern bank of the river ; and this, coupled with
the further fact that in the morning, about seven
o'clock, some ammunition carriages were observed
taking the same direction, and blocking up the
street by attempting to go three abreast—clearly
indicative, not of precautionary measures, but of
an intention to retreat—placed the unpleasant
truth beyond further doubt.
In the afternoon and evening of the 4th the panic
spread to the troops, who in retreating resembled
more a flying mob than retiring columns. Men,
horses, and waggons were jammed in the struggles
to cross the bridge, as if the enemy had been at
their heels. At a later hour quiet was restored, as
it was generally supposed that the Germans would
not enter the town until the following morning.
The hotels were full of French officers carousing,
as usual, and who were captured in great numbers,
most of them in their beds. The reason of the mid¬
night evacuation of the town was the sudden
arrival of the duke of Mecklenburg's army, about
nine o'clock, from the direction of Chartres, of
the Bavarians by a road a little further to the
west, while the third army corps was arriving
from the east. Finding himself thus encompassed
on all sides, General Pallières proposed to the
grand-duke that his troops should be allowed
three hours' grace to get across the bridge;
threatening at the same time to blow it up and
continue the defence of the town, should the
proposal be rejected. As the Loire was then full
of ice, and it would have been the work of some
days to throw across a pontoon bridge, the grand-
duke consented; thus probably saving much blood¬
shed. The retreat was then hurriedly effected,
and when, at midnight, the Bavarians once more
poured into the city, only a few isolated detach¬
ments remained to swell their already long roll
of prisoners. The fifteenth corps, after crossing the
river at Orleans, retreated on Yierzon.
The army of the Loire was thus broken to
pieces, with a loss, including prisoners, of more
than 15,000 men. All the heavy naval guns in
the entrenched camp around the city fell into the
hands of the enemy, with four gun boats, which
had also been designed to assist in the defence.
The attempt to relieve Paris had resulted in com¬
plete failure; but that the retreat was conducted
with more than usual order, with the exception
of the panic in getting away from Orleans, is
proved by the fact that the loss of field artillery
was comparatively small: eighty guns only were
claimed, about forty-five of which were those
of the entrenched camp. The French, during
four days, disputed every available point, and
retired as slowly as was practicable, consistently
with their knowledge that two German corps
d'armée were marching rapidly from opposite
directions to get at their rear. " Talent in a
general," said Napoleon, "is nothing without vigour
and strength of character; and few men are able
to direct an army 150,000 strong"—a remark
which forms a fitting commentary on the conduct
of D'Aurelles during these days. He had arranged
his troops with much ability, but he failed in
moving them so as to improve the advantage
which his great superiority in numbers gave him.
In his advance on Beaune-la-Rollande he had struck
at his enemy at the strongest side, entirely neglect¬
ing that which was weak—the uncovered gap
between Chartres and Toury ; and though he
was in the proportion of two to one, he had
struck feebly and partially. He might have attacked
with at least 20,000 more men, in which case he
would probably have won, ill-planned as we may
think his scheme to have been. If so, it would
have been difficult to have intercepted him on the
way to Paris, and what might the result have
been if, in place of assailing Prince Frederick
Charles, he had pushed in between Von der Tann
and the grand-duke of Mecklenburg with a force
which, on the 28th and 29th, the Germans certainly
could not have withstood ; or had he even thrown his
whole line forward instead of advancing a single
army? In truth, his movements on the 28th
were vacillating, tentative, doubtful, and weak;
and they not only led to defeat, but enabled his
antagonists to form their plans. His hesitation, too,
on the 1st of December, on which day his principal
attack was not made till past noon, allowed Prince
Frederick Charles to collect his comparatively
small and ill-united army within menacing dis¬
tance of the French, who were superior in numbers
and better concentrated ; and the feeble efforts
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
173
he then made, and the remissness with which
he saw his enemy close upon his centre and
crush it, between his disseminated wings, are
proofs of incompetence for high command. Con¬
trast with this his enemy's movements. The
German army was dangerously divided at first ;
and the single corps of Prince Frederick Charles
was seriously threatened on the 28th of November.
But the peril once seen, with what clear insight
he averted it, and plucked from it safety! How
skilfully he took advantage of the slackness of
his toe, and held one of the French wings in
check with a force probably not a third its num¬
bers, while he collected the mass which he
rightly calculated would suffice to overwhelm
D'Aurelles' centre, and render his own army
irresistible at the decisive point ! The more these
operations of the combatants are studied, the more
it will appear that the French were defeated rather
by superior strategy than because of the bad quality
of their troops. Events, indeed, were quickly to
show how a fragment of the army of the Loire,
under another commander, could contend with
honour against a victorious enemy; but this we
leave for the more detailed narrative of December
events.
In the eastern departments the German army
under General Werder, after investing Schlestadt,
Neu Breisach, and Belfort, and clearing the
southern Vosges, advanced to within ten miles
of Besançon, a fortress of the first-class and the
headquarters of the so-called French army of the
east. Here detachments of troops were found in
outpost on all the roads leading to the Ognon;
behind which river they drew into position,
apparently determined to dispute the passages
which the Germans broke into several columns
to make. The principal fighting was on October
22, at Cussey, where the stone bridge, though
neither destroyed nor barricaded, was defended by
a sharp fire from the village beyond, which the
French occupied in force. General Degenfeld, the
German commander, after letting his guns play
for some time on the houses, suddenly ordered
the leading battalion, formed in column, to storm
at a double ; and the order was so well carried out
that the Prussians, crossing the bridge at a rush,
carried the village beyond with the bayonet,
taking more than 200 of the defenders pris¬
oners, and driving the rest into a wood—a feat
on the achievement of which General Werder,
who witnessed it, personally congratulated the
troops. The brigade, having lost only twenty-
seven men in the assault, now ascended the hill
beyond, which divides the valley of the Ognon
from that of the Doubs, in which Besançon lies.
The other columns crossed the Ognon at various
passages, and closed in. They soon found the
French posted in a strong position, flanked by
heavy field guns, from which, however, the reserve
artillery of the Germans, which Werder ordered to
be brought into action, dislodged them without
further fighting. The cavalry followed up the
retreat, but were soon repulsed by the fire from
skirmishers in woods on the flank; and on a sup¬
port of infantry being sent to dislodge these, it was
found that they had fallen back finally on a line
of earthworks, constructed with some pains to
cover the approaches to Besançon on this side. The
flanking columns had lost about sixty killed and
wounded. General Werder estimated the French
now concentrated before him at about 12,000 strong ;
but he had no intention of attacking them further,
having already accomplished his object, which was
to clear his way thoroughly before turning west¬
ward to make the flank march on Dijon. On the
24th he began to file off by his right towards Gray,
a change of direction which he effected without
being disturbed. On the 27th two petty actions
were fought during the advance beyond this place,
where the columns, meeting separately, found the
roads barricaded and preparations made for resist¬
ance. In each of these affairs the French stood
just long enough to enable the column they
encountered to turn one flank and take a number
of prisoners, among them several armed peasants,
who were tried next day by a court-martial and
shot, in accordance with the severe policy which
the German authorities had adopted with regard
to persons of this class. On the 28th Gray was
left by the headquarters, and in the evening ad¬
vanced posts were in sight of Dijon: they had
come up so rapidly as to capture the French mail
on its way into the town.
The comparative inaction of the Germans, for
the week or ten days prior to these events, had led
to the belief amongst the French that the presence
of Garibaldi and their army of the east had so
scared General Werder as to deter him from any
further advance in that quarter. Reports, indeed,
ascribed several victories to the Garibaldians, who
were popularly supposed to have captured many
174
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
guns from the conqueror of Strassburg. His ap¬
pearance, therefore, before Dijon was unexpected
and startling. The town was at first abandoned ;
but under a new leader the troops returned on
October 29, and going forth beyond the out¬
skirts, stoutly contested the advance of the enemy
on the 30th, from nine in the morning till half-
past four in the afternoon. The grenadiers of the
Baden guard then stormed the suburbs, an opera¬
tion which cost them 200 men in killed and
wounded. At the same time five German bat¬
talions, with six batteries of artillery, captured the
heights commanding the town, and opened a fierce
bombardment, which set fire to it in several places.
The commandant, finding that further resistance
would only lead to its entire destruction, retired,
and at night a capitulation was agreed to, which
took effect next morning.
The convention between General Werder and
the municipality stipulated that Dijon should pay
500,000 francs as " caution " money, to be after¬
wards returned if the relations between the victors
and the inhabitants remained satisfactory ; the
German troops, in the meantime, to be boarded and
lodged, and all necessaries for the army provided.
The German commander engaged on his part not
to make any requisitions, except by arrangement
between the commissariat and the municipality,
and to respect private property. At the Hôtel de
Ville the national guard deposited their arms,
which remained the property of the town, but
were not to be touched without General Werder's
permission. The public services, posts, telegraphs,
&c., were to go on as usual, and justice was to be
administered in the name of the French republic.
The occupying force was 20,000 strong, with
sixty guns.
The doings of Garibaldi in this part of France
brought little glory to himself and less benefit to
the cause he had espoused. His exploits con¬
sisted to a great extent in exhibiting his antipathy
to religious sects in general, and to Roman Catholics
in particular. To make room for his followers, the
students of the Autun seminaries were, in very
severe weather, turned out at short notice, which
resulted in sickness to many of them, and death to
several. The Jesuit fathers of Dole, who had for
more than a month been gratuitously lodging 800
mobiles, were not only expelled from their homes,
but compelled to leave the town within twenty-four
hours. Churches were turned into barracks, and
the glory of Autun, its fine old cathedral, was
occupied by franc-tireurs, who sat on its altar,
smoking their pipes, and drenching its costly dra¬
pery with ink as they scrawled their letters on its
sacred table. Clergy were arrested, functionaries
of the republic were removed, domiciliary requisi¬
tions of a very arbitrary character made, and whole
populations subjected to the tyranny of a court
martial, without any corresponding protection
being extended to them against the common
enemy. Frenchmen presently asked what need
the Government of Defence had of Garibaldi to
sequestrate and expel priests and scholars, when
they could have done this work as well themselves.
It was clear that he had not come to fight for
France so much as for the " Universal Republic."
He issued a proclamation which might serve as an
appeal to the nations to establish republics every¬
where, but containing scarcely an allusion to the
German enemy.
Disgust and indignation were becoming general,
when Garibaldi's unpopularity was for a time
relieved by one of his sons, Ricciotti, achieving
the first and, it may be remarked, the only victory
over very superior numbers of Germans that oc¬
curred during the war. On the 17 th November
he was at Saulieu, and while there received in¬
formation that 800 Prussians were quartered at
Châtillon, about eighty kilomètres N.W. of Dijon,
on the road to Troyes. They were, in fact, a
marching battalion of the army of Prince Frederick
Charles, on their way from Metz to the south of
Paris. Ricciotti had with him only 560 men,
variously composed, but he immediately ordered a
forced march towards Châtillon. At 5.30 a.m., on
the 19th, he arrived within a few hundred yards
of the town, and divided his troops into two corps,
one of which was sent to make an attack on the
western side, on the road to Tonnere, the other on
the southern side. Eighty men were then despatched
to surround the Hôtel de la Côte d'Or, where Colonel
Ricciotti knew the staff officers were lodged. The
enemy's foreposts and the sentinels were first of
all surprised. A little before six o'clock in the
morning the colonel entered the town at the head
of his troops, and fighting then commenced, the
war-cry being "Garibaldi! Garibaldi!" The
drummers and buglemen having been about the first
to fall, almost all the German soldiers were in bed,
so that a large number were made prisoners in the
houses, the doors of which were forced open. The
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
175
remainder rushed out, only half dressed, with such
arms as they could lay their hands on, and were
shot down as they appeared in the street. Mean¬
while, the franc-tireur detachment had surrounded
the Hôtel de la Côte d'Or, and surprised the officers
in bed, of whom the greater portion were made
prisoners, but several desperately defended them¬
selves and were killed. Shortly after Ricciotti and
his men entered Châtillon, couriers on horseback
were despatched by the Prussians in the direction
of Chaumont and Laignes.
After thirty minutes' fighting a considerable num¬
ber of the Germans retreated, escaping along the
high road towards Chaumont. The remainder, who
had recovered from their surprise, concentrated
themselves in the town-hall, which Ricciotti de¬
cided on not attacking, as it was a tolerably strong
position. Of the 560 men who marched with him
from Saulieu, 150 had been sent out to reconnoitre,
so that in reality he made the attack with only 410,
while his enemy numbered 800.
After holding the town for precisely one hour
and a quarter, news came that the German troops,
already signalled on the road from Chaumont to Châ¬
tillon, were only five and a half kilometres distant.
Ricciotti therefore ordered a retreat, which was
well conducted ; the franc-tireurs carrying along
with them 167 prisoners, among whom were eleven
officers. Sixty-two horses, four carriages, saddles
and harness, arms, such as sabres, revolvers, and
needle-gun rifles, a quantity of ammunition, several
cases of German cigars, and boxes of papers and
letters belonging to the staff, also fell to the victors.
The Germans who escaped continued their re¬
treat for two hours, when they fell in with a
detachment of 500 sent to reinforce them. Im¬
mediately facing about they ran back to Châtillon,
which they had the satisfaction of reoccupying,
with drums beating and colours flying. But
they missed the opportunity of revenge; the
franc-tireurs had disappeared. On the second
day after the engagement the Germans once more
retreated northward, on receiving intelligence
that Garibaldi, with 10,000 men, was advancing
in their direction. After half a day's march they
met a strong body of their countrymen under
General Kraatz, despatched on the first news of
their reverse. On the evening of the 21st the
whole force reoccupied Châtillon for the second
time. The place was let off with a fine, in conse¬
quence of some of the inhabitants having concealed
German soldiers from their assailants, by which
they prevented the place from being made another
Ablis, as many of the citizens assisted in the sur¬
prise. As a piece of partizan warfare, nothing
could have been more admirable than this exploit.
It was the very kind of service which France
required at the hands of her franc-tireurs, and
which, had Garibaldi been as intent upon serving
her as he was on preaching republicanism, might
have been often repeated upon the thin riband
line of German communications, seriously imped¬
ing the progress of the invader.
The " 10,000" men under Garibaldi senior were
indeed moving, though not exactly upon Châtillon.
Their object was the relief of Dijon; but such an
enterprise with 10,000 mobiles (even supposing
the number really so large as this), against the
20,000 seasoned troops of Yon Werder, now gar¬
risoning the town, would almost seem to show that
the general's head was for the first time completely
turned by the success of his son. The ill-advised
expedition resulted in a ridiculous failure, which
only served to dispel the prestige gained by
Ricciotti's exploit.
It was on the 26th November that Garibaldi
arrived near Dijon, having met with little opposi¬
tion on the way from Autun. The scattered
parties of Germans about the country retired
on the approach of his forces—a fact which
they regarded as a sure presage of the victory
which awaited them. It was raining heavily,
and a carriage was procured for Garibaldi, who,
accompanied by his son-in-law Colonel Canzia,
and surrounded by the officers of his staff, then
placed himself at the head of the column. By
this time it was very dark, but not far ahead was
seen the light which rose from Dijon. The ad¬
vanced guard had been sent on about five minutes,
when suddenly the reports of needle-guns were
heard. The order was given to the troops, " Do
not fire ; use your bayonets, and we shall sleep
at Dijon to-night." The discharge of the needle-
guns was followed by repeated showers of Chassepot
bullets, which, being aimed high, did little damage,
but so frightened the mobile guard, that without
orders some threw themselves flat on the ground,
others leapt into the ditches on either side of the
road. A deadly silence ensued, which was only
broken by a few musketry shots far ahead. In
throwing themselves on the ground the mobiles
had wounded each other with their bayonets.
176
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
This naturally produced considerable confusion in
the ranks, which was not lessened by their clumsily
repeating the infliction in rising. Some were
wounded in the feet, others in the legs, others in
the hands and arms, and others in the back. Once
up, however, they brought their rifles to their
shoulders and fired, although they had been ex¬
pressly ordered to use their bayonets only. A
large portion of the French troops, who were some
distance ahead, of course received the volley, which
caused amongst them indescribable confusion. The
Italians and franc-tireurs, who up to the present
had sustained the German fire with coolness,
imagined that they were attacked by the enemy
in the rear. Many thought that they were cut
off from the other portion of the army, and did
their best to reach it. The mobiles, seeing men
coming towards them, turned and fled, and neither
persuasion nor menace availed to bring them back.
The retreat now became general, and Garibaldi
and his staff were left almost alone, surrounded
only by the seventh chasseurs d'Afrique and the
Italians. Had 500 horsemen been sent at this
moment in pursuit, half of the army would have
been either made prisoners or cut to pieces. For¬
tunately for the Garibaldians, the Germans appeared
contented with having driven them back, and did
not seem to be aware of the advantage they had
gained.
Save those under the immediate orders of Gari¬
baldi and his sons, there were no large bands of
franc-tireurs in the Yosges and eastern districts
generally. This was principally owing to the
unfavourable light in which the general was
regarded, and was the more to be regretted by
the French, as no other part of the country offered
such opportunities for the tactics of well-organized
free-shooters. The French generals of the regular
army would neither serve under him nor give
him any assistance, and they derided the orders of
the government at Tours when it tried to compel
them to do so. General Cambriels was superseded
chiefly because he entirely ignored him, and would
not even take the trouble to read his reports and
orders. General Michel, Cambriels' successor, was
at bottom of the same disposition, though he
cloaked it with outward civility. Garibaldi, it
was remembered, had fought against the French
army in 1849 and 1868, and had so habitually
abused them that sympathy with him from their
superior officers was hardly to be expected. He
had also a very dangerous enemy in the entire
Catholic priesthood, whose influence with the
people was unlimited. The French peasant,
especially in the Yosges and in the Jura, can
seldom read, and in all political matters follows
blindly the leading of his priest. The village
priests, with few exceptions, bitterly disliked Gari¬
baldi as the pope's most dangerous enemy. Some,
indeed, confessed that as Frenchmen they hated all
Prussians intensely ; but as good Catholics they
hated Garibaldi still more, and refused absolution
to any of their flock who dared to assist or serve
under him. Thus the largest following which ever
assembled under his command in the Yosges was
about 8000 badly-armed and undisciplined men;
3000 of whom were Italians, 1^500 Hungarians,
Poles, Americans, &c., and scarcely 3000 French¬
men. These last were chiefly youths from Lyons
and other large towns, enthusiastic but undisci¬
plined, and all expecting to be speedily made
officers. They had only twelve guns and 300
cavalry, and the whole corps must have been
scattered to the winds on the first encounter with
a well-commanded Prussian division.
The various fortresses which were either regu¬
larly besieged or invested in this portion of France,
became an easier prey to the enemy in consequence
of the withdrawal in November of General Michel
and his army of the east, to form part of the left
wing of the great army of the Loire under
D'Aurelles de Paladine, designed to advance on the
besiegers of Paris. Early in October commenced
the siege of Neu Breisach, a place constructed on
the plan which Yauban almost uniformly followed
in erecting his small fortresses. It is in the form
of a regular octagon, the enceinte of which is
pieroed with four gates ; it has also barracks and
a tolerably spacious arsenal. Louis XIV., having
been obliged to cede Alt Breisach to Austria by
the treaty of Ryswick, built the new fortress two
years afterwards on the left bank of the Rhine.
Fort Mortier, an outwork at a distance of about a
mile, was subjected to a severe bombardment, and
captured after a gallant defence on November 9.
For eleven days succeeding, Neu Breisach itself
was fiercely and continuously bombarded. The
engineer officer in command, Captain Marsal, was
killed by a shell on the 19th, and his death had a
very discouraging effect on the garrison. Most of
the guns having been rendered totally useless, it was
seen that further resistance would only occasion
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
177
unnecessary bloodshed. A. council of war was
therefore held, which assented to a proposition foi-
capitulation. The garrison, numbering 5000 men,
were conveyed as prisoners of war to Rastadt.
This made the twelfth French fortress captured by
the Germans, and there were at the same time six
others in a state of siege or investment.
Brittany and most of the western departments
had as yet escaped the raids of enterprising
uhlans. It was rumoured that 60,000 Prussians
had been told off after the siege of Metz to over¬
run the west, but the Bretons themselves were
little alarmed. The natural defences of the pro¬
vince are stronger than in any part of France.
The mountains, rivers, and bridges are very
numerous ; and all the land under cultivation is
divided into small fields of from four to eight
acres, each surrounded by a bank seven or eight
feet high, and six feet thick. No detachment of
the enemy could have marched through a region
so protected without serious risk. Here, as in
some other parts of the country, the call to arms
was responded to with an alacrity and self-sacrifice
unprecedented. The greater number of the garde
mobile were already before the enemy ; and the
remainder, who were ready to start at an hour's
notice, might be seen drilling every morning with
the garde sédentaire, from seven o'clock till nine.
The calling out of the latter class would appear
to have been a great mistake ; for there was not
the least probability of their services ever being
required. Many of the Breton peasants, also,
complained bitterly of the decree which called out
all men up to forty years of age. It was found to
be particularly oppressive at a time when they
were employed on their farms in sowing corn for
the next year's consumption ; and as the days at
that season are short, three hours taken from them
daily to military exercises, seriously diminished the
time required for agricultural pursuits. The people
justly argued that this and a few other favoured
departments, not likely to be laid waste by the
victorious armies of King William, would be the
only ones that could grow corn for the next year's
consumption, and that their time would therefore
be better employed in raising bread for the sur¬
vivors of their country, than in going to drill for
the amusement of M. Gambetta.
In the more southern departments nothing of
importance occurred beyond the desperate attempts
of bands of socialists to establish in Marseilles and
VOL. II.
Lyons those communal institutions, which sub¬
sequently at Paris brought additional disaster and
confusion upon the country, after the Franco-
German war terminated.
The delegate government at Tours was not so
profuse in its issue of decrees, during November,
as in the previous month. Among the most
important was one to the effect, that the depart¬
ments situated in the valley of the Rhone, between
Lyons and the sea, should, from their geographical
position, have a common plan of defence. To
organize such a plan a superior committee was
appointed, composed of the general commanding
the eighth military division, the director of for¬
tifications and engineers at Lyons, Marseilles,
Grenoble, and Nimes, two civilian managers of
ironworks, two engineers of mines and bridges,
and an inspector of telegraphs. They had power,
in concert with the departmental committees of
defence, to execute works, to find artillery, and to
transport and place in position heavy guns. The
fortified posts were to be united by a special line
of telegraph wire.
An extremely unpopular decree, already incid¬
entally alluded to, was issued early in November,
that married men and widowers were no longer to
be exempt from military service during the war.
In many parts the decree was resented by the
peasantry, who openly refused to obey it, saying
that they would rather be shot for disobedience
near home, than killed by the enemy at a distance.
The decree was ill-advised, as France had already
far more volunteers than she could find arms for,
and it was certainly against her established law
and custom that a married man or widower with
children dependent on him should be forced to
take service. The measure was one proof among
others of M. Gambetta's determination to war to
the death, and to provide that the defence should
increase in strength and obstinacy with the onward
march of the Prussians. The intense ill feeling,
however, provoked throughout the country by this
unpopular decree, led, shortly after, to its recall.
An order was also issued to the various depart¬
ments to provide a battery of artillery for every
100,000 of their population, with 200 projectiles
for every cannon. Had M. Gambetta's various
decrees been carried out, France, by the end of
December, would have been in possession of 2000
field pieces and 3,000,000 soldiers, irrespective of
the army of the Loire.
z
178
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
Another decree, on the 26th November, ordered
the immediate formation of camps for instructing
and concentrating mobilized national guards called
out by the decree of the 2nd. Mobile guards, free
corps, and contingents of the regular army, were
also to be admitted into these camps, which were
to be formed at St. Omer, Cherbourg, Conlie,
Nevers, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Clermont-Fer¬
rand, Toulouse, Pas des Lanciers, Bouches du
Rhone, and Lyons. Those at St. Omer, Cher¬
bourg, La Rochelle, and Pas des Lanciers, were
specially intended for strategical purposes, and
were to be put in a fit state to receive 250,000
men. The others were to be capable of containing
60,000 men, and to be only camps of instruction.
The artillery demanded of the provinces was to be
delivered at these camps.
The happy liberty insured by a republic was
exemplified by the somewhat peremptory manner
in which M. Gambetta's prefects carried out his
instructions. He had ordered that the Bulletin of
the Republic should be read at certain times to
" educate " the people in republican principles.
Some of the newly-appointed prefects, enthusiastic
disciples of the creed, went the length of attaching
to disobedience of the order all sorts of pains and
penalties. One of them, the prefect of Vienne,
fearing probably that the immoral stories in which
the Bulletin abounds might be slurred over, issued
instructions that the schoolmasters should read in
a loud and solemn voice, that they should enter
into explanations, and that those who showed any
lack of zeal in this service should be dismissed
from their offices. In many of the districts the
prefects forbade all religious instruction whatever,
and some teachers, male and female, resigned their
posts rather than submit to such a prohibition.
Early in the month many of the clergy patrioti¬
cally united in offering the bells of their churches
to be cast into cannon, an offer which M. Gam-
betta, on behalf of the government, accepted.
Some of the newspapers remarked at the time, that
the next step would be to seize those which had
not been offered, and in one or two places this
anticipation was actually realized. The prefect of
Perpignan asked the various parishes in his district
for a return of the size and weight of their bells,
which he stated, however, would be taken only
as required. The country people, however, very
strongly objected to part with them ; nor was
there the slightest occasion why they should.
During the war of the old republic, when France
was blockaded by sea, and had no means of obtain¬
ing copper, it was absolutely necessary to seize the
church bells. But she could now get, without
difficulty, as much of it from abroad as she pleased.
Besides, she had in one arsenal alone 2,000,000
kilos, of it ; and in case of urgent necessity, every
household in France could, if asked, have contri¬
buted at least one copper utensil, all the cooking
apparatus there being made of that metal.
The evening of November 23 witnessed in every
church throughout France the closing ceremonial
of the Triduum. The gravity of events and the
continued suffering of the people led the bishops
to summon a special general council, in which it
was decreed that a Triduum, or, in other words,
the exposition of the real presence—the most
solemn act of devotion in the Catholic Church—
should be celebrated for three consecutive days in
every diocese and parish in the kingdom. What¬
ever the religion of a country, there is nothing
more solemn or touching than the spectacle of an
entire nation, and that nation in mourning, lifting
up its voice in united supplication to Heaven for
deliverance from a cruel and heavy scourge. The
response furnished a striking proof that French¬
men fully realized the unprecedented danger of
their position, and that they would neglect no
means, human or divine, to avert the awful calamity
impending over them.
The collateral evils and dangers arising from the
war must have convinced the most obstinate be¬
lievers in a policy of isolation, how universally the
security of Europe is affected by a conflict between
two of its greatest powers. The general sympathy
of England with a just cause failed to conciliate
the goodwill of the Prussian government or of the
German army and nation. During the Crimean
struggle arms and munitions of war had been
freely exported from Prussia to Russia; and in the
present contest the following rifled cannon and
ammunition were furnished to the French from
the United States within a period of about two
months :—Pereire, date of shipment, September
3, 2500 guns and carbines ; Lafayette, September
20, 6000 guns and carbines, and 3,000,000 cart¬
ridges ; Ville de Paris, October 8, 90,000 guns and
carbines, and 8,000,000 cartridges ; St. Lawrence,
October 20, 60,000 guns and carbines, and
7,000,000 cartridges ; Pereire, October 29, 50,000
guns and carbines, and 9,000,000 cartridges; A von,
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
179
November 2, 80,000 guns and carbines, 11,000
boxes of cartridges, five Gatling batteries, and
2000 pistols ; Ontario, November 7, 90,000 guns
and carbines, 18,000,000 cartridges, and fifty-five
cannon ; total, 378,500 guns and carbines,
45,000,000 and 11,000 boxes cartridges, fifty-five
cannon, five Gatling batteries, and 2000 pistols.
The North German government expressly for¬
bade its consul at New York to interfere with the
traffic in arms, and the relations of the confedera¬
tion with the United States were friendly and
even intimate ; yet, as we have seen in a previous
chapter, a comparatively insignificant exportation
of arms from England to France served as a pre¬
text for repeated protests. In his first complaint
Count Bernstorff, conscious of the legal weakness
of his case, invented a new doctrine of benevolent
neutrality which ought, as he contended, to have
been observed by England. Lord Granville, in a
despatch equally courteous and conclusive, showed
that, as benevolence to one belligerent could only
be exercised at the expense of the other, Count
Bernstorff's proposed rule for the conduct of neu¬
trals involved a contradiction in terms. The new
paradox was retracted, but the complaint was re¬
peated in stronger language ; and it was difficult at
the time to avoid a suspicion that Count von Bis¬
marck was actuated by political motives in display¬
ing coldness to England. The suspicion seemed
to be confirmed when, in the middle of November,
the Russian government suddenly issued a circular
repudiating a principal clause in the Paris treaty
of 1856. Prince GortschakofF stated that recent
events affecting the balance of power had com¬
pelled the czar to reconsider the position of his
empire, to which he found the neutralization of
the Black Sea was injurious. Turkey could keep
fleets in the Archipelago and the Straits. Eng¬
land and France could keep fleets in the Mediter¬
ranean ; while the southern coasts of Russia were
undefended. Written international law was no
longer held in respect ; the principalities of Mol¬
davia and Wallachia had been united; the Black
Sea had been entered by whole squadrons ; in fact,
the treaty had been violated in its essential provi¬
sions, and the emperor, therefore, " bids his envoys
declare that he can no longer consider himself as
being bound (' ne saurait se considérer plus long¬
temps comme liée') by the obligations of the
treaty of 1856." He withdrew also from the con¬
vention with Turkey limiting the fleet of each
power in the Black Sea, and permitted Turkey to
do the same. Otherwise, he entirely adhered to
the treaty, and did not wish to re-open the eastern
question.
Lord Granville's reply was very firm, though
courteous in tone. He pointed out that, though
Russia did not profess to release herself at present
from all the engagements of the treaty, " yet the
assumption of a right to renounce any one of
its terms involves the assumption of a right to
renounce the whole." Prince Gortsehakoff had
indeed professed the intention of the Russian
government to respect certain of these terms while
it proposed to set aside others ; but " however
satisfactory this may be in itself, it is obviously
an expression of the free-will of that power, which
it might at any time alter or withdraw, and in this
it is thus open to the same objections as the other
portions of the communication, because it implies
the right of Russia to annul the treaty on the
ground of allegations of which she constitutes
herself the only judge. Her Majesty's govern¬
ment have received this communication with deep
regret, because it opens a discussion which might
unsettle the cordial understanding it has been
their earnest endeavour to maintain with the
Russian government." Had Russia invited a con¬
gress to reconsider the provisions to which she
now objected, her Majesty's government would
not have refused to examine the question, in con¬
cert with the co-signataries to the treaty; and by
that means " a risk of future complications and
a very dangerous precedent as to the validity of
international obligations would have been avoided."
Lord Granville's language was felt to be very
grave, perhaps not the less grave for its studious
self-restraint and reserve. The great question now
seemed to be whether the struggle in which it
appeared almost certain that England must be
involved, was to be with Russia alone, or with
Russia and Prussia together, a secret understand¬
ing between these two powers being strongly
suspected. Mr. Odo Russell was accordingly sent
to the king of Prussia's headquarters at Versailles
to ascertain, if possible, whether the North German
government had been privy to the offensive
menace of Russia. Prince GortschakofF s circular
had been issued when it might have been thought
that the war was practically ended by the sur¬
render of Metz, and its publication while the
German armies still lay outside the walls of Paris
180
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
was inopportune and unwelcome. The envoy
of England was received with profuse courtesy
at Versailles; the German government repudiated
the idea of any secret agreement with Russia,
and the immediate risk of collision was staved
off by the general adoption of Count von Bis¬
marck's proposal of a conference.
The circular of Prince Gortschakoff excited in
England universal indignation, all classes and
nearly all journals contending that, unless Russia
receded from her position, there must be a declara¬
tion of war. The effect on Change was nearly as
great as that of the Duc de Gramont's declaration,
all securities falling 2 per cent., and the weaker
continental stocks from 2 to 5; while Turkish
securities dropped 9 per cent, in two days. The
panic in Frankfort was even greater, the tone of the
Viennese press being most warlike, while that of
Berlin affected to make light of the whole subject.
The Turkish government at once commenced arm¬
ing, and in the English War Office an unusual
bustle and excitement prevailed. There seems
little doubt that, but for the adoption of Count von
Bismarck's amicable suggestion, Great Britain, Tur¬
key, and Austria would have declared war against
Russia, and proceeded to immediate operations.
The repudiation of the treaty was received
throughout Russia with immense enthusiasm, and
considerably smoothed the way for the execution
of a decree, already issued, introducing the Prus¬
sian system of a compulsory three years' service
binding on the whole population. The reply of
Prince Gortschakoff, in which he accepted the
proposal of a conference, was couched in extremely
courteous and conciliatory terms; but still it was
clearly the intention of Russia to insist, forcibly
if necessary, on being relieved from the treaty.
Studiously polite as Gortschakoff's despatch was,
it said—" It was impossible that Russia should
agree to remain the only power bound indefinitely
by an arrangement which, onerous as it was at
the time when it was concluded, became daily
weaker in its guarantees. Our august master has
too deep a sense of what he owes to his country,
to force it to submit any longer to an obligation
against which the national sentiment protests."
Opinions may very much differ as to the wisdom
and policy of imposing, even after the most suc¬
cessful war, on a great power like Russia conditions
at once humiliating to its dignity and very difficult
to enforce. It was easy to see that Russia would
tolerate these conditions only so long as she was
compelled, and that she would seize the first oppor¬
tunity to free herself from them. Indeed, the
wonder is that she so long conscientiously kept,
instead of eluding them, as she might easily have
done. Had she been so inclined, she might have
built a whole fleet of ironclads and monitors, with¬
out incurring any serious risk that the powers
who signed the treaty of 1856 would undertake
another war on that account. It was also said that
the Russian government, by limiting its action
to the one offensive point, and seeking a settlement
of it in a way that would satisfy her people, proved
that it had been unjustly accused of harbouring
sinister designs against Turkey, and wishing to
bring about complications in the East. It, on the
contrary, wanted to avoid them. Had Russia
wished for such complications, she had abundant
means of bringing them about in an indirect way.
She might, for instance, had her wish been to
complicate matters, have asked back the territory
which she had given up at the mouth of the
Danube. But she merely withdrew from the limita¬
tion of her sovereign rights in the Black Sea, by
which a feeling of humiliation and heartburning
was kept awake amongst her people, that time would
certainly increase instead of diminishing. Besides,
Russia, as the note said, was quite ready to con¬
firm anew all the other stipulations of the treaty,
or to amend them, in concert with the other
powers, as might be thought necessary.
The conference, which assembled in London in
February, 1871, resulted in a decision favourable to
Russia, the objectionable provision of the treaty
being removed, and the Black Sea deneutralized.
A very great change had come over English
opinion regarding the respective combatants in the
war since the battle of Sedan and the capture of
the emperor and his army. Many who up to that
time had been against France, now warmly sympa¬
thized with her, believing the war to be continued
by the Germans merely for territorial aggrandise¬
ment. Some, on the other hand, remained firm to
the German side, the most notable amongst them
being Thomas Carlyle, who, in a celebrated letter
in the Times of November 18, energetically pleaded
the German cause against the " cheap pity and
newspaper lamentation over fallen and afflicted
France." An amiable trait of human nature
probably, but a very idle, dangerous, and mis¬
guided feeling as applied to the cession of Alsace
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
181
and Lorraine by France to her conquerors, Mr.
Carlyle accounted that same pity and lamentation.
The question for the Germans in this crisis was not
one of " magnanimity," of " heroic pity and for¬
giveness to a fallen foe," but of prudence and
consideration as to what the fallen foe would, in
all likelihood, do when once again on his feet.
Germany had 400 years of dismal experience
for her guidance in this matter, which Mr. Carlyle
proceeded to summarize in his graphic way.
First, there was Louis XL's behaviour to Kaiser
Max, which was not unlike the behaviour of the
younger Louis: "You accursed Head of Germany,
you have been prospering in the world lately, and
I not ; have at you, then, with fire and sword ! "
The end was that opulent, noble Burgundy did
not get reunited to her old Teutonic mother, but
to France, her grasping stepmother, and remains
French to this day. Max's grandson and successor,
Charles Y., suffered similarly from Francis I.,
whose life was spent in the violation of treaties and
ever-recurring war and injury to Germany, against
whom his most Christian Majesty did not scruple
to commit the atrocity of covenanting with Sultan
Soliman—"that is to say, letting loose the then
quasi-infernal roaring-lion of a Turk, then in the
height of his sanguinary fury and fanaticism, not
sunk to caput mortuum and a torpid nuisance as
now." Richelieu carried on the game of plunder¬
ing, weakening, thwarting, and in every way
tormenting the German empire. No French ruler,
not even Napoleon I., was a feller or crueller
enemy to Germany, or half so pernicious to it (to
its very soul as well as to its body) ; and Germany
had done him no injury, except that of existing
beside him.
So, of Louis XIY.'s " four grand plunderings
and incendiarisms of Europe;" of Louis XY.'s
" fine scheme to cut Germany into four little king¬
doms, and have them dance and fence to the
piping of Versailles and of the treatment of
Germany by the revolution and Napoleon I., Mr.
Carlyle spoke by turns.
"No nation," said he, "ever had so bad a
neighbour as Germany has had in France for the
last 400 years; bad in all manner of ways; inso¬
lent, rapacious, insatiable, unappeasable, continually
aggressive. And now, furthermore, in all history
there is no insolent, unjust neighbour that ever
got so complete, instantaneous, and ignominious
a smashing down as France has now got from
Germany. Germany, after 400 years of ill-usage,
and generally ill-fortune, from that neighbour, has
had at last the great happiness to see its enemy
fairly down in this manner; and Germany, I do
clearly believe, would be a foolish nation not to
think of raising up some secure boundary-fence
between herself and such a neighbour now that
she has the chance.
" There is no law of nature that I know of, no
Heaven's Act of Parliament, whereby France, alone
of terrestrial beings, shall not restore any portion
of her plundered goods when the owners they
were wrenched from have an opportunity upon
them. To nobody, except France herself for the
moment, can it be credible that there is such a law
of nature. Alsace and Lorraine were not got,
either of them, in so divine a manner as to render
that a probability. The cunning of Richelieu, the
grandiose long-sword of Louis XIV., these are the
only titles of France to those German countries.
There was also a good deal of extortionate law
practice, what we may fairly call violently sharp
attorneyism, put in use. Nay, as to Strassburg, it
was not even attorneyism, much less a long sword,
that did the feat; it was a housebreaker's jemmy
on the part of the Grand Monarque. Strassburg
was got in time of profound peace by bribing
of the magistrate to do treason, on his part, and
admit his garrison one night. Nor as to Metz la
Pucelle, nor any of these three bishoprics, was it
force of war that brought them over to France;
rather it was force of fraudulent pawnbroking.
King Henry II. (year 1552) got these places—
Protestants, applying to him in their extreme
need—as we may say, in the way of pledge.
Henri entered there with banners spread and
drums beating, ' solely in defence of German liberty,
as God shall witness ; ' did nothing for Protestant¬
ism or German liberty (German liberty managing
rapidly to help itself in this instance) ; and then,
like a brazen-faced, unjust pawnbroker, refused
to give the places back—had ancient rights over
them, extremely indubitable to him, and could not
give them back."
As to the complaint by France of threatened
" loss of honour," Mr. Carlyle asked whether it
would save the honour of France to refuse pay¬
ing for the glass she had voluntarily broken in
her neighbour's windows? " The attack upon
the windows was her dishonour. Signally dis¬
graceful to any nation was her late assault on
182
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
Germany ; equally signal has been the ignominy
of its execution on the part of France. The
honour of France can be saved only by the deep
repentance of France, and by the serious deter¬
mination never to do so again—to do the reverse
of so for ever henceforth. In that way may the
honour of France again gradually brighten to
the height of its old splendour, far beyond the
First Napoleonic, much more the Third, or any
recent sort, and offer again to our voluntary love
and grateful estimation all the fine and graceful
qualities nature has implanted in the French.
For the present, I must say France looks more and
more delirious, miserable, blameable, pitiable, and
even contemptible. She refuses to see the facts
that are lying palpable before her face, and the
penalties she has brought upon herself. A France
scattered into anarchic ruin, without recognizable
head; head, or chief, indistinguishable from feet, or
rabble; ministers flying up in balloons ballasted
with nothing but outrageous public lies, proclama¬
tions of victories that were creatures of the fancy ;
a government subsisting altogether on mendacity,
willing that horrid bloodshed should continue and
increase rather than that they, beautiful republican
creatures, should cease to have the guidance of it :
I know not when or where there was seen a nation
so covering itself with dishonour."
True friendship, Mr. Carlyle considered, would
counsel France to face the facts and recognize
that they came by invitation of her own. " She
—a mass of gilded, proudly varnished anarchy—
has wilfully insulted and defied to mortal duel a
neighbour not anarchic, but still in a quietly
human, sober, and governed state, and has pros¬
pered accordingly—prospered as an array of san¬
guinary mountebanks versus a Macedonian phalanx
must needs do—and now lies smitten down into
hideous wreck and impotence, testifying to gods
and men what extent of rottenness, anarchy, and
hidden vileness lay in her." That Bismarck, and
Germany along with him, should now at this
propitious juncture demand Alsace and Lorraine
was, Mr. Carlyle declared, no surprise to him.
After such provocation, and after such a victory,
the resolution was rational, just, and even modest.
"I believe Bismarck will get his Alsace and what
he wants of Lorraine ; and likewise that it will
do him and us, and all the world, and even France
itself by-and-by, a great deal of good. Anarchic
France gets her first stern lesson there (a terribly
drastic dose of physic to sick France !) ; and well
will it be for her if she can learn her lesson hon¬
estly. If she cannot, she will- get another, and ever
another ; learnt the lesson must be."
Finally Mr. Carlyle asserted :—" Considerable
misconception as to Herr von Bismarck is still pre¬
valent in England. The English newspapers, nearly
all of them, seem to me to be only getting towards
a true knowledge of Bismarck, but not yet got to
it. " Bismarck, as I read him, is not a person of
Napoleonic ideas, but of ideas quite superior to
Napoleonic ; shows no invincible lust of territory,
nor is tormented with vulgar ambition, &c. ; but
has aims very far beyond that sphere ; and in fact
seems to me to be striving with strong faculty, by
patient, grand, and successful steps, towards an
object beneficial to Germans and to all other men.
That noble, patient, deep, pious, and solid Germany
should be at length welded into a nation and
become queen of the Continent, instead of vapouring,
vain-glorious, gesticulating, quarrelsome, restless,
and over-sensitive France, seems to me the hope-
fullest public fact that has occurred in my time."
CHAPTER XXI Y.
Feeling in Paris at the Commencement of November—Several Newspapers suggest a Capitulation, but the Government determine to continue
the Defence—Measures adopted with that Object in View—The Last Foreigners leave the Capital on November 7—Circular of the French
Government as to the Position of Affairs, and blaming Prussia for the Continuance of the War—Critical Position of Affairs at the German
Headquarters after the French Victory at Coulmiers, on November 10—Excitement at Versailles at the expected Departure of the Germans—
Despondency in Paris prior to the Reception of the News of the Victory—Important Proclamation of General Trochu—New Life infused
into the City on the Receipt of the News of the recapture of Orleans by the French—The General Rejoicing not shared by Genera}
Trochu—Suspension of the Siege Operations—Amenities between the Combatants at the Outposts—Order of the Day by General Trochu
on the Subject—Troubles in the Turbulent Quarters of Paris—The Condition of the Forts—Gallantry and Ability of the Sailors—The
French advance their Works towards the Prussian Lines—The Skill displayed by the Germans in erecting New Works—Stores of Food
collected in Anticipation of the Expected Surrender of the City—Preparations for a Great Sortie—General Trochu's Original Plan obliged
to be set aside—Communications between him and M. Gambetta—The New Plan of Operations—Inspiring Address of General Ducrot to
his Troops—He resolves not to re-enter Paris unless "Dead or Victorious"—Successful Feint of the French at L'Hay and Choisy—The
Bridges on the Marne having been carried away delays the Serious Operations in that Direction for a Day—Pontoon Bridges thrown
across and the Attack commenced in earnest on November 30—The Peculiar Course of the Marne and the Scene of the Battle—Bravery of
the Saxons and the WUrtemburgers—The French, greatly assisted by the Forts, succeed in capturing Champigny, Brie, and Villiers—Serious
Position of Affairs tor the Germans—Dreadful Struggle to drive the French out of the Village of Villiers—General Results of the Day's
Fighting—The French again remain inactive at the Critical Moment—Preparations on the German Side for a renewal of the Engagement—
A Council of War decides that Champigny and Brie must be retaken—The Dispositions of the Troops on both Sides on the morning of
December 2—The French again taken by Surprise and Brie easily recaptured—The Outposts at Champigny also retaken—Panic amongst
the French—Fearful and Destructive Fire from the French Forts—The Saxons fairly shelled out of Brie—Their Great Losses in attempting
to secure the Bridges over the Marne—The French again occupy Brie and part of Champigny—Despatch from General Trochu to the
Governor of Paris during the Battle—Review of the General Result of the Sortie—The French retreat across the Marne—Order of the Day by
General Ducrot—The Journal Officiel's Explanation of the French retreat—Letter from the Provisional Government to General Trochu—
The Losses on both Sides—An Impartial Critic's estimate of General Trochu's Operations—Ought he not to have resumed the Struggle on
December 3, and have forced a Passage through the German Lines at any Cost?
After the result of the plebiscite of November had
been made known in Paris, and the negotiations for
an armistice had failed, the capital assumed an atti¬
tude of calm preparation for future eventualities.
The military operations were confined to mere
outpost encounters, and the persevering bombard¬
ment of the German positions by the various forts
and redoubts; but the less sanguine among the
Parisians, and the higher class of journalists, look¬
ing at the facts, were beginning to question the
possibility of breaking through the living wall
which encompassed them, and the wisdom of the
government in further exposing the defenceless
millions of the city to the horrors of a prolonged
siege. " It is time," said the Journal des Débats,
" for illusions to cease; now or never is the hour
boldly to look the reality in the face. We are
vanquished. We are expiating the blunders of
that government which, falling to pieces, has
involved us in its fate. The surrender of Metz
is the unhappy counterpart of Sedan. In this ter¬
rible duel between two nations, fought out under
the eyes of all the European powers, France lies
prostrate, beaten, and wounded. Can it, while its
wounds are still open, prescribe absolute condi¬
tions ? Can it speak as if it were the victorious
party? No, that is impossible. Paris has reso¬
lutely equipped itself for its defence ; it has become
impregnable ; it may be so. Our enemies will not
coerce us with arms ; but, alas ! they will overpower
us by famine. . . . We must not delude our¬
selves ; the provinces are but little in a position to
help us; they are themselves a prey to the invasion,
and the enemy's requisitions bring upon them ruin
and desolation. What will happen, then, if Paris,
the beleaguered city, is confined to its own re¬
sources? It will succumb. Prussia in 1806 was
in a still more desperate position than ours; it
knew how to resign itself to it, and afterwards to
raise itself up again. Let us then act as reasonable
people ; let us make a painful but temporary sacri¬
fice ; and when by peace we regain our freedom of
action, let us, with energy and patriotism, set to
work to redeem our lost dignity." Other Parisian
journals followed in a similar strain ; but the
government considered that a continuance of the
defence of the city was the only way of escaping
honourably from the acknowledged dangers of the
situation. The measures for the defence of the
capital were therefore pushed on with increased
184
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
activity. Fresh earthworks, redoubts, and rifle-
pits were formed. Trees were cut down for con¬
struction and for fuel. The space between the
ramparts and the forts became a zone of desolation.
Destruction was a work congenial to the spirit of
the young mobiles, some of them mischief-loving
Parisians, some hardy striplings from the provinces,
and they were not slack in performing this part of
their duty.
The government, too, continued its exertions
in organizing the army, and in forming, equipping,
and drilling the war battalions of the national
guard. From each of the 250 battalions of which
it was composed, General Trochu had, in the first
instance, called for 150 men as volunteers; but
only some 12,000 had responded ; and subsequently
a draft was ordered, which legally mobilized the
battalions, taking from the ranks, first, the volun¬
teers, who had inscribed their names in the
" offices of glory," and been honoured with a roll
of the drum ; then the unmarried men, or widowers
without children, from twenty to thirty-five years
of age ; next, unmarried men or widowers from
thirty-five to forty-five; fourth, fathers from twenty
to thirty-five; fifth, fathers from thirty-five to
forty. This law fell much more heavily on the old,
respectable regiments of the quiet and wealthy
quarters of Paris, in which nearly all the men were
married, than on the newly-formed battalions raised
in the turbulent districts of Belleville, where the
unmarried were in a large majority, and from which
the minimum of volunteers had been forthcoming.
On the 7th of November permission was given
to a considerable number of foreigners to pass the
French and Prussian lines ; but an order was
immediately afterwards issued that no one should
be allowed either to enter or quit Paris. Among
those who availed themselves of the permission to
leave on the above day, were many English resi¬
dents, who left by the gate of Charenton en route
for Versailles, accompanied by Mr. Woodhouse, of
the British embassy. Colonel Claremont, the mili¬
tary, and Captain Hore, the naval attache to the
embassy, still remained for the protection of the
few British subjects who held by the besieged city.
A further disclosure of the plans of the govern¬
ment was made in a circular of the foreign minister,
issued at this period to the French diplomatic
agents abroad, regarding the nature of the negotia¬
tions for an armistice. This document set forth
that the war was continued solely to gratify the am¬
bition of the men at the head of affairs in Prussia;
that, although the enemy's forces had been besieg¬
ing Paris for fifty days, its inhabitants showed no
signs of weakness ; and that, in spite of some sedi¬
tious attempts, the powers of the government of
National Defence had been confirmed by the votes
of an overwhelming majority of the population.
After insisting that the revictualling of the capital
was necessarily assumed as a consequence in any
suspension of hostilities, M. Jules Favre con¬
cluded—" By refusing our demand to be allowed to
revictual Paris, Prussia rejected the armistice. It
is not only the French army, but the French nation,
that she seeks to annihilate, when she proposes to
reduce Paris by the horrors of famine. Let it be
well understood that up to the last moment the
government of National Defence, absorbed by the
immense interests confided to it, will do everything
in its power to render an honourable peace possible.
The means of consulting France were refused to it,
and it thereupon interrogated Paris. All Paris, in
reply, rises to arms to show France and the world
what a great people can do when it defends its
honour, its homes, and the independence of its
country."
While the government were thus engaged,
the events to the south of Paris, as we have
already seen in Chapter XXII., caused the Ger¬
mans considerable uneasiness. On the 9th and
10th of November General D'Aurelles de Paladine,
with the army of the Loire, obtained a victory
over General von der Tann, which resulted in tbe
recapture of Orleans by the French, and rendered
the position of the besieging force around Paris
very precarious. On the morning of the 14th
a wild rumour spread through Versailles to the
effect that "the Prussians were going away."
By mid-day a crowd had assembled near the
Prefecture, waiting eagerly for the announcement
that the conqueror had departed. The enthusi¬
asm of the city grew from hour to hour, as details
of the royal preparations began to be generally
known. The mayor informed his friends that
the king of Prussia's boxes were loaded in the
fourgons; spies came in haste from the Ombrages,
with the news that the baggage of the Crown
Prince was being brought out to the carriage
drive ; while inhabitants of the Rue de Provence
and the Rue Neuve hurried up with the intelli¬
gence that they had seen Count von Bismarck
and Generals von Moltke and Von Roon clearing
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
185
out their papers. And these statements were
facts. It had been determined that the German
headquarters should be removed to a safer place
—-to Ferrières or Lagny. The besiegers, not
pleased with the situation westward, though they
kept the reason a profound secret, had decided to
evacuate Versailles. The day wore on, however,
and they did not go. The mob which had lined
the pavement of the Rue des Chantiers, waiting
to see the royal staff disappear, went home.
Night came, and the next day, but the black and
white flag still waved over the Prefecture. The
15th was also an anxious day; the Prussians
themselves did not know what was going to
happen, beyond the fact that all the staffs were
ordered to be in readiness to leave, and that the
baggage was loaded in the vans. No officer
could give one word of information, but observed
gloomily, " There must be something wrong with
Von der Tann." By the 16th, however, the crisis
had passed ; joy filled the hearts of the Germans,
and dismay those of the French. Orders were
given to unpack ; boxes were returned to their
quarters ; and once more the besiegers settled down
to their work.
It will be thus seen that for a moment the
possibility of failure was contemplated at the
German headquarters, and that they practically
acknowledged the danger of their situation in
the event of a powerful and victorious force
marching to the rescue of the capital. They
had evidently underrated the capabilities of Paris
and the power of France to reappear in the field
after the destruction of her regular armies. As a
rule they professed to make light of the attempts
of General Trochu's ill-disciplined levies to break
through their lines of investment; but they well
knew the inspiriting influence that a fair prospect
of relief would have upon the besieged, and
dreaded a sortie en masse while assaulted in the
rear. When, however, it was ascertained that
General DAurelles de Paladine was resting on his
laurels, and in no condition to take the field in the
direction of Versailles, the Germans proceeded to
the disposition of their immense forces described
in a previous chapter, in order to secure the pro¬
tection of their investing lines.
For some days before the news of the recapture
of Orleans reached Paris, the tone of the press
and the spirit of the people was despondent, and
by some peace was earnestly desired. Communi-
VOL. II.
cation with the provinces had become exceedingly
difficult ; and as no carrier pigeon, almost the only
means of information, had arrived for several days,
the Parisians began to feel that they were likely
to be thrown upon their own resources. One
military writer frankly gave it as his opinion that
to break the Prussian lines was impossible. " No
man," said he, " who is thoroughly acquainted
with the position of affairs, and possesses any
knowledge of the progress of contemporary strate¬
gical science, will entertain such an idea. If the
three corps d'armée, the cadres of which were set
forth the other day in the Journal Officiel (even
supposing them five times as numerous, and had
they at their disposal an artillery ten-fold more
powerful), were to make any offensive movement
against the enemy, it would be a most unpardon¬
able fault." A day or two later this document
was copied into the Prussian Moniteur Officiel
published at Versailles. The Journal de Paris
followed in the same strain, treating the relieving
army as a myth, and ridiculing the idea that a
force consisting of the raw material of Paris
would succeed in doing what Bazaine was unable
to accomplish with the flower of the French
troops—beating an enemy invigorated by his
victories.
Several journals also reproached the government
with imitating the example of their predecessors,
in concealing from the public the disagreeable
intelligence they received. The answer in the
Official Journal was unfortunately too easy. In
common with the rest of Paris, the government
had to bear the consequences of an investment,
which, notwithstanding repeated efforts, it had not
yet been able to break through. It regularly sent
off its despatches. During the first few weeks of
the siege it had received some replies, which it
immediately published. Since the 26th of October
no information had reached it—a fact which it
was unable to explain. But the ignorance which
was an unavoidable result of the siege, could
not justly be imputed to it as a crime. Dur¬
ing this period, too, General Trochu prepared a
proclamation, calm, truthful, and manly, but
which, though intended to encourage, gave little
indication of confidence in the ultimate result
of the defence, as may be seen from the follow¬
ing sentence at its close:—"We have not done
all we desired; we have done what we could in
a series of extemporizations, the object of which
2 x
186
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
had enormous proportions, amid the most grievous
impression which can afflict the patriotism of a
great nation. Well, the future still demands of
us a greater effort, for time presses. But time
presses the enemy also, and his interests, the public
feeling of Germany, and the European public
conscience, press him still more. It would be
unworthy of France, and the world would not
understand it, if the people and army of Paris,
after having so energetically prepared themselves
for all sacrifices, did not know how to go further,
viz., to suffer and fight until they can no longer
suffer and fight. Let us, then, close our ranks
around the republic and lift up our hearts. I
have told you the truth, such as 1 see it. I wished
to show that our duty was to look our difficulties
and perils in the face, to approach them without
alarm, to cling to every form of resistance and
struggle. If we triumph, we shall have deserved
well of our country by giving it a great example ;
if we succumb, we shall have bequeathed to Prussia,
which will have succeeded the first empire in
the sanguinary annals of conquest and violence,
a work impossible to realize, a heritage of male¬
diction and hatreds, under which it will succumb
in its turn."
What might have been the effect of this pro¬
clamation under the ordinary aspect of affairs it
is impossible to tell; but a day or two before, a
rumour had obtained currency in the Journal des
Débats of the victory of the army of the Loire
and the defeat of Yon der Tann. The rumour
was not generally believed, but immediately after
the proclamation had been issued, the governor
received a despatch from M. Gambetta, reporting
the recapture of Orleans, and detailing the success
of the French troops. New life ran through the
city, the hopes of the populace revived under the
influence of the reassuring message; and on the
following morning M. Favre reproduced the news in
the Official Journal " with inexpressible joy." The
press followed suit; newspapers which with bated
breath were whispering peace a few days before,
enlarged in glowing terms upon the victory gained
by the army of the Loire, and declared that all ideas
of an armistice must be abandoned, in presence of
this happy augury. Was it not at Orleans, said
they, that four centuries and a half before, Jeanne
d'Arc gained a victory which gave the first blow to
the English dominion in France? and might not the
same city again begin the movement which should
rid France of the hated presence of the Prussians?
Groups of people assembled to rejoice over the
victory, almost all of whom drew sanguine parallels
between the deliverance of France by Jeanne d'Arc
and this new turn in the fortune of war, which
came from the same propitious quarter. By some,
D'Aurelles was honoured with the nom, de plume
of "Jean d'Arc," or "le Garçon d'Orléans." It
was also thought by wiser observers than the
volatile Parisians, that a change for the better
had indeed taken place in the disastrous fortunes
of France.
The effect of the news was to prolong the
resistance of Paris, although, as we shall see
afterwards, it was bitterly repented by General
Trochu, whose celebrated "plan" it disconcerted
by turning attention to the army of the Loire,
and seriously shifting the scene of his intended
operations.
For some days following, the operations of the
siege were suspended both inside and outside the
French capital ; and during this pause a scene
occurred at the outposts of the combatants, which
was at utter variance with military discipline, but
illustrated the triumph of humanity over national
animosity. At some points of the line of invest¬
ment the French and Germans approached so
closely, that to the north-east of the city a degree
of intimacy sprang up between them, and exchanges
of tobacco and spirits were effected. On one occa¬
sion, indeed, several officers of a mobile regiment
accepted an invitation by German officers to
breakfast in the château of Stains. The festivities
were somewhat prolonged, and the absence of
the Frenchmen was reported to their superiors.
These military escapades had in fact now become
matter of public scandal, and General Trochu
issued an order of the day intimating that
they could not be tolerated in the presence of
the enemy. " Such a state of things," he said,
" very seriously compromises the reputation and
dignity of the troops, and has been a source of
danger to the cause of the defence. The enemy
fails not to take advantage of disorders which
occur before their eyes; and the government has
learnt, with equal indignation and surprise, that
an intercourse, the effect of which cannot be
comprehended either by the troops or their
officers, is occasionally established between our
advanced posts and those of the Prussians. My
severity will be exercised to its fullest extent to
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
187
recall to a sense of duty those who may fail to
observe its dictates."
This caution of General Trochu had the desired
effect ; but another source of anxiety to the
governor arose from marauders, who scoured the
country within the circle of investment, plunder¬
ing houses and estates outside Paris, and for
whose suppression bodies of national guards had
to be organized. Some trouble was also occasioned
by large parties of peasants, including women
and children, who, in search of potatoes and other
vegetables, sometimes came close to the German
outposts, which led to their being fired upon by
the besiegers. Many of these people were killed, and
more wounded, by the Prussian bullets. General
Trochu therefore issued warnings » against these
explorations, unless the parties were defended by
bodies of troops, which were accordingly detailed
for the purpose.
Reverting to the internal life of the city at this
time, we catch a glimpse of a social and political
undercurrent which had eventually a most disas¬
trous issue. The turbulent quarters of the city
swarmed with democratic clubs, in which indig¬
nant citizens denounced the incompetency of the
authorities, and vented their spleen against the
king of Prussia and his retainers. Bombs, too, of
a violently explosive kind were manufactured, and
stored away in the city, evidently intended for
use in other directions than against the besieging
army. Attempts were also made by these demo¬
crats to organize bodies of "Amazons," which,
although at the time they tended to excite only
laughter and ridicule, undoubtedly formed the
basis of subsequent outbursts of feminine fury.
It was, besides, most difficult to bring the national
guards of these quarters to face the common
enemy. General Trochu's decree to form war
companies proved almost a nullity; and while the
required quota for active operations in the field
could not be got, a disposition was shown to
secrete arms and ammunition for a possible oppor¬
tunity of internecine warfare and of plunder.
But amidst all these difficulties and discourage¬
ments, the governor and his generals were unceas¬
ing in their activity, and the general spirit both
of troops and people was a steady source of
strength. The conduct of the artillerists of the
forts especially was truly admirable ; nor was
that of the French sailors who took part in the
operations of the siege less deserving of praise.
The only section of their country's defenders
undaunted by defeat, they maintained a manly,
cheerful bearing, the moral effect of which was
highly valuable. The condition of the forts dis¬
played the most systematic order and cleanliness,
and the splendid and almost unceasing practice
of these marine pointeurs won the admiration of
beholders, and served effectually to check the
operations of the most skilful engineers and strate¬
gists which have arisen in Europe since the days
of the First Napoleon. " The marine," observed
an able French writer, " has given all for the
defence of Paris—admirals, officers, and sailors, an
admirable system of signals, and an incomparable
artillery. Six of the forts are commanded by
naval officers. All the semaphores at Montmartre,
Mont Yalérien, Passy, Issy, and the Opera have
been intrusted to them. These gunners have
become famous for the accuracy of their fire, and
after the siege people will speak of them as,
after Sebastopol and Solferino, they spoke of the
zouaves."
Not content with strengthening their defences
inside the forts and ramparts, the Paris garrison,
as the siege went on, also pushed out fresh works
towards the Prussian outposts, and in a manner
besieged the lines of the besiegers, as the Russians
had done at Sebastopol in 1855.
These facts were taken into due consideration
by the besiegers in the careful arrangement of
their investing lines. The Germans worked un¬
ceasingly in strengthening their hold upon the
capital, but their advanced lines were meant simply
to guard them against surprises, and were most
skilfully concealed; for many weeks their really
dangerous works did not make a near approach,
and their true positions were established beyond
the reach of the guns of the forts. Their works
were admirably constructed for defence; but up
to the period of which we are writing it was only
from the fire of the guns of the redoubts originally
erected at Châtillon, Montretout, and other points,
and which had fallen into the hands of the enemy
at the beginning of the siege, that danger was
really to be apprehended.
In anticipation of the surrender, stores of food
were already being collected by the investing
forces, to allay the agonies of hunger, which it
was believed the inhabitants would suffer before
that crowning humiliation should take place ; but,
as we shall see, the provisions proved to be more
188
THE FRANCO PRUSSIAN WAR.
abundant than was anticipated by those who
formed their conclusions outside the walls of the
blockaded city.
THE GREAT SORTIE PROM PARIS.
Towards the latter end of November indica¬
tions were not wanting that the brief pause in
the actual warfare of the siege was about to end.
On the 24th there was fighting at Pierrefitte; and
on the 29th, while the important events narrated
in the preceding chapter were occurring north and
south of Orleans, the army of Paris began its
mightiest effort to break through the German
troops which hemmed it in on every side, in the
hope of effecting a junction with the army of the
Loire at Fontainebleau, and so compelling their
enemies to raise the siege. To insure this result,
it was of course necessary that each should succeed
in its separate enterprize; but we have already
shown how D'Aurelles de Paladine was prevented
from carrying out his part of the arrangement, and
we shall now see that, notwithstanding some
important temporary successes, the great sortie
from Paris also utterly failed to accomplish the
purpose intended by it.
General Trochu, the " patient governor," had
brought the armies within the walls of the city to
as high a state of efficiency and discipline as he
could, but only about 150,000 of them could fairly
be classed as even tolerable soldiers. His purpose
originally was to make his way through the penin¬
sula of Gennevilliers to Corneille, and so on to
Rouen and Havre; but, as he afterwards asserted
in his celebrated defence speech before the National
Assembly at Versailles, " when the news of the
unfortunate, because delusive, success at Coulmiers
became known in Paris, his plan was defeated.
The works had been constructed for an attempt
by way of Rouen ; but the press and the govern¬
ment immediately demanded that a sortie should
be made to meet the army which (they said) was
coming from the Loire, a demand so impetuously
urged by the public that it could not be resisted."
He accordingly had to renounce all his preparations
for a movement towards Rouen, and to prepare for
a sortie in the direction of Orleans, although he
confesses he had no hope of success when he
undertook the task. However, being "summoned"
in peremptory terms by his colleagues and by
Gambetta (who had previously reproached him for
his "persistent inaction") to join the combined
movement, he concealed his misgivings and gave
directions to mass the troops on the eastern for¬
tresses and ramparts.
From official documents which have since been
published, it appears that in November M. Gam¬
betta had sent a pigeon-telegram to General
Trochu, informing him of the victory of Coul¬
miers, and proposing joint action between the
Loire and Paris armies. General Trochu replied
on the 18th, by balloon: " Your telegram excites
my interest and my zeal to the utmost; but it
has been five days coming, and we shall want a
week to get ready. I will not lose one instant.
We have ample food till the end of the year,
but perhaps the population will not wait till then,
and we must -solve the problem long before that."
On the 24th another balloon was sent out with
the news that a great sortie would be made on
the 29th, in the hope of breaking the investing
lines and effecting a junction with D'Aurelles.
But, most unluckily, this balloon was carried into
Norway, and it was not till the 30th that its
intelligence reached Tours by telegraph. Of
course it created an immense sensation; for
though it was expected, the definitive announce¬
ment of a great sortie was an event of the gravest
importance. The telegram was as follows: "The
news received from the Loire army has decided
me to go out on the southern side, and to march
towards that army at any cost. On Monday, 28th
November, my preparations will be finished. I
am carrying them on day and night. On Tuesday,
the 29th, an army commanded by General Ducrot,
the most energetic of us all, will attack the
enemy's positions, and if they are carried, will
push onwards towards the Loire in the direction
of Gien. I suppose that if your army is turned
on its left flank " (an allusion to the duke of
Mecklenburg, who, General Trochu thought,
would move down from Chartres), " it will pass
the Loire, and will withdraw on Bourges." It
has just been stated that this important despatch,
which announced the Paris sortie for the 29th,
was not received at Tours till the 30th.
The first sign to the Parisians that the long in¬
action was to be broken was given on the night of
Friday, the 25th of November, when it was an¬
nounced by posters all over the city that from the
evening of the next day all the gates would be
rigorously closed, and no one would be allowed to
pass in or out, except troops and such as had a
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
189
special order from headquarters. On Monday, the
28th, an order was issued requiring tradesmen to
surrender to the government bacon, hams, sausages,
and provisions of all kinds—the stores of fresh
meat having been entirely consumed in supplying
rations for the army. Each man was provided
with a loaf of bread, a bottle of wine, and two lbs. of
bacon or meat, as they might be out of the way of
obtaining supplies for a day or two. The same
day it was announced that on the morrow the great
effort for the deliverance of Paris would commence.
All the ambulances had orders to get ready, and
to send their waggons and appliances to certain
places at certain hours. During the whole of the
28th the streets were filled with armed men march¬
ing towards the south and south-eastern quarters
of the city. The plan of operations was to make a
real attack by the second army, under General
Ducrot, against the position held by the Wiirtem-
burgers and Saxons, between Bonneuil and Noisy-
le-Grand ; at the same time demonstrations, more
or less serious, were to be made on the south side
by General Yinoy against L'Hay and Choisy ; on
the west from Valérien, against Bougival, and on
the north from St. Denis.
General Ducrot prepared his troops for the
" supreme effort " by the following stirring address :
—" Soldiers of the Second Army of Paris,—The
moment has arrived to break the iron circle which has
too long inclosed you, and threatened to stifle you
by a slow and dreadful agony. Upon you has de¬
volved the honour of attempting this great undertak¬
ing. That you will prove yourselves worthy of it
I am convinced. Doubtless, at first, our task will
be difficult, and we shall have to overcome serious
obstacles. We must face them with calmness and
resolution, without exaggeration, as well as without
weakness. Here is the truth. At the outset,
touching our advanced posts, we shall find implac¬
able enemies, rendered confident and audacious by
too frequent success. A vigorous effort will, there¬
fore, be required, but it will not be beyond your
powers. In order to prepare for your action, the
foresight of him who holds the chief command
over us has accumulated more than 400 pieces of
artillery, of which at least two-thirds are of the
largest calibre. No material obstacle can resist it,
and in order to enable you to cut a way out, you
will be more than 150,000 men, well armed and
well equipped, abundantly provided with ammuni¬
tion, and, I venture to hope, all animated by an
irresistible ardour. A ictorious in the first period of
the struggle, your success is assured, for the enemy
has directed to the banks of the Loire the greater
number and the best of his soldiers. The heroic
and successful efforts of your brothers detain them
there. Courage, then, and confidence ! Remember
that in this supreme struggle we fight for our
honour, for our liberty, for the salvation of our dear
and unhappy country ; and if this motive suffice not
to inflame your hearts, think of your fields, which
are devastated ; of your families, which are ruined ;
of your sisters, your wives, and your mothers, who
are desolate. May these thoughts lead you to
share in the thirst for vengeance, the intense rage
which fills my soul, and may it inspire you to con¬
tempt of danger. For me, I have fully resolved
—and I swear it before you, before the whole
nation—I will not re-enter Paris unless dead or
victorious. You may see me fall, but you shall
not see me recoil. Then halt not, but avenge me !
Forward ! forward ! and may God be your shield !
" The General-in-chief of the Second Army of
Pans' " A. DUCROT.
" Paris, November 28."
It is difficult to imagine an English general ad¬
dressing his army in such terms, but it is stated
that this language was exactly suited to the occa¬
sion, and that, " going straight to the heart of the
discouraged French soldier, it had a tremendous
effect on the army and the people of Paris."
At eleven o'clock on the night of the 28th a fearful
fire, opened by forts Charenton and Ivry, was
caught up by Bicêtre, Montrouge, Vanves, and Issy,
aided by gunboats, which, from a position above
Pont à l'Anglais on the Seine, joined in the infernal
concert. At the appointed hour on the following
morning (November 29) a strong force, sallying
from Valérien, threatened the German position west
of that fortress ; while two columns, issuing from
behind Bicêtre and Ivry, under General Vinoy,
made a vigorous attack on L'Hay and Choisy.
This operation was a mere feint, intended to dis¬
tract the attention of the Germans, and was effected
with comparative ease, as the whole road between
Sceaux and Choisy, passing by L'Hay and Chevilly,
was untenable by the besiegers, on account of the
fire from two formidable redoubts constructed by
the French at Hautes Bruyères and Moulin-Saquet.
The attacking force succeeded in driving the Ger¬
mans from L'Hay and Choisy; but just as fresh
190
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
troops were coming up to retake these positions,
the French retired to the forts in obedience, to an
order from General Ducrot, who, as we shall see
below, had found it impossible to execute the more
difficult part of the plan. The Prussian reserves,
on approaching L'Hay and Choisy, suffered great
loss from the two redoubts already mentioned, as
well as from the gunboats on the Seine, and from
a new kind of battery, consisting of guns mounted
on iron-clad carriages, run out on the Orleans rail¬
road towards Choisy.
To reach the points destined for the most
serious attack the French had to cross the Marne,
and march through the loop formed by that river
just before its fall into the Seine; but on reaching
their allotted posts early on the morning of the
29th, they found that a sudden rise of the waters
had carried away the bridges over which they had
intended to pass, so that they were compelled to
remain idle for that day at least. The Marne
doubles on itself several times in the neighbour¬
hood of Paris ; and its waters, together with those
of the canal, have to be carefully managed by
sluices, which had been neglected by the persons
whose duty it was to attend to them for the
previous two months, from fear of the German
army. In consequence of the recent heavy rains,
the water flowed over the gates, so that the river
suddenly rose to nearly four feet above its or¬
dinary level, forming, of course, an impassable
barrier. During the night eight pontoon bridges
were thrown across the Marne at Joinville—close
under the guns of the double redoubt of Gravelle
and La Faisanderie—and at Nogent; and the
water having somewhat subsided, the attack was
begun in earnest on the following morning,
Wednesday, November 30. A second sortie, in
which he succeeded, was also made on this morn¬
ing by General Yinoy against L'Hay and Choisy,
for the purpose of alarming the Prussians in that
quarter. At the same time the French, sallying
forth from St. Denis on the north, gained possession
of the villages of Le Bourget, Stains, and Epinay,
in the attack on which they were aided by gun¬
boats on the Seine. Reserve troops of the fourth
Prussian corps were soon brought up ; and the
French retired, having effected their object of
preventing the Germans from weakening that part
of their lines by the detachment of forces to the
other side of the city.
Meanwhile the extremely formidable attack was
being made by General Ducrot upon the German
intrenchments on the east of Paris. Before join¬
ing the Seine the course of the Marne forms an
immense 3) the upper or northern bend approach¬
ing Paris, and the lower receding from it. Both
are commanded by the fire from the forts; but
while the upper or advancing bend favours a
sortie by its configuration, the lower or receding
one is completely commanded by the ground on
the left bank as well as by the forts; and here
the river, also, both from the line it takes and
from its many branches, is unfavourable to the
construction of bridges under fire. Hence the
greater part of this bend remained a kind of
neutral ground, on each side of which the real
fighting took place. The line of battle extended
for about four English miles, from Noisy to
Bonneuil; but the severity of the conflict
was confined almost entirely to the end of the
liorse-shoe formed by the Marne, between Brie
and Champigny, about a mile and a quarter in
length. It was a cold but brilliant winter's day;
and as early as half-past seven o'clock in the
morning—indeed as soon as it was light—bodies
of French troops, infantry, cavalry, and artillery,
were seen descending the sloping ground from
Fort Nogent, while others were advancing on
Champigny ffom Chennevières, where they had
crossed the Marne during the night. The main
body of Ducrot's troops, with their artillery,
passed over the river on the pontoon bridges at
Joinville and Nogent, Renault's second corps
being in front; and soon there were three corps,
numbering from 50,000 to 60,000 men, below the
fortifications. As they descended into the plateau,
forts Charenton, Nogent, Rosny, and the formi¬
dable batteries recently erected in front of Mont
Avron, directed a constant fire on the outposts of
the Wiirtemburgers and Saxons at Champigny,
Villiers, Brie, and Noisy. The points thus selected
for attack were the weakest in all the investing
circle, and the sortie was made at the very
moment when they were even weaker than ordi¬
nary; for Moltke, perceiving indications of the
intention of the French to advance down the
triangle, had given instructions for the line to be
strengthened. The Wiirtemburgers were accord¬
ingly ordered to fall back from the front of their
position to its second line; and the ground thus
left vacant by them was to be occupied by the
sixth (Saxon) corps. Thus it happened that the
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
191
Germans were caught in a transition state: for
the Wiirtemburgers retired rather early, and the
troops intended for their relief came rather late;
and it was precisely at this moment—when the
ground that had been left empty by one had
not been filled by another portion of the invest¬
ing forces—that the French made their attack.
At first the German outposts had to bear the
brunt of the fighting, but before mid-day there
were three regiments of Saxons on the field
(104th, 106th, and 107th), all under the com¬
mand of General de Nehrhof, and a brigade of
Wiirtemburgers, commanded by Brigadier-general
Reitzenstein. The Saxons had two regiments
of cavalry and six of artillery, their entire force
amounting to about 11,000 men. The Wiirtem-
burg brigade was about 7000, so that the whole
of the German force in position to resist the sortie
was only 18,000 men. The French advanced in
excellent order under the guns of their forts, and
it soon became evident that they intended to make
a most serious attempt to break through the Ger¬
man intrenchments. The troops on that side
accordingly sallied forth into the plateau, in order
to meet their attack ; and now came a mur¬
derous cross-fire from Nogent and Mont Avron.
High into the air rose shells, that were liter¬
ally vomited forth from both the fort and the
batteries. They shot through the atmosphere like
blazing comets, and fell in showers among the
German soldiers, causing death and destruction
all around the places where they exploded. The
Saxons and Wiirtemburgers fought gallantly, but
they were overwhelmed by superior numbers ; and
after a brief, though murderous struggle, they were
compelled to retreat, and the French at once seized
upon Champigny and Brie, the fire from the forts
being discontinued the moment they got close to
those places. A third French column had in the
meantime marched up the Marne as far as Neuilly,
there crossed the river, and now proceeded to co¬
operate with their comrades from Brie in an attack
on Villiers, an important post in the investing
circle, which was also captured after a fierce con¬
test. Noisy-le-Grand, too, was seriously threat¬
ened ; and indeed the assailants had a decided
advantage along the whole battle-field for several
hours, their force being too great to resist, although,
owing to the nature of the ground, it was impos¬
sible fully to deploy their columns, and to make
the whole power of their fire felt. Matters were
now looking extremely serious for the German
troops, but operations were suspended for a short
time. The Wiirtemburgers were reinforced by
detachments from the Saxon, Pomeranian, and
Silesian corps ; and then a change in the situation
of affairs was made by Colonel Abendorth, who
acted as brigadier-general in the room of General
Schultz, wounded at Sedan. Placing himself at
the head of a body of Saxons, he called on them
to follow him into the village of Villiers. They
responded with a loud "Hurrah," and rushed upon
the French who held it. A dreadful struggle
ensued. It was then that the only firing at very
close quarters took place, because on the plateau
the French, while using the Chassepot, kept at a
long distance from the enemy, to avoid coming
under the fire of their own forts. In the village
it was necessarily otherwise ; but neither during
this fight, nor at any other time in the day, was
there a bayonet charge. After an obstinate resist¬
ance the French were driven out of Villiers: many
of them were made prisoners, and the rest had now
to defend themselves in the open field. While
Colonel Abendorth was leading an attack on them
in the plateau, a battery of mitrailleuses placed
right opposite Villiers was worked with great
rapidity. Four mitrailleuse balls entered the chest
of the colonel's horse, which dropped dead. An
officer galloped up to him with another; and again
he was in the saddle, and leading his men, who
followed him impetuously with another loud
" Hurrah." This was a most exciting moment.
They had only proceeded a hundred yards when
the second horse was killed by a rifle shot, and,
with its rider, came to the ground. Though hurt
by the fall, the colonel got to his feet and called
on his men to continue the charge. They did so,
and actually took some prisoners on the plateau.
There was now a fierce cannonading on both
sides, and the artillery did terrific execution.
Some of the German troops stationed themselves
behind a wall to fire upon the French with the
advantage of that cover; but the shells smashed
the wall, and annihilated several of the men be¬
hind. The Germans captured two field-guns, but
such a shower of shot, shell, and grenades was
poured upon the troops who attempted to remove
them, that they were obliged to leave them on the
field. The fighting gradually ceased, and soon
after four o'clock the French retired, leaving strong
garrisons in Champigny and Brie; but it was
190
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
troops were coming up to retake these positions,
the French retired to the forts in obedience, to an
order from General Ducrot, who, as we shall see
below, had found it impossible to execute the more
difficult part of the plan. The Prussian reserves,
on approaching L'Hay and Choisy, suffered great
loss from the two redoubts already mentioned, as
well as from the gunboats on the Seine, and from
a new kind of battery, consisting of guns mounted
on iron-clad carriages, run out on the Orleans rail¬
road towards Choisy.
To reach the points destined for the most
serious attack the French had to cross the Marne,
and march through the loop formed by that river
just before its fall into the Seine; but on reaching
their allotted posts early on the morning of the
29th, they found that a sudden rise of the waters
had carried away the bridges over which they had
intended to pass, so that they were compelled to
remain idle for that day at least. The Marne
doubles on itself several times in the neighbour¬
hood of Paris ; and its waters, together with those
of the canal, have to be carefully managed by
sluices, which had been neglected by the persons
whose duty it was to attend to them for the
previous two months, from fear of the German
army. In consequence of the recent heavy rains,
the water flowed over the gates, so that the river
suddenly rose to nearly four feet above its or¬
dinary level, forming, of course, an impassable
barrier. During the night eight pontoon bridges
were thrown across the Marne at Joinville—close
under the guns of the double redoubt of Gravelle
and La Faisanderie—and at Nogent; and the
water having somewhat subsided, the attack was
begun in earnest on the following morning,
Wednesday, November 30. A second sortie, in
which he succeeded, was also made on this morn-
ing by General Vinoy against L'Hay and Choisy,
for the purpose of alarming the Prussians in that
quarter. At the same time the French, sallying
forth from St. Denis on the north, gained possession
of the villages of Le Bourget, Stains, and Epinay,
in the attack on which they were aided by gun¬
boats on the Seine. Reserve troops of the fourth
Prussian corps were soon brought up ; and the
French retired, having effected their object of
preventing the Germans from weakening that part
of their lines by the detachment of forces to the
other side of the city.
Meanwhile the extremely formidable attack was
being made by General Ducrot upon the German
intrenchments on the east of Paris. Before join¬
ing the Seine the course of the Marne forms an
immense 3> the upper or northern bend approach¬
ing Paris, and the lower receding from it. Both
are commanded by the fire from the forts; but
while the upper or advancing bend favours a
sortie by its configuration, the lower or receding
one is completely commanded by the ground on
the left bank as well as by the forts; and here
the river, also, both from the line it takes and
from its many branches, is unfavourable to the
construction of bridges under fire. Hence the
greater part of this bend remained a kind of
neutral ground, on each side of which the real
fighting took place. The line of battle extended
for about four English miles, from Noisy to
Bonneuil; but the severity of the conflict
was confined almost entirely to the end of the
horse-shoe formed by the Marne, between Brie
and Champigny, about a mile and a quarter in
length. It was a cold but brilliant winter's day;
and as early as half-past seven o'clock in the
morning—indeed as soon as it was light—bodies
of French troops, infantry, cavalry, and artillery,
were seen descending the sloping ground from
Fort Nogent, while others were advancing on
Champigny from Chennevières, where they had
crossed the Marne during the night. The main
body of Ducrot's troops, with their artillery,
passed over the river on the pontoon bridges at
Joinville and Nogent, Rénault's second corps
being in front; and soon there were three corps,
numbering from 50,000 to 60,000 men, below the
fortifications. As they descended into the plateau,
forts Charenton, Nogent, Rosny, and the formi¬
dable batteries recently erected in front of Mont
Avron, directed a constant fire on the outposts of
the Wiirtemburgers and Saxons at Champigny,
Villiers, Brie, and Noisy. The points thus selected
for attack were the weakest in all the investing
circle, and the sortie was made at the very
moment when they were even weaker than ordi¬
nary; for Moltke, perceiving indications of the
intention of the French to advance down the
triangle, had given instructions for the line to be
strengthened. The Wiirtemburgers were accord¬
ingly ordered to fall back from the front of their
position to its second line; and the ground thus
left vacant by them was to be occupied by the
sixth (Saxon) corps. Thus it happened that the
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
191
Germans were caught in a transition state: for
the Wiirtemburgers retired rather early, and the
troops intended for their relief came rather late;
and it was precisely at this moment—when the
ground that had been left empty by one had
not been filled by another portion of the invest¬
ing forces—that the French made their attack.
At first the German outposts had to bear the
brunt of the fighting, but before mid-day there
were three regiments of Saxons on the field
(104th, 106th, and 107th), all under the com¬
mand of General de Nehrhof, and a brigade of
Wiirtemburgers, commanded by Brigadier-general
Reitzenstein. The Saxons had two regiments
of cavalry and six of artillery, their entire force
amounting to about 11,000 men. The Wiirtem-
burg brigade was about 7000, so that the whole
of the German force in position to resist the sortie
was only 18,000 men. The French advanced in
excellent order under the guns of their forts, and
it soon became evident that they intended to make
a most serious attempt to break through the Ger¬
man intrenchments. The troops on that side
accordingly sallied forth into the plateau, in order
to meet their attack ; and now came a mur¬
derous cross-fire from Nogent and Mont Avron.
High into the air rose shells, that were liter¬
ally vomited forth from both the fort and the
batteries. They shot through the atmosphere like
blazing comets, and fell in showers among the
German soldiers, causing death and destruction
all around the places where they exploded. The
Saxons and Wiirtemburgers fought gallantly, but
they were overwhelmed by superior numbers; and
after a brief, though murderous struggle, they were
compelled to retreat, and the French at once seized
upon Champigny and Brie, the fire from the forts
being discontinued the moment they got close to
those places. A third French column had in the
meantime marched up the Marne as far as Neuilly,
there crossed the river, and now proceeded to co¬
operate with their comrades from Brie in an attack
on Yilliers, an important post in the investing
circle, which was also captured after a fierce con¬
test. Noisy-le-Grand, too, was seriously threat¬
ened ; and indeed the assailants had a decided
advantage along the whole battle-field for several
hours, their force being too great to resist, although,
owing to the nature of the ground, it was impos¬
sible fully to deploy their columns, and to make
the whole power of their fire felt. Matters were
now looking extremely serious for the German
troops, but operations were suspended for a short
time. The Wiirtemburgers were reinforced by
detachments from the Saxon, Pomeranian, and
Silesian corps ; and then a change in the situation
of affairs was made by Colonel Abendorth, who
acted as brigadier-general in the room of General
Schultz, wounded at Sedan. Placing himself at
the head of a body of Saxons, he called on them
to follow him into the village of Yilliers. They
responded with a loud "Hurrah," and rushed upon
the French who held it. A dreadful struggle
ensued. It was then that the only firing at very
close quarters took place, because on the plateau
the French, while using the Chassepot, kept at a
long distance from the enemy, to avoid coming
under the fire of their own forts. In the village
it was necessarily otherwise ; but neither during
this fight, nor at any other time in the day, was
there a bayonet charge. After an obstinate resist¬
ance the French were driven out of Villiers : many
of them were made prisoners, and the rest had now
to defend themselves in the open field. While
Colonel Abendorth was leading an attack on them
in the plateau, a battery of mitrailleuses placed
right opposite Yilliers was worked with great
rapidity. Four mitrailleuse balls entered the chest
of the colonel's horse, which dropped dead. An
officer galloped up to him with another; and again
he was in the saddle, and leading his men, who
followed him impetuously with another loud
" Hurrah." This was a most exciting moment.
They had only proceeded a hundred yards when
the second horse was killed by a rifle shot, and,
with its rider, came to the ground. Though hurt
by the fall, the colonel got to his feet and called
on his men to continue the charge. They did so,
and actually took some prisoners on the plateau.
There was now a fierce cannonading on both
sides, and the artillery did terrific execution.
Some of the German troops stationed themselves
behind a wall to fire upon the French with the
advantage of that cover; but the shells smashed
the wall, and annihilated several of the men be¬
hind. The Germans captured two field-guns, but
such a shower of shot, shell, and grenades was
poured upon the troops who attempted to remove
them, that they were obliged to leave them on the
field. The fighting gradually ceased, and soon
after four o'clock the French retired, leaving strong
garrisons in Champigny and Brie ; but it was
192
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
nearly five, and quite dark, before the guns of the
forts were entirely silent.
While the contest was raging in this quarter, a
column of French troops was directed eastwards
towards Chelles, along the right bank of the Marne,
in order to keep off the twelfth (Saxon) corps ;
and another army, debouching by Fort Charenton,
advanced in the direction of Mesly and Bonneuil,
in front of Creteil. They succeeded in obtaining
possession of Mont Mesly, and with it the villages
at its foot, about noon; and could they have held
and entrenched it, a very important point would
have been gained ; but the Germans having been
reinforced in the after part of the day by the seventh
brigade of the second corps, the lost positions were
reconquered, and the French driven back under
the shelter of Fort Charenton.
At the close of the day the Saxons stood fast
in Yilliers, in spite of all that the French troops
and forts could do to dislodge them; while the
army of Ducrot solidly held the villages of
Champigny and Brie, which in the morning had
been German posts; and which, in the possession
of the French, were a standing menace to the
safety of the main line of investment, only 2000
yards distant. Their success was therefore real,
though incomplete, for they had won positions
which might prove of much value for ulterior
operations. The French brought fourteen batteries
across the Marne; but owing to the nature of the
ground they could not get their guns on a height,
at a fair range from the enemy's infantry, so that
they did not make much use of them. The cavalry
on either side took no part in the battle. Though
the French had displayed unquestionable bravery
and steadiness in these engagements, and though
they had fought well and manoeuvred fairly, show¬
ing that the governor of Paris had created out of
rude masses a disciplined and tolerably efficient
army, yet they were unequal to their German foes,
who were strung to the height of daring by
continual success. The French had not as yet
reached the besieger's fines : they had only won
advanced posts from which they could gather
and attack in force; still these made their position
very threatening, and it is hard to say what the
result might have been if Ducrot, sacrificing every
consideration to the primary object of breaking
out, had called in his reserves during the night,
and, advancing from Brie and Champigny, had
endeavoured to storm the German intrenchments
the next day. He would certainly have had the
superiority of numbers, and would have begun
with some advantages of ground; and even those
who can fully appreciate the obstacles he would
have had to overcome will, at least, doubt whether
he might not have triumphed. The French,
however, as on so many previous occasions in the
war, remained inactive at the critical moment, and
their opportunity was lost for ever.
Instead of resuming the attack, the French
army remained perfectly quiet during the whole
of the next day, December 1, repairing losses and
collecting supplies; and though it still held its
ground beyond the Marne, it was not reinforced
to any great extent; neither was much advantage
taken of the day's rest to fortify the captured posi¬
tions. On the German side, artillery and ammuni¬
tion were brought up by various roads, followed
by regiment after regiment of infantry. The
second army corps was ordered to assist in the
operations, for it was expected that the French,
from Champigny and Brie, with reinforcements
from Paris, would attack the German lines, and
a second day's fighting was regarded as certain.
Not a moment was lost, for by halfpast seven
o'clock in the morning the infantry and artillery
had taken up their positions for resisting any move¬
ment either from Brie or against Yilliers. It was
bitterly cold all day, and it was consequently a
severe duty for officers and men to rest there inac¬
tively, while exposed to the shot and shell from
Fort Nogent and the battery at Avron ; from both
of which there was firing, though only now and
then was it very frequent, and it did no damage.
During the day a truce was agreed upon for some
hours, at the request of the French, to enable
them to bury their dead and collect the wounded ;
unfortunately not an easy task, for owing to the
severity of the conflict the losses on both sides
had been fearfully heavy. Late in the evening
the German leaders held a council of war at the
Prefecture at Versailles, at which it was decided that
Champigny and Brie must be retaken. General
von Moltke held that it was essential ; though the
other generals expressed great doubts as to the
advantage of an attack in which the lives of their
soldiers must be so freely sacrificed. However,
orders were given to regain possession of these
two villages " at any cost," and to drive the French
behind the Marne. For this purpose as many
men as could be spared were to be massed together;
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR,
193
and all night troops were marching in the direction
of Brie and Villiers. It was arranged that the
Saxons should attack Brie, and the Wiirtemburgers
Champigny. The troops engaged consisted of the
second division of the royal Saxon army (the
twenty-fourth division of the German host), under
General von Nehroff, and comprising the 104th,
105th, 106th, 107th, and 108th regiments. Taking
each regiment at its full strength of three bat¬
talions, these would represent fifteen battalions, or
about 12,000 men; but as more than one battalion
was naturally employed elsewhere on outpost duty,
it may be outside the exact number to put down
the Saxon force at 10,000 men. Before the com¬
mencement of operations these splendid troops
occupied positions in Cournay, Champs, Noisy,-
Villiers, and the vicinity. The division of the
Wiirtemburgers was commanded by General von
Obernitz, a Prussian officer, and they were posted
at La Queue Noiseau, Ormesson, Chennevières,
and the surrounding country. A. contingent
made up of contributions from various portions of
the second army corps, supported and co-operated
with the Wiirtemburgers; so that altogether the
Germans engaged, or immediately supporting, must
not have been less than 25,000. The troops belong¬
ing to the second army corps were commanded
by General von Fransecki, who in virtue of his
seniority had the nominal direction of all the
operations, which were, however, supervised gen¬
erally as regarded the Saxons by Prince George of
Saxony in person. To oppose these veterans the
entire second army of Paris had been assembled on
the plateau between Brie and Champigny. The
first and second corps (of three divisions each)
commanded respectively by Generals Blanchard and
Rénault, occupied the centre and right ; while the
third corps (D'Exea's) was à cheval on the Marne,
opposite Nogent—the first division (Bellemare's)
holding Brie, and the second, or reserve (Mattat's),
lying on the rising ground forming the watershed
at the other side. In all there were over 100,000
French bayonets in the elbow of the Marne,
though probably not quite half that number were
actively engaged at any time. The third army
(seven divisions, or about 110,000 rank and file),
under General Vinoy, were stationed right and
left of General Ducrot, all round the city ; but then-
orders were merely to harass the enemy as much
as possible, without making a serious attack at any
point.
vol. n.
Friday morning (December 2), was again
bitterly cold and frosty; and the German soldiers
who had bivouacked in the fields lay crouched
around huge fires of green wood, which they
had cut from the trees. Soon after seven o'clock
the 107th Saxon regiment marched directly
on Brie, a portion of them advancing from the
direction of Noisy, and the rest coming up from
Villiers. It is a notable fact that, although the
French had every reason to expect an attack, they
were taken completely by surprise; there were
only about 100 of them in front of the village—
the greater number being in the houses, some
asleep, others composedly drinking their coffee.
The Saxons rushed on the outposts, who com¬
menced rifle-firing, and a fight, carried on from
one end of the village to the other, at once ensued,
in which some French reinforcements, who had
already crossed the Marne with the intention of
marching on Villiers and Noisy, took part. The
attack was so sudden and impetuous that—unaided
by the artillery of their forts, which could not
be brought to bear on the position without des¬
troying their own men—the French were unable
to withstand it. Amid wild " hurrahs !" from the
Saxons Brie was retaken, and about 300 prisoners
were captured, including eight officers.
Just before eight o'clock the Wiirtemburgers,
coming up from their posts on the south, assaulted
Champigny with rapid discharges from their needle-
guns: the French replied; but after a struggle,
vigorously maintained on both sides, the Wiirtem-
burgers repossessed themselves of the outposts they
lost on the 30th. This proved a critical moment for
the French troops. In the plain below Champigny
some hundreds of panic-stricken men were flying
from the front, and the German shells began to fall
among them, hastening their flight and increasing
their confusion. The promptitude of the French
commanders, however, prevented a terrible dis¬
aster. The bridges across the Marne were burned;
gendarmes galloped to and fro, and belaboured the
fugitives with the flat of their swords; batteries of
artillery trotted into the plain and wheeled into
position, and the heavy guns posted in the redoubt
of St. Maur poured a murderous fire into the
opposing German batteries, and in half-an-hour
had silenced them. The heavy artillery of the
French forts also continued to fire on Noisy;
and about nine o'clock Nogent, Rosny, and
Avron commenced shelling Brie, which had the
2 b
194
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
effect of changing the whole aspect of affairs.
During the preceding day the neighbouring forts
and batteries had received many additional guns,
and the rain of shot and shell which they now
began to pour into the devoted German ranks,
has been described by experienced soldiers as more
tremendous than they had ever before witnessed.
The French troops now rallied and reformed,
and were moved to the front again, where they
resisted and finally repulsed the German attack.
The correspondent of the Times, who was present,
gave the following graphic description of the
scene:—" There was the direct and the vertical
fire. Avron and Rosny fired their shells right
across. One of the batteries on Nogent fired in
that way, while the other threw its shells high
up in the air, and they descended from a point
directly over the place in which they were intended
to explode. No shelter could be found from Noisy
down to the near end of Champigny. Houses
were battered into ruins, trees were smashed into
fragments, and men fell dead and wounded every¬
where. It was simply impossible for any troops
to live under such a fire as was then descending
on Brie, and the Saxons were fairly shelled out
of it. After an immense loss of men and officers,
they evacuated it at ten o'clock. While this
terrible and persistent discharge of shot and shell
was going on, some of the Saxon regiments
attempted to make their way to the bridges by
which the French had crossed the Marne, while
the latter were coming out by thousands in column
after column from under Rosny and Nogent. I saw,
I should think, not fewer than 20,000 of them
in one long column on the sloping ground between
those two forts. The attempts to get at the bridges
were repeated over and over again, not only under
the shelling from the forts, but in face of two
batteries of mitrailleuses, the fire from which was
scarcely less dreadful. In the distance were French
infantry, scattered here and there, who kept up
a continuous fusillade from their Chassepots. The
Schutzen or chasseur regiment of Saxons replied
to them. One line of this regiment was on a
slope, and was so completely exposed to a com¬
bined fire, that an aide-de-camp was sent to tell
it to retire. As he was approaching it, a ball
struck him in the breast, and he fell dead. Colonel
Hausen, of the Schutzen regiment, and thirty-four
of its other officers were also killed, and the men
were shot down like deer in a battue. Attempts
were made by the Germans to bring their artillery
into play, but such was the unfavourable nature
of the ground that the guns could only be placed
in positions where the shells from the forts would
have knocked them to pieces in five minutes.
Only one or two batteries fired, and that under
circumstances which prevented their being of
much service. There was cavalry on both sides,
but they again took no part in the engagement.
The Germans had to depend entirely on their
infantry, which behaved admirably, and inflicted
very great loss on the enemy. The lines of French
were constantly thinned, but they were replaced
by others, who kept up the Chassepot practice at
just such a distance as enabled them to be safe
from the fire of their own forts. There was a
lull now and then in the rifle slaughter as the
Germans retreated from the near approaches to the
bridges over the Marne, but the shelling never
for a moment ceased; and the mitrailleuses and
Chassepots again performed their work of destruc¬
tion, and again lines of Frenchmen fell dead and
wounded from the fire of the needle-gun, as often
as the Germans renewed the attempt to get at and
destroy the bridges. All this time the wounded
were being carried off the field by both parties;
while some unfortunate soldiers, who though
maimed were able to rise, fell dead from another
ball, or the fragment of a shell, as they endeavoured
to hobble off the ground. For miles round the
whole earth seemed to shake from the thunder of
the forts, while shells were passing over the battle¬
field and exploding in the woods and highways.
Some of the projectiles reached a distance of 7000
yards from the batteries whence they were dis¬
charged. Ultimately the Germans were obliged to
desist from the attempt on the bridges, though
it was nearly three o'clock in the afternoon when
they did so." Another eye-witness said:—"As
the Germans advanced and the French retired,
a most tremendous fire burst on the attacking
columns. In vain, exulting in the pride of success,
did the Germans press forward with shouts of
defiance; in vain did officers break from their ranks
and cheer them on against the receding enemy:
whole files were literally swept away, until, at
last, after a heroic effort, the retreat was sounded,
and the German front fell back." Then the tide
of battle turned again; the French pressed for¬
ward in dense masses, and the tricolor was once
more seen in Brie and Champigny, although the
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
195
Wurtemburgers still continued to hold several
outposts at their extreme end of the latter village.
That portion of the French army who had not
crossed the Marne then retired, and after a few
parting shots the forts became silent. So ended
this second engagement.
While the battle was still raging, General
Trochu forwarded the following despatch to the
chief of the general staff in Paris :—
" The Governor of Paris to General Schmitz.
" December 2.
" Plateau between Champigny
and Villiers, 1.15 p.m.
" Attacked this morning by enormous forces
at break of day. We have been fighting for
nearly seven hours. At the moment I write to
you the enemy is retiring along the whole line,
giving up the heights to us once more. Traversing
the lines of riflemen from Champigny to Brie, I
received the honour and the unspeakable pleasure
of being cheered by the troops, exposed to the
most violent fire. We shall doubtless have dread¬
ful returns, and this second battle, like the first,
will last the whole day. I do not know what
future is reserved for these generous efforts of the
troops of the republic ; but I owe this justice to
them, that in the midst of trials of all kinds they
have deserved well of the country. I must add
that to General Ducrot belongs the honour of
these two days. (( GENERAL TR0CHU."
The actual result of these two days of slaughter
bore no proportion to the fearful loss of life ; for
while nothing had been gained by either party,
both had lost much. The desperate action on
Friday pretty clearly showed that, notwithstand¬
ing their overwhelming superiority of numbers,
and the bravery of the greater portion of the
French troops, they could not defeat their
enemies in the open field. It will be noticed that
on the second day the Germans acted on the
offensive; and it was only by the aid of the heavy
guns of the forts that the French were able to
maintain the positions they carried on Wednesday.
Giving them full credit for the bravery and hero¬
ism displayed by those of them who fought, it
must still be said that, with all their valour, they
were not equal to the task before them; for they
could gain no ground against enemies over whom
they had the advantage of numbers, of position,
and of weapons. Considering the intention with
which the sortie was made, it had proved a grievous
failure. Its object, on the part of the French,
was not merely a trial of strength between the
two armies, or even to gain certain positions (in
which case they might have had reason to con¬
gratulate themselves); but they wished to force a
passage through the Prussian lines, and as they
were no nearer the attainment of this end than
they had been a week before, they could not be
said to have gained anything. On the other
hand, they had lost nothing, for the troops were
encouraged by finding they could cope on equal
terms with the Prussians in a protracted engage¬
ment on a large scale, rather than dispirited by
the failure of their object.
The Germans made every preparation for a
renewal of the murderous conflict on the following
morning, and before daybreak troops to reinforce
their army were pouring from all sides into Champs
(the headquarters of the Saxon corps) : the Bavar¬
ians were marched up from Lagny, and the roads
bristled with bayonets. These precautions, how¬
ever, proved unnecessary; for on the afternoon of
December 3 the mass of the French retired across
the Marne, unmolested, to the shelter of Yincennes,
leaving garrisons in the villages which had been
the occasion of so much slaughter. These garri¬
sons also were finally withdrawn on the evening
of the 4th, after which General Ducrot issued the
following order of the day:—"Soldiers! After
two days' glorious battles I have made you recross
the Marne, because I was convinced that further
efforts would be fruitless in the direction in which
the enemy had time to concentrate his forces, and
to prepare means of action. Had we persisted in
that way, I should have uselessly sacrificed thou¬
sands of brave men. Far from aiding the work
of deliverance I should have seriously compromised
it, and at the same time have led you to an
irreparable disaster. But the conflict has only
ceased for a moment; let us resume it with courage.
Be ready ! Complete with speed your ammunition
and your provisions. Above all, raise your hearts
to the height of the sacrifice which is demanded
by the holy cause for which we must not hesitate
to lay down our lives."
True to the French characteristic of never
admitting a defeat, the Journal Officiel of Decem¬
ber 5, after announcing that the troops had
196
THE FRANCO-:
PRUSSIAN WAR.
recrossed tlie Marne and were encamped in the
wood of Yineennes, gave to the Parisians the
following elaborate explanation of this backward
" strategical movement:"—" The plan, the execu¬
tion of which has been for the last four days so
vigorously carried out, now enters upon a new
phase. In broad daylight our troops came down
again in excellent order towards the Marne,
while the enemy did not dare to molest them.
The forts kept good watch. The fatigues so
courageously endured by the young army of
Paris required a short rest. The cold is much
more severe and piercing on the hills than in
the open country or inside Paris. The fight
had lasted the whole day, and strict vigilance was
necessary to avoid an unexpected attack, as was
the case on the morning of the 2nd. Therefore
no sleep was possible; added to which any one
indulging in sleep on the hard ground in such
a temperature would have risked being frozen to
death. These, and strategical reasons, caused the
movement, which will lead to fresh engagements,
as announced in the order of the day of General
Ducrot, the true meaning and import of which
has been perfectly understood by the Parisian
population. Some papers suppose that we have
abandoned Champigny. This is not the case; on
the contrary, we are assured that our troops remain
strongly established in those positions. The
number of German prisoners taken from the battle¬
field now amounts to more than 800; many of
them are detained in the forts. No serious affair
has occurred since the 2nd, but that does not
prevent our generals preparing for the new stage
of the struggle upon which we are now about to
enter. The Prussian staff is reported to show
uneasiness at the prospect. The enemy, who has
in all directions to go over enormous distances
before facing us, begins indeed to feel that he will
soon be exhausted by marches and countermarches
if we continue ever so little successively to attack
him on several opposite points. The immense
circle round which he has to manœuvre grows
daily more extended, in consequence of our con¬
quering advanced positions after each engagement,
and therefore the increasing difficulties of quickly
concentrating troops which threaten General von
Moltke's plans, must be contemplated at Versailles
with some legitimate fear. Paris, on the con¬
trary, perfectly understanding what is going on,
co-operates by all the means at her disposal with
the views of her skilful and gallant governor.
The business of general organization, equipment,
and the artillery works, is pushed on with fresh
efficiency and vigour. The military resources
placed at the disposal of battalions armed by private
industry are, so to say, inexhaustible."
In order to show the intense delight inspired
by the French successes, (?) the following letter
was addressed by the members of the Provisional
Government to their president, General Trochu:—
" General and Dear President,—For three days
we have been with you in mind upon the field
of battle, where the destinies of the country are
being decided. We would wish to share that
danger while leaving you that glory which so
justly belongs to you, of having prepared and
assured by your noble devotion the success of our
valiant army. No one has a greater right to be
proud of it than you. No one can more worthily
pronounce its eulogium. You are only unmindful
of yourself, but you withdraw yourself from the
acclamations of your companions in arms, electrified
by your example. It would have been agreeable
to us to add our own, but permit us at least to
express to you our hearty sentiments of gratitude
and affection. Say to the brave General Ducrot
and his gallant soldiers that we admire them.
Republican France recognizes in them the noble
and pure heroism which already has saved it.
France now knows that she rests her hopes of
safety on them and on you. We, your colleagues,
acquainted with your ideas, hail with joy those
grand and noble days in which you completely
revealed yourself, and which we are convinced
are the commencement of our deliverance." Neither
then, nor at any subsequent period, did the true
state of affairs justify the use of this highly
inflated language.
As may be supposed, the list of casualties for the
two days was on both sides frightfully heavy. On
the 30th of November the French suffered equally
with their enemies, for then they were the assail¬
ants, and it was only the fire from their forts which
restored the balance of loss that must otherwise
have been against them. But on the 2nd of
December the German casualties far exceeded
those of the French. The Schutzen and the 108th
regiments, especially, were dreadfully cut up. The
latter, after going into action, returned at the
end of twenty minutes with the loss of thirty-five
out of forty-five officers. The former covered
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
197
themselves with immortal honour, but at a terrible
sacrifice. They went into action about 2000
strong, and lost 760 men and 36 officers—more
than a third of their entire strength. One com¬
pany which began the fight with 170 men, came
out with 70, and in another every one of the lieu¬
tenants was killed. The total loss on the French
side was officially stated to be 1008 killed and
5082 wounded, who strewed the plateau in front
of the villages of Champigny, Brie, and Villiers ;
and there is reason to fear that a great many of the
deaths were owing to the want of attention during
the severe weather. On one night the thermometer
was twelve degrees, and the next nine degrees,
below zero (Fahr.)—the cold being intensified by
a cutting wind which pierced through the very
bones, and transferred many of the poor fellows
from the list of the wounded to that of the dead.
The French superior officers also were very un¬
fortunate : General de la Charriere was killed ;
General Renaud had to undergo amputation of the
leg, and General Falherbe of the arm ; and Colonel
de Talhouet was also severely wounded. On the
German side nearly 8000 officers and men were
placed hors de combat by the two days' hostilities
—a heavy total, which was chiefly due to the gal¬
lantry of the regiments engaged, " for they fought
like lions." Perhaps no men were ever called
upon to oppose by rifles alone such a cannonade
and rifle fire as the Saxons, in particular, were
subjected to ; and they well deserved the con¬
gratulations and thanks which the king of Saxony
sent them. It has been stated that the French
army was principally composed of raw recruits : no
doubt thousands of them were new to the service ;
but there were present zouaves brought from Al¬
geria after the battle of Sedan, and the great major¬
ity of the men who fought on the two days had
the bearing of seasoned soldiers. As an instance
of the privations caused by the siege, some of
them cut up the dead horses with their swords,
and proceeded to cook and eat portions on the
battlefield.
In his general review of this sortie, and of the
last engagement in particular, the able writer of the
"Campaign of 1870-71," in the Times (since col¬
lected and republished), says:—The governor of
Paris had witnessed the vicissitudes of this memor¬
able day, and he had seen his enemy, frightfully
thinned, recoil baffled, if not routed. Nevertheless,
rigidly adhering to his plan, he did not attempt
to improve his advantage, and contented himself
with maintaining his hold on the valuable outposts
he had regained. That these tactics were in
accordance with the general rules of the art of
war, which almost assume that the garrison of
a fortress cannot, when once invested, escape
unless aided by a relieving army, will be hardly
denied by competent critics. Still, Trochu may
have considered the question from too narrow
a point of view; and possibly he had then an
opportunity of severing the circle around Paris,
even without any external assistance. The whole
German force on the French front on the 2nd of
December was 25,000 men; this had been reduced
at least a fifth ; and though it had retired in good
order, the extraordinary losses of its officers induce
us to think that it had suffered some abatement
from its high martial courage. On the other
hand, the French were not less, certainly, than
55,000 strong; these could have been raised to
100,000 by immediate reinforcements from Paris;
they were full of confidence, and the terrible
execution done by the forts had inspired them
with exulting hope. It may be, therefore, that
had Trochu combined the troops he could have
made available for a great effort on the 3rd of
December, he might possibly have cleared a
passage. Such was the opinion of eye-witnesses
writing from the German camp after the war had
ended; and, had he done so, and marched boldly
on the great German dépôt of Lagny, on the
main line of the hostile communications, he might
have caused the siege to have been raised, and have
practically gained a base for his army. Such an
attempt certainly would have been perilous, but
there were strong arguments, we think, in its
favour. The force inside Paris was not a mere
garrison ; a large and far from despicable army had
been formed for active operations; and as Trochu
ought to have been aware that, in the actual cir¬
cumstances of the war, the arrival of a relieving
army was an event he could not fully rely on, he
ought, perhaps, to have made up his mind to act
decisively with, the means in his hands; and had
he done so, he certainly had a favourable oppor¬
tunity at this moment. Instead, however, of
making the effort, the governor of Paris remained
immovable. Without seeking to blame Trochu,
we shall only remark that he never found so good
an opportunity again, and that possibly genius and
daring might at this moment have led to fortune.
CHAPTER XX Y.
Scenes on the re-ocoupation of Orleans by the Germans—Difficulty of disposing of the large number of Prisoners—Important Proclamation of
the King of Prussia, stating that another Crisis of the War had been reached—The French Seat of Government transferred from Tours
to Bordeaux—Panic in the former City on the decision of the Government being made known—Visit of M. Gambetta to the French Army,
and issue of a Stirring and Hopeful Manifesto by him—Results of the Capture of Orleans to the French—New Arrangements made by
them—General D'Aurelles removed from the Chief Command, and General Chanzy appointed in his stead—Good Reasons for the Step
Chanzy's Skill and Energy—Position occupied by his Army on the right bank of the Loire—Battle of Beaugency on December 7—Timely
Arrival of the Bavarians, and the French driven back after a very Gallant Resistance—Resumption of the Engagement by them on the
following morning, and continued Obstinate Fighting on both Sides during the day—The Germans finally again Victorious—Capture of
400 Prisoners by them at Midnight without firing a shot or losing a Man—Fearful Scenes in Beaugency—Another Battle on the 9th, in
which the Germans are again Successful—The French, however, commence another Engagement on the 10th, and are again defeated after
a Severe Struggle—The Scenes in the Villages around in consequence of there having been no time to attend to the Dead and Wounded—
Skilful Movement of General Chanzy, who takes up a very Strong Position near Fréterai, on the road to Paris—Timely Arrival of Rein¬
forcements to the Grand-duke of Mecklenburg, and the French ultimately compelled to retreat to Le Mans—General Review of the Strategy
on both Sides during this period—The Fearful Losses amongst the Bavarians—Letter from the King of Prussia specially thanking them—
Attack on Tours by the Germans—Capture of Rouen after an unavailing attempt at Defence—Panic amongst the French Troops and
Inhabitants of the City—The Germans actually invited to enter to protect the Citizens from the Mob—The Strategical Importance of the
City to the Germans—Visit of the Germans to Dieppe, they having thus crossed France from the Rhine to the British Channel—Scenes in
the Town—Blockade of their own Seaports by the French—Second Occupation of Dieppe—The Prussian Garrison at Ham surprised and
taken Prisoners—Surrender of Phalsbourg and Montmédy by the French—Contrast between Châteaudun and Chartres—New Levy of
Germans Troops, and unabated Enthusiasm throughout the Country—Severe Decree of the French Government as to Desertion—Abolition
of the General Councils of Departments by M. Gambetta—Great Dissatisfaction throughout the Country at the Measure—Repudiation of
the Treaty of 1867 for the Neutrality of Luxemburg by the Germans—Reasons for such a Step, and Reply of the Luxemburg Government—
Sinking of English Vessels by the Germans on the Seine—Remonstrance of the British Government, and Prompt Reply by Count von
Bismarck, guaranteeing Compensation to the Owners and Crews.
Our last review of the events upon the Loire
closed with the fall, for the second time, of
Orleans before the victorious enemy. The entry
of the Germans into the city, on the morning
of Sunday, December 5, was a scene fitted to
impress deeply both the victors and the van¬
quished. The rattle of the artillery trains, the
roll of drums, the jingle of the trotting cavalry,
the shouts of officers, the tramp of battalions, the
hopeless "jams " of the baggage trains, the squads
of prisoners arriving from different directions, the
cowering, stray civilians, crushed by this din of
war, and the weeping women—all combined to
form a picture full of strong and striking contrast.
If nations, like individuals, must pass through
humiliation and suffering to rise to a higher and
purer standard of virtue, the French were at this
time draining the bitter cup to the dregs; while
their opponents had the difficult lesson to learn of
triumphing in a spirit of gentleness and modera¬
tion. The fact that the Germans had already
once bombarded the town and driven out the
enemy ; and that, after occupying it for four weeks
and being driven out in turn, they were now once
more victorious over an army, the raising of which
for her own defence had taxed the energies of
Republican France to the utmost, naturally caused
a high degree of exultation, and invested the
second capture of Orleans with an interest peculiar
to itself. The intensity of feeling arising out of
these special circumstances was observable on both
sides, and the proud elated air of the regiments
which, with colours flying and bands playing,
followed each other along the street, finally leading
into the centre of the town, was in striking contrast
with the dejected appearance of the inhabitants.
At one point had been a barricade which raked the
whole length of the street by which the city was
entered, and along which the French had, during
the night, kept up a storm of rifle bullets which,
for a time, held their enemies at bay. Passing
along this street the German troops finally de¬
bouched upon the Place du Martroy, in the
centre of which, upon her bronze charger, and
waving her sword, rode " The Maid," surrounded
now by a dense throng of French prisoners cap¬
tured in course of the night. As the whole army
came pouring into the city, street after street began
to resound with the strains of martial music and
the tramp of armed men ; and at every lattice, over
which the blinds were kept closed for the most
part, excepting some little chink left as a peep-hole,
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
199
inquisitive and anxious eyes looked out. There
must have been something appalling to the in¬
habitants in the numbers of the hostile army, as,
in seemingly never-ending columns, regiment after
regiment marched to the position assigned to it.
On the balcony of the Hotel d'Orléans stood the
grand-duke of Mecklenburg returning the salute
of his men, who looked for the most part as fresh
and clean as if they had just turned out for parade,
instead of having had three days of hard fighting
in mid-winter. The jager battalions, each man
with a sprig of pine in his shako, were especially
gallant-looking ; and when the inhabitants came to
compare the numbers and aspect of the conquerors,
with their own troops huddled together and shiv¬
ering in the middle of the square, they must have
ceased to wonder at the result.
As usual, the number of prisoners was enor¬
mous, and considerable difficulty was felt by their
captors in disposing of them. As many thousands
as could possibly be crammed into it passed the
night in the magnificent cathedral, which pre¬
sented a very remarkable scene.
Considering all the circumstances under which
Orleans was captured, and that for several hours
its streets were actually defended by riflemen, it
must in justice be said that the German troops
displayed considerable moderation at a moment
when, according to the rules of war, a certain
amount of licence is supposed to be permitted to
soldiers who may almost be said to have taken by
storm a besieged town. This might possibly be
owing to the fact that the Bavarians, who were
among the first to enter, had during their former
month's stay in the place made many friends, who
now from motives of policy, if from no other
sentiment, received them warmly as old acquaint¬
ances. No additional contributions were exacted
from the city until, a few days after its occupation,
the driver of a Prussian provision column was
killed. He had asked a Frenchman in a blouse
the way to the bivouac outside the town, where
his waggon was standing. The Frenchman pointed
in the direction he was to take; but the unfortunate
waggoner, thanking him, had hardly turned away
when a bullet passed through his back and entered
his lungs. As the offender could not be discovered,
a fine of £24,000 was imposed. Half the money
was paid down in cash, and plate and other articles
were offered in liquidation of the second moiety.
The Bavarian officer, however, replied that he was
commandant, and not a storekeeper; and that the
amount would be increased by £4000 a day until
the fine was paid. On the same or following day
the money was forthcoming.
Numerous events following each other closely
up to the present time, point to the early days of
December as marking an important stage in the
operations of the war. Not only had the army of
the Loire been a second time defeated and Orleans
reoccupied, but in the east Dijon had been cap¬
tured ; in the north the French army raised there
had been shattered and dispersed, the large cities
of Amiens and Rouen had been taken; and at
Paris sorties on a great scale had been victoriously
repulsed. The king of Prussia therefore issued
the following important proclamation :—
" Soldiers of the Confederate German Armies !
—We have again arrived at a crisis of the war.
When I last addressed you the last of the hostile
armies which at the commencement of the cam¬
paign confronted us had, by the capitulation of
Metz, been destroyed. The enemy has since, by
extraordinary exertions, opposed to us newly-
formed troops, and a large portion of the inhabitants
of France have forsaken their peaceful, and by us
unhindered, vocations in order to take up arms.
The enemy was frequently superior to us in num¬
bers, but you have nevertheless again defeated
him, for valour and discipline and confidence in a
righteous cause are worth more than numerical
preponderance. All attempts of the enemy to
break through the investment lines of Paris have
been firmly repulsed, often, indeed, with many
bloody sacrifices, as at Champigny and at Le Bour-
get, but with a heroism such as you have every¬
where displayed towards him. The armies of the
enemy, which were advancing in every direction
to the relief of Paris, have all been defeated. Our
troops, some of whom only a few weeks ago stood
before Metz and Strassburg, have to-day advanced
as far as Rouen, Orleans, and Dijon, and among
many smaller victorious engagements, two new
important battles—those of Amiens and the several
days' fight at Orleans—have been added to our
former triumphs. Several fortresses have been
conquered, and much war material has been taken.
I have reason, therefore, for the greatest satisfac¬
tion, and it is to me a gratification and a duty to
express this to you. I thank you all, from the
general to the common soldier. Should the enemy
200
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
persist in a further prosecution of the war, I know
you will continue to show that exertion of all your
powers to which we owe our great success hitherto,
until we wring from him an honourable peace,
worthy of the great sacrifices of blood and life
which have been offered up. ,, WILLIAM
" Headquarters, Versailles, Dec. 6, 1870."
With the defeat of the Loire army a general
impression prevailed that the entry of the enemy
into Tours was simply a question of time. Whether
this feeling was or was not shared by M. Gambetta
and his colleagues, they doubtless judged that the
victorious Prussians would at once make for the
city which, since the investment of Paris, had been
the second capital of France. A proclamation was
therefore issued by the ministers, in which they
announced the abandonment of Tours as the seat
of the delegate government, as under the circum¬
stances of the hour it was of the utmost importance
to prevent the freedom of the army from being
impeded in any way by political or administrative
considerations. As, therefore, the- proximity of
the seat of government at Tours might hinder the
military operations, it had been decided that the
whole of the government offices should be trans¬
ferred to Bordeaux; which, owing to the facilities
of communication which it offered both by land
and sea with the rest of France, afforded peculiar
advantages for the organization of the army and
the continuance of the work of the national defence.
Often during the campaign there might have been
witnessed the sudden flight of a whole population
before the dreaded Germans, but never was there
seen a spectacle of the kind so general, or a terror
so universal, as that which reigned in Tours when
the decision of the government became known.
The city has a population of 41,000 inhabitants;
and after the government had made it their head¬
quarters, at least 20,000 persons who had nothing
to do with the place itself had taken up their
residence there. All these had to move, or felt
themselves bound to move in accordance with
their own interests, when the authorities had
decided on flying southwards. Many of course
were obliged, by considerations other than selfish,
to follow the fortunes of the emigrating ministers.
Besides the different embassies, various official
and semi-official newspaper establishments, a large
body who had obtained, and who were trying to
obtain, contracts for every conceivable article
which the soldier could eat, drink, wear, or use
in fighting, there were a vast number of persons
who, living more or less on their own means,
had fled from Paris, and were now anxious to
escape again from the Germans, supposed to be in
full march on Tours. It may therefore be easily
understood how huge the exodus became when it
was known the government had positively decided
upon going south. The inhabitants of the place,
French as well as foreigners, had been one and all
so greatly deceived by the falsehoods told, and the
greater falsehoods insinuated, regarding the doings
and prospects of the army of the Loire, that in
spite of themselves they read every official docu¬
ment in a sense almost exactly contrary to that
which it bore. That the military situation was
good, and that the government was departing
merely to leave greater freedom of action to the
army of the Loire, might have been credited after
the battle of Coulmiers and the re-occupation of
Orleans by the French ; but it would not go down
after the disastrous fight at Patay, the return of
the Prussians to Orleans, the removal of D'Aurelles
from the command, and the arrival in Tours of
a host of wounded and of fugitives, both officers
and men, from the beaten forces which had
struggled with more or less valour, but with very
little success, to stem the ever-advancing Prussian
tide. The persistent misrepresentations of the
French government had demoralized the public,
and no good news was now credited until actually
proved to be true. So everybody believed the
worst to have happened, when it was known that
the government was going. Meanwhile the rail¬
way terminus was besieged by multitudes of fugi¬
tives, waiting all day and all night for opportunities
of departure.
But although the delegate government was
supposed to have removed to Bordeaux, the
course of events led its chief member to take
an opposite direction, and proceed to the right
bank of the Loire, between Meaux and Beau-
gency. Ever anxious to be where his personal
presence might inspire new life and lead to
renewed efforts for his country, M. Gambetta
had, as already stated, narrowly escaped falling
into German hands in his endeavour to reach
Orleans on the 4th; and leaving his colleagues
to manage the details of government at Bordeaux,
he now, regardless of danger, hastened to where
a portion of the lately-beaten army was fighting
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
201
so as to deserve his commendation, and to justify
the hope that, under favourable circumstances,
they would be able once more to resume their
forward march. The events of the first few days
of December had, indeed, sorely tried the faith
of those who were still sanguine as to the ultimate
prospects of France; but whoever else might,
Gambetta certainly was not disposed to give way
to despair. His most cherished and loudly pro¬
claimed anticipations had been rudely thwarted;
the army which at such infinite pains he had
collected, and which was to provide a grave for
the enemies of France, had been defeated and
dispersed: but all this failed to damp his ardent
enthusiasm. In a manifesto, issued only a day
or two after the proclamation of King William, he
wrote—" Have no apprehensions. . . . The
military situation, notwithstanding the evacuation
of Orleans, is good. . . . Our enemies regard
their situation as critical; I have proof of that.
Patience and courage! We shall get through the
work. Show energy, guard against panic, dis¬
trust all false rumours, and believe in the good
star of France!" The succeeding narrative of
events upon the Loire will show the grounds upon
which M. Gambetta's renewed hopes were founded.
By the capture of Orleans the army of the Loire
had been cut in two. General Chanzy, with the
sixteenth and seventeenth corps, composing the
left wing, had been cut off from Orleans on the
2nd, and fell back along the north side of the river,
towards Meung, on the road to Blois. The right
wing, consisting of Bourbaki's eighteenth and
Crouzat's twentieth corps, crossing the river at
Jargeau, retreated up its left or southern bank
towards Gien; and the centre, comprising the
fifteenth and nineteenth corps, which had been
driven back through Orleans, subsequently separ¬
ated, the former making its way for Blois in concert
with General Chanzy, and the latter moving east¬
ward to effect a junction with Bourbaki. The
involuntary situation was accepted by M. Gambetta
with characteristic promptitude. A decree was
issued on the 6th, announcing that, in consequence
of the recent military events on the Loire and the
evacuation of Orleans, the government had decided
on the formation of two distinct armies, to operate
in the two regions separated by the course of the
river, u thus preserving means of effecting a junc¬
tion with Paris, which was the immediate and
supreme object in view." The decree further
VOL. 11.
announced the appointment of D'Aurelles de Pala-
dine to the command of the camp of instruction
at Cherbourg, and of Generals Bourbaki and
Chanzy to the command of the first and second
armies respectively. The new appointment of
D'Aurelles was, of course, equivalent to dismissal
from his position as commander-in-chief of the
Loire forces. We have shown in Chapters XXII.
and XXIII. that the generalissimo of the Loire
army was vacillating throughout between the
offensive operations for which M. Gambetta was
urgent, and the more Fabian policy to which he
was himself inclined; and it is certain that dis¬
couragement caused by his vacillation spread rapidly
among the troops. What might have been ex¬
pected from the whole Loire army had he been
inspired with some of the boldness and intrepidity
of M. Gambetta himself, was shown by the splendid
rally of the left under General Chanzy, as contrasted
with the wretched behaviour of the French centre
when driven within the defensive works around
Orleans. An impartial view of the events of the
first few days of December, forces on us the con¬
viction that Gambetta was justified, not in inter¬
fering from a distance with the details of the
operations of D'Aurelles, but in removing him after
it became clear that he had not the requisite power
over his men for holding them together, and that
he had suffered his army, in its chosen position, to
be dissevered by the attack of a force not more than
half its numerical strength. It would have been
more prudent to have drawn in the French corps,
spread out like the circumference of an open fan
across the different roads centering on Orleans, so
as to cover that city on a shorter line, and thus
bring the several corps into closer communication,
and prevent that separation which proved fatal to
the defence of Orleans. The fact that the eight¬
eenth corps on the right was obliged to retire
eccentrically across the Loire without striking a
blow, seems an instance of bad generalship on the
part of D'Aurelles, which from his antecedents could
not have been looked for. He had, too, managed
to lose much influence with his generally republi¬
can and free-thinking soldiers, by having gone to
venerate some relics in the Orleans cathedral, on
an altar before which Joan of Arc had seen a vision
of the Virgin Alary. The gratitude of France
was, however, due to him for having formed, from
an undisciplined mob, the first army which with¬
stood the Germans in the field; and although M.
2 c
202
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
Garabetta exercised a wise discretion in assigning
the Loire army to younger and bolder men, lie only
paid a just tribute to his merits in offering him the
command (declined on the ground of ill-health) of
the new camp of instruction at Cherbourg.
When it was decided to remove General
d'Aurelles from the charge of the army, it was
generally acknowledged that M. Gambetta made a
good choice of a successor, for there was no doubt
that Chanzy had shown more military capacity
than any general as yet tried on the Loire. It was
he who really won the battle of Coulmiers on the
9th of November; it was the left wing, under his
command, which had fought—at Patay, on the 1st
December—the only creditable engagement of the
Loire army in the several days previous to its
retreat from before Orleans; and of all the undis¬
tinguished crowd of worn-out veterans, naval
officers, and hastily-promoted colonels under whom
that army was first brought together from its scat¬
tered depots, Chanzy was the only general who had
shone out conspicuously for vigour and military
capacity in the field.
Even before the Bordeaux government had
settled itself in its new home, General Chanzy had
thoroughly justified his title to the most import¬
ant military command M. Gambetta had to confer.
We have seen how he was cut off from Orleans
on the 2nd and 3rd of December, with his own
(sixteenth) corps and the seventeenth. These,
reinforced on the following week by the twenty-
first corps, sent to him from Tours, constituted
the new active army of the Loire, with which he
was to endeavour to fulfil the hopes which General
D'Aurelles had failed to realize. M. Gambetta
had pledged himself to support the new commander
with all the forces of the west; but as yet these
were only in a rudimentary condition, and weeks
must elapse before they could with any certainty
be drawn upon. Meanwhile, it was most import¬
ant to present the best possible face to the enemy.
The sixteenth corps, after the defeats of the 3rd
and 4th of December, had retreated down the
river as far as Mer, within fourteen miles of Blois.
General Chanzy ordered its columns to re-form at
Beaugency, seven miles nearer to Orleans. With
marvellous rapidity he established a new system of
defence, presented himself, much to the astonish¬
ment of his enemy, at the head of at least 100,000
men, and offered a resistance which forms one of
the most interesting episodes of the war. The
newly-organized army was posted between the two
railway lines, one coming from Paris and Orleans,
along the banks of the Loire, to Blois and Tours,
the other from Paris direct to Tours by Châteaudun
and Vendôme. Between Beaugency, on the first
line, and Fréteval, a few miles north of Vendôme,
on the second, extends the forest of Marchenoir—
a region chosen by the French at an early period
in the campaign as well adapted for defensive
operations.
Up to the evening of the 8th, Prince Frederick
Charles, with the tenth corps, remained at Orleans,
while the rest of the German forces spread them¬
selves out like a fan, along the roads which the
retreating enemy had taken. Not at all expecting
to meet with any serious opposition, the prince
sent the duke of Mecklenburg, with about 40,000
troops, comprising the seventeenth division, and
the remnant of Von der Tann's Bavarians, to
follow up those who had taken the right bank of
the river. It did not seem probable that the
advance upon Tours would be impeded by only
a portion of that French army which, as a whole,
had already been beaten and dispersed. On the
6th of December the cavalry, who were sent to
clear the way to Blois, were, on entering the town
of Meung, fired upon by a body of 1200 foot
gendarmes, who after a short resistance disap¬
peared, and the road was reported clear for the
advance of the army. Accordingly the leading
columns passed through the town, unmolested and
without suspicion, about ten o'clock on the morn¬
ing of the 7th; but no sooner did they debouch
upon the plain covered with vineyards, on the
side towards Beaugency, than they were received
with a hot artillery and Chassepot fire, which
compelled them to fall back behind the extreme
houses of Meung, which they rapidly loopholed
and defended. After a short delay the artillery
came to the front, the Mecklenburgers again
advanced, and the battle became general. The
French army was in position along the road which
runs at right angles to the Loire by Ouzouer-le-
Marché. Some brigades had been pushed along
in echelon towards Meung, but the main body
extended from Villorceau on the right to Cravant
on the left, the village of Beaumont forming the
centre of the position. A slightly undulating
plain separated the two armies, and owing to the
hard frost, the country was in admirable condition
for the passage of artillery and cavalry. But the
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
203
precaution taken by the French commander of
causing the vine stakes to be left in the ground,
paralyzed to a great extent the latter arm, in
which the Germans were exceedingly strong.
The seventeenth division, which found itself thus
suddenly engaged with an enemy in very superior
force, was for a time obliged to bear alone the
whole brunt of the attack, and the seventy-sixth
and ninetieth regiments of Mecklenburgers suffered
severely both in men and officers. Cavalry opera¬
tions, as we have said, were impracticable ; but
the country was very favourable for riflemen and
skirmishers. The German artillery, however, by
their excellent range and practice, prevented any¬
thing like a forward movement on the part of the
French, until the Bavarians, who were at some
distance in the rear when the fight began, by an
extraordinary feat in marching came up on the
right of the Mecklenburgers late in the afternoon,
and by their dash and impetuosity carried all before
them. At dark the French, who had made a
gallant fight throughout the day, found themselves
driven back at all points, and the German army
camped upon their hardly-won field.
During the night the duke of Mecklenburg was
strengthened by the arrival of the twenty-second
Prussian division. General Chanzy also received
reinforcements, and early on the morning of the
8th commenced a vigorous attack, which might
have seriously altered the German position but
for the timely arrival mentioned. - At first the
form of the battle-field was very nearly that of
a horse-shoe halved into pieces, separated at some
distance from each other. One end of the shoe
rested upon the village of Baulle, about half way
between Meung and Beaugency, and the other
upon Tavers, a village beyond Beaugency, on a
ridge at the bottom of which a small stream flows
into the Loire. On this ridge the French were
posted; their position extending in a curve as if
to complete the horse-shoe, which it was prevented
from doing by the German position occupying the
corresponding curve. The strength of the French
position was on the ridge near the end of the
straight part of the shoe; that of the Germans at
the curve. In other words, the force of the attack
of both armies was from their respective right
wings. Between Baulle and Beaugency, a little
to the right of the main road, was the village of
Messas; in the same direction, and a little in rear
of it, lay Villeneuve. Y et further back, and more
to the right, was Langclochere, the centre of the
battle-field of the 7th. Still further round the
curve, but far more to the front, was Beaumont,
and beyond that, at the broken end of the German
part of the horse-shoe, Cravant. These villages
were generally from a mile to a mile and a half
distant from each other. The twenty-second
Prussian division, which formed the German right
wing, was to have commenced the attack, but
was anticipated by the French. The Bavarians,
who as usual had to sustain the brunt of the
action, occupied the centre; and the seventeenth
division, forming the left wing, held the high
road leading to Beaugency at Baulle, a little in
rear of Messas, which with Cravant had not yet
been taken. For a long time the battle lay with
the artillery of the respective armies, and this arm
of the French force did much to retrieve its
character. About one o'clock the Germans en¬
deavoured to storm several of the villages in their
front, but found the work by no means easy ;
mobiles as well as the more seasoned troops con¬
testing gallantly every inch of ground. Messas,
Cravant, and Beaumont were, however, ultimately
taken, though after severe loss. Batteries on the
left bank of the Loire commenced bombarding
Beaugency in the afternoon, and painful havoc
was committed among the wounded soldiers, with
whom many of the houses and public buildings
were crowded.
Towards evening a storming party pushed for¬
ward, and after severe fighting managed to occupy
the town and capture a battery of six guns and
1100 prisoners. The day thus closed favourably on
the whole for the Germans, who had slowly gained
ground. The resistance of the enemy, however,
had been as obstinate as it was unexpected, and
throughout the camp an unpleasant sense of dis¬
appointment prevailed. It was, therefore, resolved
that something further should be done to augment
the acquisitions of the day; and about midnight
two Hanseatic regiments who were occupying
Messas, finding that the village of Vernon, imme¬
diately in front of them, was still occupied by the
French, determined on surprising it; and rushing
suddenly in, captured 400 prisoners without firing
a shot or losing a man. The Bavarians were
equally successful in a night sortie from Beaumont-
upon the neighbouring village of La Mee, which
they also took by surprise and without loss.
The scenes in Beaugency, immediately after its
204
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
capture, were painfully memorable. The night
was very starry, and the rattle of the musketry
never quite ceased. There was also a good deal
of desultory firing about the streets by Prussian
patrols, who sometimes caught sight of the uni¬
forms of French soldiers who had brought in
wounded comrades, and were endeavouring to
rejoin their corps. The whole town was a vast
* hospital, and there was only one doctor capable
of performing amputations ! In the theatre alone
were upwards of 200 desperately wounded men,
forming a scene which those who speak lightly of
war, or who hold in their hands the power of
making it, should have witnessed. For many
hours there was no medical man in the place. The
cold was intense, and many a man's life slipped
away because there was no one sufficiently skilled
to bind up his wounds. The dead lay thick among
the dying; and as the former were dragged out
their places were instantly filled. Miserable objects,
with broken jaws or faces half shot away, wandered
about, pointing to their wounds, and making piteous
signals for water which they could not swallow.
Officers and men, veterans and boys, all lay in One
indistinguisable mass of misery, from which the
cries of "Water! For the love of God, water!
A doctor ! A doctor ! " never ceased to come. It
was indeed a relief when the surgeon arrived
from other similar scenes, and calling out loudly,
" Voyons, où sont les gravement blessés ? où
sont les amputations?" set to work with deter¬
mined but kindly energy. It will always be a
satisfaction to the subscribers to the great English
fund for the sick and wounded to know, that num¬
bers of the French were spared unutterable tor¬
ture, and owed their lives to the supply of English
chloroform, blankets, bandages, and wine which
was fortunately forthcoming on that fearful night,
and called forth many blessings on our nation.
On the 9th cannonading began at daybreak, and
both sides were soon engaged along their whole
lines. The German position had been improved,
the grand-duke's army occupying almost the exact
front of the French on the previous day. The
shape of the half horse-shoe was still preserved,
but the French half was now occupied by the
Germans, who were slowly pushing their enemy
back in every direction, though the latter still
pertinaciously strove to hold their ground, and
replied furiously to the German batteries. The
village of Villorceau was taken by the Bavarians
early in the day, and Cernay about the same time
by some regiments of the twenty-second division.
Both villages were the scene of desperate engage¬
ments; and at the close of the day the dead
Bavarians and French around Villorceau lay thicker
than pheasants after the hottest battue in England.
It was noticed towards the afternoon that General
Chanzy was concentrating strongly on the Ger¬
man right: he was in reality falling back on the
forest of Marchenoir. About three o'clock the
order was given for a general advance; and as
the artillery went to the front, and the sharp¬
shooters began to feel the enemy along the whole
line, the firing became terrific. The rifles seemed
endeavouring to rival the mitrailleuse in loudness
and rapidity, and the two, combined with the
bursting of the shells and the fire of some heavy
naval guns which the French had in position,
made four distinct sounds, which between four and
five o'clock blended in a roar fierce beyond descrip¬
tion. At this time, immediately under the blaze of
the setting sun, might be seen long lines of French
troops apparently retreating rapidly northwards,
and their opponents had clearly the best of the
fight. The day before it might have been con¬
sidered a drawn game, but it could not be doubted
who were the victors this evening; and the shade
of anxiety which clouded all countenances the
previous night and this morning, at the unexpected
check which the German armies received, had now
disappeared. Still the French were spoken of in
far higher terms than at any time since the com¬
mencement of the war, and general admiration
was expressed for the commander who, out of a
beaten and flying army, could have got together
material to present so bold and determined a front.
In the course of the day the grand-duke was
strengthened by the arrival of the tenth corps
from Orleans, and the army once more camped
among the frozen bodies of friends and foes, the
interment of which had been prevented by long-
continued fighting on almost the same area of
operations. The duke of Mecklenburg, in imita¬
tion of his illustrious master, telegraphed to his
wife with reference to this engagement of the
9th : " The enemy attacked us violently, but was
victoriously repulsed by the advance of the seven¬
teenth and twenty-second divisions. God was with
us. Our losses were smaller than yesterday."
As if by signal the firing ceased at dusk on the
9th, and it might have been inferred that both
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
205
sides were utterly exhausted by the three days'
carnage. Quiet was therefore expected on the
10th, and by a few hours of much needed repose
the grand-duke of Mecklenburg hoped to prepare
his troops for the decisive battle, which it was
thought might be looked for on the 11th. There
were two parties, however, to this arrangement,
and the irrepressible French seemed little disposed
to enjoy the luxury of rest. On the 10th they
hastened to commence an attack upon the twenty-
second division, which was holding Cernay and
Gravant, and bombarded those villages furiously for
two hours. The Germans quickly brought their
artillery into position, and an engagement became
general along a line extending from Villorceau
to L'Hay, a little eastward of Cravant. The two
armies were now in almost parallel lines, from north¬
west to south-east, the French right resting on
Josnes and the left on Villermain and Montigny.
The attack made by the French in the early part
of the day ceased, after having been replied to for
a while; and the German army was too much in
need of rest to court a struggle which would in
all probability have to be renewed on the morrow.
Only one incident of special note occurred during
the day. The Prussians had taken the village of
Villejouan, but the French in considerable force
attacked and retook it, making more than 100
prisoners. A couple of German regiments came,
to the rescue, and, after losing very severely,
again took the village; but their comrades had
been passed to the rear in time to prevent their
liberation. The French still swarmed around the
village, and the Germans found themselves with¬
out ammunition. A number of the enemy, how¬
ever, were made prisoners, whose cartouche boxes
were still well supplied; and the Germans, seizing
their Chassepots, returned the French fire with
their own weapons. While still hotly engaged,
the ammunition waggon on its way to their relief
was suddenly brought to a standstill by three
of its horses being shot, on which a party ran
out under a heavy fire, brought in the waggon
in safety, and finally succeeded in repelling the
French attempt to retake the village. As all the
superior officers had been previously killed, the
battalion was commanded by a captain, who for
this brilliant feat of arms received thanks from
the grand-duke in person, and a promise of the
iron cross. Along the whole of the now very
extended line, however, the chief characteristic
of the day was caution. M ith this one exception
there were no brilliant dashes, no furious fusillades
of small arms, and after a time even the artillery
fire languished; but the day being remarkably
clear, the scene, as a military spectacle, was
perfect.
The incessant fighting of the last four days
over almost the same few acres, rendered it ex¬
tremely difficult to administer the usual alleviations
to the sufferings of the wounded and dying. The
scenes occurring in Villorceau might have been
witnessed in almost every one of the numerous
hamlets in and about which the work of slaughter
had been done. The chief house in the place
was a Pension de Jeunes Filles, and it is doubt¬
ful if any of the horrors of war depicted by the
truthful pens of Erckmann-Chatrian equal those
which that house exhibited. Every room (and
there were many), from the cellar to the roof,
was crowded with dead and starving men, lying
so thick that it was impossible to move among
them. Some had been there since Tuesday
evening, many of them since Wednesday. It
was now Saturday, and not one drop of water,
not one atom of food, had yet passed their
lips. Many were desperately wounded, although
still alive. Among them were several officers.
The house contained no furniture; the windows
had been broken; and all these days and nights of
almost arctic cold had the men been lying on the
bare floor with their wounds undressed. The
stench was fearful. Every house in the village
was in the same state. In some rooms were
twelve or fourteen men—many of them corpses !
That night a kind uhlan doctor volunteered to
bind up a few of the worst wounds, to enable the
men to be transported, but he had nothing with
him but a pair of scissors and some pins. For¬
tunately the resources of the English society did
not fail, and most of the sufferers were removed
during the night of the 10th or on the following
day to the Couvent des Ursulines at Beaugency.
Many were too near their end to bear being
moved, and an excellent French abbé—himself
a martyr to consumption—spent the night with
them in prayer, and in dispensing, with the
assistance of an English Protestant soldier, the
last sacraments of the church.
On December 11 the two armies remained
inactive, and on the 12th it was found that the
French had mysteriously disappeared. It was
206
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
evident that the attack of the 10th was designed
to mask a movement of retreat, for General Chanzy
had retired in perfect order, leaving not the
slightest trace behind. The army of the grand-
duke of Mecklenburg immediately set out by cross¬
roads, in full pursuit. Chanzy, however, eluded
his pursuers, and while they were thinking of
driving him upon Tours, he moved to take up a
position, stronger than that which he had aban¬
doned, on the direct road to Paris, and where he
could receive reinforcements from the west.
Running almost parallel with the Loire is the
Loir, upon which are the towns of Châteaudun
and Vendôme, about midway between which the
river traverses a range of hills—winding round
the spur of one, and passing through a narrow
valley, scarcely abrupt enough to be called a
gorge, in the hollow of which lies the little town
of Fréteval. From the left bank of the Loir the
extensive forest of Marchenoir runs back in the
direction of Beaugency, for a distance of twenty
miles or more ; while on the right bank the forest
of Fréteval extends westward to almost an equal
distance. The French had taken up a position
on the spur on the right bank of the river, with
the wood of Fréteval on the left and in rear, the
wood of Marchenoir on the right, and the river
Loir, which there makes a bend, in front. To
strengthen the immense natural facilities for de¬
fence offered by his new position, General Chanzy
planted batteries wherever any advantage of ground
was to be had, and filled the wooded slopes with
sharpshooters. The village of Fréteval was taken
by the Germans at the point of the bayonet after
some fighting on the 14th, but could not be held
on account of its exposed position ; and on the
morning of the 15th the state of affairs was critical
for them, and singularly creditable to the tactics
of General Chanzy. The duke of Mecklenburg
had been sent to drive farther away from Paris
the army of the Loire, and now by a skilful
movement it had not only placed itself on the
road to the capital, but had got the start and
left its pursuers in the rear. It will be remem¬
bered that on the 9th of the previous month the
small Bavarian force under the command of General
von der Tann, after making a gallant stand at
Coulmiers, was obliged to retreat before the French
army of the Loire. Now, after the lapse of five
weeks, after marching incessantly and fighting
eight battles, the Germans found themselves in
sight of the wood on the other side of which the
battle of the 9th was fought, with the same army
before them, and in a stronger position than it
had ever previously occupied ! No German army
was now between General Chanzy's and that
which was investing the capital, and only an
inferior force was behind. As Chanzy was in
communication with Le Mans and the west, he
might at any time become strong enough to ad¬
vance, and might then, indeed, be advancing upon
Paris by Châteaudun. The position of the French
at Fréteval was too strong to be stormed with the
force at the grand-duke's disposal; but, fortunately
for him, a direct attack became unnecessary.
Prince Frederick Charles had sent the ninth
corps down the Loire (a different river, it must be
remembered, from the Loir), which had appeared
in the rear of Blois, on the east bank of the river,
on the 12th; but as the bridge was broken the
corps could not enter Blois until the tenth corps,
marching to that city, held out a hand to it by
throwing up hastily a bridge of boats, by which it
passed over. The tenth corps was sent to Yen-
dôme, and by threatening the right of General
Chanzy, succeeded in compelling the French to.
abandon their strong position at Fréteval, higher
up the river. The French were posted in front
of Vendôme, which they held on the 14th and
15th; but having been beaten in an artillery
duel, they, on the evening of the latter day,
evacuated the town, which the Germans entered
on the 16th. The German line was now formed,
the duke of Mecklenburg occupying Cloyes and
Morde, the tenth army corps being at Vendôme,
and the ninth at Blois. On the 17th Chanzy
had another rear-guard action with Von der Tann
at Epuisay, where the roads from Vendôme and
Morée to St. Calais meet, and then withdrew to
Le Mans, which he entered on the 21st.
The French had throughout been fighting
a losing battle, but their commander felt that
anything was better than the continued retreats
by which the soldiers had been disheartened. A
peculiar character was given to these daily encoun¬
ters by the stern determination with which the
French renewed the struggle, day after day, refus¬
ing to consider themselves as beaten, even after a
series of undeniable defeats. Again and again the
Germans in the morning found themselves occu¬
pying the positions held by their opponents in
the evening; but the French held others in the
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
207
immediate neighbourhood—every village serving
as a fortress. When dislodged from one, they took
up their stand in another, and so on from sunrise
to sunset. Each battle was a mere series of skir¬
mishes, in which, though the Germans were vic¬
torious, both armies left a vast tract of country
strewed with their dead, who lay unheeded day
after day.
Had the movements of General Chanzy since
the evacuation of Orleans been dictated by the
most profound strategy, instead of by necessity or
accident, they could not have been executed more
skilfully, or in a manner more harassing to his
foes. The vast quantity of stores which had been
accumulated in Orleans were sent across to the left
bank of the Loire, with a comparatively small force
to protect them, and to deceive the Germans as to
the position of the main body of the army, which
waited on the right bank, and fell upon the flank
•of the inferior German force at Meung. Here, for
four successive days, Chanzy fought so hard that
"the Germans gained very little ground, and had
to send for heavy reinforcements ; when they
-expected him to rest he attacked them ; and when
they expected him to attack, he was gone, no one
at first knew whither. He thus forced the duke
of Mecklenburg to change his front and follow the
retreating enemy to the almost impregnable position
he had taken up at Fréteval, and in the vast forests
upon the right and left banks of the Loir; where
there seemed to be nothing to prevent his keeping
the Germans at bay, while the bulk of his army
might by forced marches have moved in four days,
by Châteaudun and Chartres, upon Versailles. As
It was, the French held their opponents in front
of Fréteval for four days, till their position being
turned by the tenth and third army corps, directed
by Prince Frederick Charles • upon Vendôme,
"Chanzy was forced to choose between retreating
upon Le Mans or upon Paris. The former town,
with the great naval fortresses in its rear, offered
important advantages to a retiring army wearied
with constant fighting; and once reached, a junc¬
tion with the French army of the west would
be effected, and large reinforcements obtained.
Chanzy, therefore, directed his march thither,
making admirable use of many defensive positions,
and on the 21st of December reached Le Mans,
having saved his army and joined his supports.
Although his troops had suffered terribly, he had
lost only seven or eight guns.
These operations reflected high credit from
every point of view on the French commander,
and proved what a part, at least, of the army of
the Loire could do in untoward circumstances.
Prince Frederick Charles apparently calculated
that Von der Tann and the grand - duke of
Mecklenburg were in sufficient force to destroy
Chanzy; but he baffled these expectations, and his
vigorous stand at Beaugency and Marchenoir
not only weakened his foes, but by drawing a
detachment against his right perhaps saved the
rest of the army of the Loire. In falling back
on Le Mans, and retreating upon his reinforce¬
ments when his wing was menaced, eye-witnesses
told with what foresight he availed himself of
natural obstacles to baffle and impede his pursuers.
Though the retreat had been trying in the
extreme, and many hundreds had disbanded, the
great majority of the French troops had con¬
tended not without honour against their veteran
and well-seasoned foes. That they should have
been fighting in the open field at all, considering
the helpless condition of France after Sedan, is
not a little surprising. But that they should
have fought, within thirteen days, ten such
battles as Beaune-la-Rollande, Patay, Bazoches,
Chevilly, Chilleure, Orleans, and the four about
Beaugency, on terms so nearly equal, sometimes
superior, against the best German troops, effect¬
ing their retreat on almost all occasions without
any disastrous loss or confusion—is an achieve¬
ment which reflects the highest honour on the
generals who organized and commanded the army
of the Loire. The weather had throughout been
dreadful. As described by General Chanzy himself
at one place in his valuable and concise work, "La
Deuxième Armée de la Loire," " A torrent of
rain since the morning had melted the snow and
produced a thaw. The roads were everywhere
exceedingly slippery, and the fields were too
muddy for the passage of horses and carriages.
In point of fatigue to men and cattle, this day
(12th December) was one of the most distressing
of the campaign. Nevertheless, the march was
effected with a reasonable degree of regularity,
and by night all the corps were established pre¬
cisely in the positions assigned to them."
In fact, the sufferings of the troops can have
been but little less severe while they lasted than
what was endured in the retreat from Russia. To
fight all through a short winter's day, the fingers
208
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
almost too cold to handle a rifle, and to find oneself
at nightfall on a bare frozen plain, or, even worse,
a muddy field, with no supplies at hand, and often
even no fuel, shivering the long night through in
a furrow, or wandering about in a vain search for
food—a night of this sort, followed by another
day of hopeless fighting, was, during the first
fortnight of this dreary December, the condition
of the soldiers of the French army, in which the
sufferings of the sound were only surpassed by
those of the miserable wounded, who crawled
unaided into the nearest ditch to die. Notwith¬
standing all these disadvantages, the methodical
way in which the business of the headquarters
was conducted during this time was most admir¬
able. Night after night, when the troops were
getting such fragments of rest as their condition
made possible, was passed by Chanzy in writing
long despatches to the provisional government,
and dictating orders for the following day. Pro¬
motions were made, casualties filled up, and the
business of the army generally carried on with
the greatest detail and precision. To read Gen¬
eral Chanzy's orders of the day at this time, one
might suppose that they were issued by the
commander of a confident, well-conditioned army,
making war in ordinary fashion, in regular cam¬
paigning weather. The whole episode is a
remarkable instance of the effect of character in
war. With a less determined and obstinate com¬
mander, it is hardly doubtful that this army would
have gone to pieces. As it was, Chanzy's deter¬
mined attitude, and the spirit he succeeded in
infusing into those around him, had the effect of
keeping the Germans, who were also of course
suffering very much from the weather, on very
respectful terms. Altogether, the retreat from
Orleans to the Loire during the first half of De¬
cember was perhaps as creditable to French arms
as anything that occurred during the whole war.
It must in justice be remarked, however, that if
the French had thus fought with heroic steadiness
and courage, the Germans also bore up against their
great hardships and heavy losses with their wonted
fortitude; not excepting the Bavarians, about whose
demoralization idle tales had been in circulation ever
since their first mishap at Coulmiers. These troops
had, indeed, suffered so severely, that they were
reduced to about one-fifth of their original force ;
yet to the last they exhibited the utmost gallantry.
Each corps d'armée left Germany 30,000 strong ;
before any of the fighting round Beaugency, the
first was in sixteen battles, without reinforce¬
ments, and General von der Tann could not
number more than 5000 effective bayonets. Some
reserves arrived from Germany on the 7th Decem¬
ber, and the active part they took in the engage¬
ments of that and the two following days may
be judged by the fact that the corps sustained an
additional loss of 1200 men and forty-eight officers.
On the 12th the corps was ordered back to Orleans
to enjoy a season of well-merited repose, and a
very complimentary letter was addressed by the
king of Prussia to General von der Tann.
Not deeming it prudent to pursue their enemy
further for the present, the armies of Prince
Frederick Charles and the duke of Mecklenburg
remained in the country between Orleans, Yen-
dôme, and Blois; and with the exception of an
expedition to Tours by Voigts-Rhetz and part of
the tenth corps, no further encounter took place
between the combatants until the winter campaign
in January, the events of which will be related in
a future chapter. When the Germans reached
Blois and Vendôme they were at less than two
day's march from Tours, on the two railways con¬
verging on that town, the one from Orleans, and
the other from Châteaudun. After the government
delegation left for Bordeaux, General Sol, who
had the command of the Tours military division,
seeing himself exposed to attack from these two
lines, and also from Yierzon, immediately retreated.
M. Gambetta, deeming the evacuation of Tours
precipitate, removed him from active service, and
appointed General Pisani in his place. The force
of Voigts-Rhetz having been signalled in the
immediate neighbourhood, General Chanzy sent
a despatch to Pisani ordering him, with the 6000
troops under his command, to harass the enemy
as much as possible, but by no means to risk a
defeat. Accordingly, on December 20, he, with
his little army, attacked the Prussians at Monnaie,
and after inflicting on them no little damage and
taking sixty prisoners, retreated with consider¬
able loss. Pisani, watching the course of events,
lingered for some time about the vicinity of Tours,
before which the Prussians appeared the next
morning. Thinking that, as the garrison had left,
the town would make no resistance, they sent
forward a squadron of cavalry to take possession.
The towns-people, however, had made up their
minds to attempt a defence, and when the hostile
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
209
cuirassiers came within easy range, the Tours
national guards fired on them, and forced them to
retreat at full gallop. The Prussians then deter¬
mined to try the effect of a bombardment, unlim-
bered a battery of artillery on the edge of the lofty
plateau rising at only a few hundred yards to the
north, and began shelling the town. As Tour's was
perfectly open and totally unprovided with the
means of defence, this mode of attack soon began
to tell. Several were killed by the shells, and
amongst them M. Beurtheret,the editor of the Union
Libérale. Fearing that the town might be totally
destroyed, M. Eugène Gouiz, the mayor, accom¬
panied by his adjuncts and an interpreter, went to
the Prussian commander with a flag of truce, and
asked for a cessation of the bombardment, which
was at once and unconditionally accorded. The
Prussians did not occupy the town, but, probably
supposing that considerable French forces were
in the neighbourhood, retired soon afterwards to
Blois. Tours was thus again left in peace, and
was re-occupied by General Pisani and his troops
as soon as the enemy disappeared.
Dropping for the present the subject of the
operations of the armies on the several zones
around Paris, we will glance briefly at the princi¬
pal towns and fortresses captured by the Germans
during December, taking them in chronological
order.
After the first battle of Amiens, which took
place on the 26th and 27th November, and which
resulted in the destruction of what was then called
the French army of the north, some remnants of
that force were said to have fled in the direction
of Caen. General von Goben, with the first corps,
was despatched to pursue these, with instructions
also to make a reconnaissance upon the Rouen
road, but not to attack the enemy there if in
positions behind earthworks. At a meeting of
the principal inhabitants and the military and
civil authorities, it was determined not to defend
Rouen, as in consequence of the incomplete state
of the lines of defence any attempt at resistance
would be useless. But changing their minds, an
address was issued by the municipal council, inti¬
mating that the enemy was approaching nearer
and nearer, that the military were concentrating
for defence, and exciting the citizens to make an
effort equal to the sacrifices the country required
of them. The available forces of the town were
accordingly sent to Buchy to arrest the course of
VOL. II.
the enemy, and the result closely resembled the
memorable battle of Bull's Run,
Buchy is a village, very insignificant in itself,
but strategically of no small importance, as there
the road and railway from Amiens to Rouen bifur¬
cates, the northern branch going on to Clères and
St. Victor (on the way from Rouen to Dieppe),
thus forming the apex of a triangle, of which the
lines to Rouen and to Clères form the sides, and
the railway from Rouen to the Clères station of
the Dieppe Railway, the base. The French force
consisted of undisciplined mobiles and mobilized
national guards, from several departments, of a
corps of franc-tireurs, a provisional regiment of
the line (regiment de marche), and a small detach¬
ment of cavalry. The Prussians advanced on
Buchy from St. Saens, and about five o'clock on
the morning of 3rd December sent some shells
into the French positions. The first discharge
dismounted one of the three guns with which the
French attempted to open fire against a Prussian
battery of from thirty to forty. The mobiles, who
were drawn up to protect them, no sooner heard a
shell bursting than they fled across country, and
paused not until they reached Rouen in the even¬
ing. There they scattered all over the place, filled
every café and wine shop, drank very freely, con¬
fessed that they had retired, but boasted loudly
of what they would have done in other circum¬
stances, and gave exaggerated accounts of the
enemy's numbers. A panic spread throughout
the city. The treasure and notes in the Bank of
France and in the receveur-général's hands were
embarked on board the Protectrice, a powerful iron¬
clad floating battery, supposed to have been moved
to Rouen for the defence of the city; but she now
got up steam and was soon out of sight. The vari¬
ous French merchantmen in the river also dropped
down with the tide. Early next morning, which
was very cold, the rappel was sounded for the
muster of the national guard, who turned out with
readiness. They were kept waiting for nearly six
hours in the cold, and were then marched to the
railway station for conveyance to Clères. Ulti¬
mately, however, the authorities again changed
their minds, and the guards remained, to be dis¬
armed and disbanded by the Prussians. A number
of siege guns, which had been landed on the quay
only two days before, were spiked and thrown
into the river. The town, meanwhile, was seem¬
ingly emptied of its male population, and the sad,
2 D
208
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
almost too cold to handle a rifle, and to find oneself
at nightfall on a bare frozen plain, or, even worse,
a muddy field, with no supplies at hand, and often
even no fuel, shivering the long night through in
a furrow, or wandering about in a vain search for
food—a night of this sort, followed by another
day of hopeless fighting, was, during the first
fortnight of this dreary December, the condition
of the soldiers of the French army, in which the
sufferings of the sound were only surpassed by
those of the miserable wounded, who crawled
unaided into the nearest ditch to die. Notwith¬
standing all these disadvantages, the methodical
way in which the business of the headquarters
was conducted during this time was most admir¬
able. Night after night, when the troops were
getting such fragments of rest as their condition
made possible, was passed by Chanzy in writing
long despatches to the provisional government,
and dictating orders for the following day. Pro¬
motions were made, casualties filled up, and the
business of the army generally carried on with
the greatest detail and precision. To read Gen¬
eral Chanzy's orders of the day at this time, one
might suppose that they were issued by the
commander of a confident, well-conditioned army,
making war in ordinary fashion, in regular cam¬
paigning weather. The whole episode is a
remarkable instance of the effect of character in
war. With a less determined and obstinate com¬
mander, it is hardly doubtful that this army would
have gone to pieces. As it was, Chanzy's deter¬
mined attitude, and the spirit he succeeded in
infusing into those around him, had the effect of
keeping the Germans, who were also of course
suffering very much from the weather, on very
respectful terms. Altogether, the retreat from
Orleans to the Loire during the first half of De¬
cember was perhaps as creditable to French arms
as anything that occurred during the whole war.
It must in justice be remarked, however, that if
the French had thus fought with heroic steadiness
and courage, the Germans also bore up against their
great hardships and heavy losses with their wonted
fortitude; not excepting the Bavarians, about whose
demoralization idle tales had been in circulation ever
since their first mishap at Coulmiers. These troops
had, indeed, suffered so severely, that they were
reduced to about one-fifth of their original force ;
yet to the last they exhibited the utmost gallantry.
Each corps d'armée left Germany 30,000 strong ;
before any of the fighting round Beaugency, the
first was in sixteen battles, without reinforce¬
ments, and General von der Tann could not
number more than 5000 effective bayonets. Some
reserves arrived from Germany on the 7th Decem¬
ber, and the active part they took in the engage¬
ments of that and the two following days may
be judged by the fact that the corps sustained an
additional loss of 1200 men and forty-eight officers.
On the 12th the corps was ordered back to Orleans
to enjoy a season of well-merited repose, and a
very complimentary letter was addressed by the
king of Prussia to General von der Tann.
Not deeming it prudent to pursue their enemy
further for the present, the armies of Prince
Frederick Charles and the duke of Mecklenburg
remained in the country between Orleans, Yen-
dôme, and Blois; and with the exception of an
expedition to Tours by Voigts-Rhetz and part of
the tenth corps, no further encounter took place
between the combatants until the winter campaign
in January, the events of which will be related in
a future chapter. When the Germans reached
Blois and Vendôme they were at less than two
day's march from Tours, on the two railways con¬
verging on that town, the one from Orleans, and
the other from Châteaudun. After the government
delegation left for Bordeaux, General Sol, who
had the command of the Tours military division,
seeing himself exposed to attack from these two
lines, and also from Yierzon, immediately retreated.
M. Gambetta, deeming the evacuation of Tours
precipitate, removed him from active service, and
appointed General Pisani in his place. The force
of Voigts-Rhetz having been signalled in the
immediate neighbourhood, General Chanzy sent
a despatch to Pisani ordering him, with the 6000
troops under his command, to harass the enemy
as much as possible, but by no means to risk a
defeat. Accordingly, on December 20, he, with
his little army, attacked the Prussians at Monnaie,
and after inflicting on them no little damage and
taking sixty prisoners, retreated with consider¬
able loss. Pisani, watching the course of events,
lingered for some time about the vicinity of Tours,
before which the Prussians appeared the next
morning. Thinking that, as the garrison had left,
the town would make no resistance, they sent
forward a squadron of cavalry to take possession.
The towns-people, however, had made up their
minds to attempt a defence, and when the hostile
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
209
cuirassiers came within easy range, the Tours
national guards fired on them, and forced them to
retreat at full gallop. The Prussians then deter¬
mined to try the effect of a bombardment, unlim-
bered a battery of artillery on the edge of the lofty
plateau rising at only a few hundred yards to the
north, and began shelling the town. As Tours was
perfectly open and totally unprovided with the
means of defence, this mode of attack soon began
to tell. Several were killed by the shells, and
amongst them M. Beurtheret,the editor of the Union
Libérale. Fearing that the town might be totally
destroyed, M. Eugène Gouiz, the mayor, accom¬
panied by his adjuncts and an interpreter, went to
the Prussian commander with a flag of truce, and
asked for a cessation of the bombardment, which
was at once and unconditionally accorded. The
Prussians did not occupy the town, but, probably
supposing that considerable French forces were
in the neighbourhood, retired soon afterwards to
Blois. Tours was thus again left in peace, and
was re-occupied by General Pisani and his troops
as soon as the enemy disappeared.
Dropping for the present the subject of the
operations of the armies on the several zones
around Paris, we will glance briefly at the princi¬
pal towns and fortresses captured by the Germans
during December, taking them in chronological
order.
After the first battle of Amiens, which took
place on the 26th and 27th November, and which
resulted in the destruction of what was then called
the French army of the north, some remnants of
that force were said to have fled in the direction
of Caen. General von Goben, with the first corps,
was despatched to pursue these, with instructions
also to make a reconnaissance upon the Rouen
road, but not to attack the enemy there if in
positions behind earthworks. At a meeting of
the principal inhabitants and the military and
civil authorities, it was determined not to defend
Rouen, as in consequence of the incomplete state
of the lines of defence any attempt at resistance
would be useless. But changing their minds, an
address was issued by the municipal council, inti¬
mating that the enemy was approaching nearer
and nearer, that the military were concentrating
for defence, and exciting the citizens to make an
effort equal to the sacrifices the country required
of them. The available forces of the town were
accordingly sent to Buchy to arrest the course of
VOL. II.
the enemy, and the result closely resembled the
memorable battle of Bull's Run.
Buchy is a village, very insignificant in itself,
but strategically of no small importance, as there
the road and railway from Amiens to Rouen bifur¬
cates, the northern branch going on to Clères and
St. Victor (on the way from Rouen to Dieppe),
thus forming the apex of a triangle, of which the
lines to Rouen and to Clères form the sides, and
the railway from Rouen to the Clères station of
the Dieppe Railway, the base. The French force
consisted of undisciplined mobiles and mobilized
national guards, from several departments, of a
corps of franc-tireurs, a provisional regiment of
the line (regiment de marche), and a small detach¬
ment of cavalry. The Prussians advanced on
Buchy from St. Saens, and about five o'clock on
the morning of 3rd December sent some shells
into the French positions. The first discharge
dismounted one of the three guns with which the
French attempted to open fire against a Prussian
battery of from thirty to forty. The mobiles, who
were drawn up to protect them, no sooner heard a
shell bursting than they fled across country, and
paused not until they reached Rouen in the even¬
ing. There they scattered all over the place, filled
every café and wine shop, drank very freely, con¬
fessed that they had retired, but boasted loudly
of what they would have done in other circum¬
stances, and gave exaggerated accounts of the
enemy's numbers. A panic spread throughout
the city. The treasure and notes in the Bank of
France and in the receveur-général's hands were
embarked on board the Protectrice, a powerful iron¬
clad floating battery, supposed to have been moved
to Rouen for the defence of the city; but she now
got up steam and was soon out of sight. The vari¬
ous French merchantmen in the river also dropped
down with the tide. Early next morning, which
was very cold, the rappel was sounded for the
muster of the national guard, who turned out with
readiness. They were kept waiting for nearly six
hours in the cold, and were then marched to the
railway station for conveyance to Clères. Ulti¬
mately, however, the authorities again changed
their minds, and the guards remained, to be dis¬
armed and disbanded by the Prussians. A number
of siege guns, which had been landed on the quay
only two days before, were spiked and thrown
into the river. The town, meanwhile, was seem¬
ingly emptied of its male population, and the sad,
2 D
210
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
anxious faces of the women expressed the fears
by Avhieh they were agitated.
In the meantime, the strange manner in which
the French troops, evidently strong in numbers,
had abandoned position after position from Gaille-
fontaine along the road to Rouen, induced General
von Gôben to make one of those rapid advances
which had so often led to triumph. The forces
under his command received with their usual en¬
thusiasm the order to advance upon the road to
Rouen; and notwithstanding the severe marching
and fighting of the last few days, all strode along
seemingly as fresh as when they left the banks
of the Rhine. They anticipated a battle before
Rouen; believing that the French were strong in
numbers, well armed, and provided with artillery,
with the advantage of occupying a fortified position.
A halt was made at Buchy, where the precipitate
retreat of the French took place to which we have
already alluded. Little knowing the terror they
had caused, the Prussians concluded the force the}'
had dispersed was but the outpost of a more formid¬
able body. But on their arrival at Quincampoix,
on the morning of December 5, the advanced guard
brought in an elderly gentleman, taken prisoner as
he drove from Rouen in his gig, and who turned
out to be the mayor of Quincampoix. From
him the Prussians learned that 35,000 troops had
camped at Quincampoix the previous night, but
had only remained for an hour, and then continued
their retreat upon Rouen, which intended to make
no resistance. The intelligence was so astounding,
that it was at first believed to be a ruse to induce
the somewhat wearied Germans to advance upon a
strong position defended by fresh troops. But after
a short consultation with Colonel von Witzendorff,
the chief of his staff, and Major Bomki, General
von Gôben ordered the troops to advance. Just
at this moment the omnibus from Rouen arrived,
with intelligence to the general which seemed
almost incredible. In the morning the French
troops had all retreated upon Havre. The town
had subscribed 10,000,000 francs as a contribution,
which General von Gôben was invited to come
and take. Everything was now boot and saddle;
the fortieth and seventieth regiments, forming the
thirty-first brigade, with the ninth hussars and
two batteries of artillery, pushed along the road to
Isneauville, and the staff waited in Quincampoix,
to let the infantry advance.
Arrived at Isneauville, the Germans came upon
the first lines of the French works. In the middle
of the road lay two heavy ship guns, 24-pounders,
which it was clear that the French had not had
time to put into position. Everything betokened
a hasty retreat. The batteries were unfinished;
while, on either side of the road, the Prussian
troops actually marched among the still burning
camp-fires of their opponents. The question natu¬
rally arose, what had the French general at Rouen
been doing for the last two months ? He had
more than ample time, money, and material, to say
nothing of his close proximity to Havre, Dieppe,
and Boulogne, to establish a line of defence before
the city that might have very greatly altered the
face of matters. He had done nothing but aban¬
don every position which, with immense labour,
his troops had constructed between Isneauville
and Gaillefontaine, where every village might have
been made a fortress ; all the more easily because
his army, instead of being made up entirely of
mobiles, included several line regiments, and the
fifth hussars, with thirty-five guns.
Rouen lies in a basin, surrounded by high hills,
from which Yon Gôben's army quickly had a
view of the famous city. A patrol of hussars was
sent forward to arrange for the entry of the troops;
but in the meantime a magistrate appeared, a thin
old man, with the ribbon of the Legion of Honour
on his coat, asking the general to send some troops
into the town as quickly as possible? The square
of the Hôtel de Ville was in the hands of the
gamins, who, armed with the weapons thrown
away by the national guard, were trying their best
to shoot the mayor. In that drunken, reckless
style in which a French mob delights, they were
firing upon the Hotel de Ville, the façade of which
was pitted with bullets, the windows broken, and
the members of the commune, huddled together
in a back room, in despair. Fortunately for the
mayor and the town, the German troops were soon
upon the spot, when one battalion of the fortieth,
with two guns, took up its position in the Place
Cauchoise ; while the other two battalions, with
the seventieth regiment, filed in different direc¬
tions through the town. The general then rode
to the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, where, beside
the statue of Napoleon I., he saw the sixteenth
division, with bands playing and colours flying,
march past.
Great indignation was expressed in other parts
of France at the capitulation of Rouen without
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
211
resistance; but it -was only one of a large number
of instances in the course of tbe war, in which
every one cried "forward" to his neighbour with¬
out moving a foot in advance himself. Nancy
and Rheims were pronounced cowards because
they offered no resistance to the enemy, having
indeed neither arms nor men. Châteaudun was,
in fact, the single open town which defended
itself ; for with this exception every other in
France, so defiant when the enemy was distant,
learned prudence at its near approach.
A " mild invasion " is almost a contradiction in
terms; yet if ever a city was mildly invaded it was
Rouen. Not one shop was closed, nor, as far as
an ordinary observer could judge, was the petty
commerce of the place interfered with. But capi¬
tal was too sensitive not to take the alarm. Nearly
all the great factories and printworks, on whose
operations Rouen depended, were closed, and the
distress of the workpeople was soon obviously very
great. Some ingenious speculators in the locality
had formed a special insurance company for guar¬
anteeing subscribers against the various evils of
war ; but among these evils the occupation of
Rouen by the enemy had not been foreseen, and
the company, too severely tested at the very outset
of its enterprise, collapsed.
In Rouen the German army of the north found
many of its wants abundantly met. Among other
things obtained was a supply of fresh horses,
40,000 pairs of boots, 10,000 blankets, 2000
shirts, 20,000 pairs of socks, and 100,000 cigars,
and the city could, if needful, have furnished a
considerable amount of specie. Here the army
was in secure and comfortable winter quarters,
in direct communication with the Crown Prince
of Saxony and the army of Paris ; and from this
point, unless the communication by way of Amiens
should be disturbed, a great military movement
might be organized. The cost of all these advan¬
tages to the army of the north was eleven men
killed and fifty wounded, without the loss of a
single officer. The French had lost five officers
killed and eighteen wounded, forty-five rank
and file killed, 100 wounded, 600 prisoners, and
twenty-seven pieces of heavy marine artillery,
together with the wealthiest city of Western France.
Apparently from a desire to reach the sea, and
thus be able to say that the Prussians had crossed
France from the Rhine to the British Channel, a
detachment of Manteuffel's army visited Dieppe
from Amiens. The much - dreaded occupation
had been for weeks past the nightmare of the
worthy Dieppois, who had spent much time
in making defensive preparations. In spite,
however, of wooden barricades and innumer¬
able drillings of the national guards, when the
inhabitants heard of the near approach of the
enemy, the guns were spiked, the arms and ammu¬
nition were shipped to Havre, the brave nationales
and douaniers doffed their uniforms, and all pre¬
pared to receive the invader as amicably and
cordially as dignity would permit. On the morn¬
ing of December 9 the usual advanced guard of
uhlans gave the customary warning of a large
body of troops being behind them, who would
require unlimited food, board, and lodging. Ac¬
cordingly, a few hours afterwards, in marched the
main body, with bands playing and colours flying,
as if they were returning from a victory into one
of their own towns. Many of the houses had been
dressed out with flags of various nationalities, the
English strongly predominating; hung out to show
that the occupants were not French, and therefore
not liable to the obligation of billeting the enemy.
Every house, however, on which the lot fell had
to receive its soldier guests ; and the English resi¬
dences were apparently at a premium—perhaps a
delicate though unwelcome compliment to prover¬
bial British hospitality. The troops behaved with
great moderation, and all passed off quietly. As
no resistance was offered, the Prussians levied no
contribution. There were even less than the usual
requisitions, though 25,000 cigars were demanded
at the manufactory, and the authorities had to supply
large quantities of provisions, wine, and brandy.
Shortly after their entry into the town the uhlans
rode to the Plage, where many of them for the
first time saw with admiration the broad expanse of
the ocean, and gave three hurrahs for the king and
Yaterland. Orders were issued towards nightfall
that no lights should be exhibited at the entrance
of the port. Frenchmen were stationed at the
pierhead to warn off every vessel that should
attempt to force an entrance, under the penalty
of being fired upon by the enemy. This measure
seemed hard; but a man-of-war had been seen
cruising in the offing in the latter part of the after¬
noon, and measures had to be adopted to thwart a
night attack from the seaboard, should such be
attempted. The departure of the troops, which
took place the day after their arrival, was regretted
212
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
by thoèe of tbe inhabitants who were engaged in
commerce, and who had realized no small harvest.
As the Prussians seemed to intend making Dieppe
a provision depot for themselves, both this port,
and Fécamp and Havre, were shortly afterwards
declared by the French government in a state of
blockade, and men-of-war were stationed near to
enforce its observance.
On December 19 Dieppe was occupied a second
time by the Prussians, and as the little army quar¬
tered there were in want of boots and horses, all
residents and visitors, not being foreigners, were
called upon to send their horses to the market¬
place, where a Prussian officer selected a certain
number, and, according to the custom in such cases,
bought them at his own valuation, paying for
them in paper redeemable at the end of the war.
As nearly all the good horses at Dieppe belonged
to Englishmen, the Prussians, out of many hun¬
dreds brought forward, found very few worth taking
—altogether, not more than a dozen. In the mat¬
ter of boots they were more successful ; the dealers
in these articles having been required to send to
an appointed place all the ready made goods they
had on hand, on assurance that whatever was taken
from them would be paid for at its full value.
Of course, too, there was a little money transac¬
tion. No contribution was levied. But Dieppe
possessed a tobacco manufactory, which, like all
such establishments in France, belonged to the
state; and General von Goben explained to the
municipality that, as state property, the tobacco
manufactory passed from the hands of the French
to those of the Prussian government. As the
representative of that government he could not
work the manufactory, neither could he carry it
away with him, and he had no wish to burn it.
He therefore proposed to sell it, and (making a
good guess) fixed the value at the round sum of
100,000 francs. The muncipality protested against
the exorbitancy of the demand, which was ulti¬
mately reduced to 75,000 francs. Part of the
money was paid down at once, and the rest in
a day or two after.
On the 9th of December, the same day on which
Dieppe was occupied the first time by the Prus¬
sians, a somewhat compensating advantage was
achieved by a band of active and daring Lille
mobiles, who surprised the Prussian garrison at
Ham, the fortress where Napoleon III. was once
imprisoned. At six o'clock in the evening the
detachment of French arriving before the town,
which is protected by a strong castle, first fell oil
the sentries, and then sounded the Prussian signal
for a general march. About 200 of the garrison,
mostly belonging to the field railway detachment,
Hastily collected, and were caught as in a trap.
Others fled to the fort, pursued by the French
with levelled bayonets. At midnight a parlemen¬
taire, accompanied by a lieutenant, appeared before
the fort; but they were fired upon, when the flag-
bearer was killed and the lieutenant wounded.
At one o'clock in the morning the French captain,
accompanied by a Prussian officer who had been
made prisoner, presented himself as a parlementaire,
when in an interview with the commandant it was
agreed that the place should be surrendered at
six o'clock, and that officers who were prisoners
on either side should be exchanged. At the
appointed hour the French entered the fortress
and found the Prussians, seventy-six in number,
drawn up in line and disarmed.
Of all the towns besieged by the Prussians during
the war, none held out more gallantly than Yau-
ban's virgin fortress of Phalsbourg, a description
of which is given in Chapter X.
Phalsbourg was closely invested on the 9th of
August, and on the evening of the 10th it was
bombarded for an hour and a half by two batteries,
under the command of General GersdorfF, with four
and six pounder shell guns. In that brief space
3000 projectiles are computed to have been thrown
into the fortress; but only one house was seriously
injured. On the 14th, at seven in the morning,
the bombardment was renewed, and raged until
four in the afternoon, along the side of Phalsbourg
which runs parallel with the Port de France. In
the conflagration which it occasioned, few of
the houses of the town escaped without more
or less injury, while forty, including the church,
were burnt. Towards the close of the day a sum¬
mons to surrender was sent to the governor,
General Talhouet, who returned a firm refusal.
The siege was soon after changed into a blockade.
The beleaguering troops were relieved from time
to time on their march westward, no week passing
without parlementaires knocking at the gates.
The garrison consisted of about 1000 regular
troops and 800 gardes mobiles. The investing
force varied; at the close it numbered 5000 infan¬
try, with artillery, and a squadron of Bavarian
cavalry. On November 24 there was another
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
213
smart bombardment, but famine at the last com¬
pelled the garrison to open the gates. The fortress
was not well provisioned. Very early in October
they began to eat horse flesh. Salt, tobacco,
coffee, and sugar rapidly failed, and latterly wine.
Towards the close, every other day, the rations of
the garrison consisted of a water soup, whose only
nutritive properties were derived from the fat of
cattle and horses. The population of Phalsbourg
is set down in gazetteers at 4000, but nearly half
that number had quitted the town, or been turned
out of it at the commencement of the siege. Those
who remained suffered the same privations as the
garrison, and to scarcity of food was added want
of water, a Prussian spy having cut the conduit
which supplied it. After the rout of Woerth
the wreck of MacMahon's army was rallied upon
Phalsbourg, when 35,000 kilogrammes of its
provisions were drawn upon, and there was not
sufficient time to revictual. The earlier sorties
of the garrison, for collecting supplies, were often
successful ; but in the later the villages were found
cleared bare by the besiegers.
An enormous quantity of powder had been
stored at Phalsbourg, at the beginning of the war,
for the use of the army of the Rhine. For some
days previous to the surrender volumes of smoke
ascending from the place told that these stores
were being gradually burnt, that they might not
fall into the hands of the enemy. Before the
gates were thrown open to the besiegers, 12,000
rifles, with 9,600,000 rounds of cartridge, were
destroyed, and 12,000,000 lbs. of powder were flung
into the moat, all the cannon spiked, and their
wheels and carriages broken. On December 12,
after sustaining a siege of five months, the fortress
capitulated unconditionally; and fifty-two officers,
1839 men, and sixty-five guns, fell into the hands
of the captors.
The only fortress in German Lorraine which
now remained in French hands was Bitsche. This
place also had been besieged since August ; but
its natural position was so strong that it was un¬
likely to yield except to famine, and there had for
some time been a tacit understanding on both
sides to suspend firing, and thus avoid useless
bloodshed.
On the 14th December Montmèdy capitulated,
yielding to the Germans an additional sixty-five
guns and 3000 prisoners. The fortress had been
bombarded by about seventy heavy guns, throw¬
ing balls of the average weight of 150 lbs., which
did frightful execution. The upper town was
almost destroyed, while the lower suffered but
little. The iron roof of the powder magazine
had been struck, and the commandant, seeing
that the fortress and both the towns were likely
to be blown up, called a council of war, which
unanimously decided on capitulation. Thirty or
forty persons were killed during the siege, and
sixty wounded. The Germans lost only a few, as
their guns were beyond the range of those in the
fortress. The surrender released nearly 400 Ger¬
man soldiers, principally landwehr, who had been
imprisoned here for several months. Negotiations
for an exchange failed on account of the com¬
mandant demanding two Frenchmen for one Ger¬
man, a demand which provoked the retort that
one German soldier was worth much more than
two Frenchmen.
Montmèdy did not possess much strategic import¬
ance for the Germans, as it was too remote from
the real scene of operations; but it had long been
a favourite rendezvous for the franc-tireurs of the
Ardennes, and its possession was necessary to pre¬
vent the communications of detachments operat¬
ing along the Belgian frontier against Mézières,
Longwy, &c., with Metz and Thionville, being
exposed to the chances of a guerilla war.
We have spoken of Châteaudun as affording the
only instance of an open town which in the whole
course of the war made a vigorous stand against
the enemy. A visit to that and the neighbouring
town of Chartres afforded reflection for the moralist,
and ample explanation of the non-resistance of open
towns. Châteaudun, with the hand of war resting
heavily upon it, was continually experiencing a
change of garrison, and every change brought a
pang of some sort. One day came the Germans,
and left after staying a week ; then came the French,
taking what the Germans had left, scolding the
inhabitants for giving these Germans anything, and
going; back came the Germans the same evening,
squeezed the sponge for the last drop, lived upon
the inhabitants until it was a mystery how any¬
body in the wretched place lived at all, only to
make way once more for the French, and so on.
For weeks after the memorable fight, for which
Châteaudun was voted to have " deserved well of
its country," there might have been seen groups of
men and women gloomily huddled together among
the ruins of their burnt houses, the picture of
21-1
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
misery and woe, and who seemed to pass their
existence in brooding over their misfortunes, or in
watching the ingress and egress of the various
troops. It was a pleasing contrast to leave such a
scene, and arrive in the sleek, well-preserved town
where the mayor had made friends with the enemy
the moment he presented himself at his gates,
so that Chartres scarcely suffered perceptibly from
the war. The Châteaudun church was riddled
with shot and shell, and showed great gaps in its
walls and roof. The gigantic Chartres cathedral,
towering above every surrounding object, and
visible for leagues from every quarter of the land¬
scape, stood intact. The narrow winding streets of
the picturesque and historic old town were always
alive and animated; all the shops open and well
stocked, and even the market-place well supplied
with provisions. No sign of plunder or pillage
here; people received payment for everything, and
in consequence of their good behaviour escaped
heavy requisitions. Certainly, a lack of patriotism
was attended with great advantages both to con¬
querors and conquered ; and it was astonishing how
well all seemed to get on together, and how few
bitter recollections the Germans left behind them
in places where from the beginning they had been
humbly received and systematically well treated.
We have pointed out in a previous chapter that
the desperate attempt of D'Aurelles on December
1 to push his army towards Paris, was part of a
scheme arranged with General Trochu to break up
the besieging forces. The defeat of the army of
the Loire, therefore, and the retirement of Ducrot
from across the Marne, marked the failure of the
first combined attempt on a great scale to raise
the siege of Paris. The Germans were on all
points triumphant; and yet their able and experi¬
enced chiefs did not share in the exultation of
the camp. No one knew better than the great
strategist who directed the movements of the
invading host, how perilous is a miscalculation
in war, how insecure the German position had
been made, and how success was even yet pos¬
sible, if not prevented by mighty exertions. Vic¬
torious, too, as the Germans had been, their losses
round Paris, and especially in the protracted
struggle with Chanzy's army, had been severe;
and as Paris still held out resolutely, and the
winter was extremely rigorous, it was obvious
that new and immense demands on the German
resources were required. It had become necessary
to strengthen considerably the barrier to the armies
intended to relieve the capital, to fill up the gaps
caused by the prolonged contest, and to increase
the efficiency of the means employed to reduce
the besieged city. For this purpose reinforce¬
ments, numbering not less than 200,000 men,
were in the course of December marched into
France. The new levy consisted partly of a
portion of the supplementary (ersatz) reserve;
men who had been passed over year by year,
from the practice in Prussia of absorbing into
the line less than one-half of the young men
qualified and legally bound to serve. Citizens of
all classes and occupations, who never dreamed
of being again called upon for military service,
received a peremptory summons to start, after a
short drill, for the seat of war. There was, how¬
ever, no grumbling, for the persistency with which
it was believed the French had for many years
contemplated the invasion of Germany, and the
recklessness with which they entered upon it at
what appeared to them a favourable moment,
created and sustained a degree of indignation
which nothing hitherto had been able to allay.
This feeling was not confined to the towns and
centres of culture, but penetrated even to the
remotest villages, and promised a supply of will¬
ing and ardent reserves quite as long as the
patriotic zeal of the French was likely to fill
the ranks of M. Gambetta. The new comers
occupied the captured towns and the extensive
line of communication, while the more seasoned
troops whom they relieved were sent to the front.
With them the shrunken battalions of Prince
Frederick Charles and the grand-duke of Meck¬
lenburg were replenished, the armies of Manteuffel
in the north, and Werder in the east, were aug¬
mented, and the sphere of their operations ex¬
tended ; the hold on the communications was
tightened, the siege of new fortresses undertaken,
whilst at Paris every nerve was strained to accele¬
rate the attack, and lessen the difficulties of a mere
investment.
Two decrees of special importance were issued
by the French during the month, the first referring
to the numerous desertions from the army, which
were now of daily occurrence. It was notorious
that by far the greater part of the prisoners
" captured " in the fighting at and around Orleans,
were men who delivered themselves up to the
enemy, preferring a temporary sojourn in Germany
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
215
to the chances of Prussian steel or bullets. The
ill-success of the armies, also, was largely ascribed
to panics raised by troops who, terrified at the
approach of danger, fled from the enemy. To
prevent these scandals, M. Gambetta decreed that
to all the armies of the republic should be attached
a regiment of mounted gendarmes, the officer in
command of which was to preside over a per¬
manent court-martial, to be established in the rear
of each army, with the following instructions :—
"To follow the army, and to dispose his men in
such a manner as to watch and close all the issues
from it. To arrest fugitives, and hand them
over to a troop in due formation. They will
regard as fugitives every soldier, every officer, or
group of soldiers, found retreating without a written
order, or without being placed under the command
of a superior officer. Every soldier, not being
wounded, found in the rear of the army without
arms or equipment, will immediately be brought
before the court-martial. Any one who shall raise
a cry of ' Sauve qui peut,' or of ' We are pursued;'
will be taken before the court-martial. Exercise
the greatest rigour and the greatest vigilance in
the performance of these duties."
On the 25th of December a far more unpopular,
and in every way unjustifiable, decree was issued,
abolishing the councils general of departments,
as well as the councils of arrondissements; and it
proved that the "government of the three lawyers,"
as it was frequently called, or to speak more cor¬
rectly, the Gambetta dictatorship, was every whit
as absolute, and when occasion arose much more
tyrannical, than was ever that of the much-reviled
" man of Sedan." The act can only be compared
to a ministerial warrant of the Home office in this
country, which should abolish all boards of magis¬
trates and municipal councils, and hand over the
county property and the control of county rates
to a band of hungry adventurers and government
adherents. The councils general sat regularly in
the month of August, and for many years their
meetings had been looked forward to with strong
interest, as presenting one of the few opportunities
that remained for the expression of public opinion.
They had the almost absolute control of financial
contributions,expenditure,receipts, and local taxes;
they created resources, and contracted loans.
Such a provincial representation was peculiarly
dear to the nation, and there were not wanting
loud and vigorous protests against the decree.
The patriotic portion of the country, however,
saw that the time would be equally ill-chosen on
their part for domestic discords; and after the first
feeling of indignation the decree was admitted,
and agitation left over for the future. It may be
here remarked that not long after the conclusion
of peace it was deemed advisable to rescind the
decree of M. Gambetta and his co-delegates, and
the councils general were re-established.
As in November, when Russia repudiated the
treaty of 1855, so in December another danger
burst upon Europe, in consequence of Count von
Bismarck repudiating the treaty of 1867 for main¬
taining the neutrality of Luxemburg, on the alleged
ground that she had not preserved her neutrality
during the war. In his note to the government of
the grand-duchy he declared, that "the hostile
sentiments of the population have manifested them¬
selves in the maltreatment of German officials in
the duchy; but Prussia does not hold the govern¬
ment of Luxemburg responsible for the bad con¬
duct of individuals, although more might have been
done to repress it. The provisioning of Thionville,
however, by trains run from Luxemburg, was
a flagrant breach of the laws of neutrality, which
could not have taken place without the conni¬
vance of the officials. The Prussian government
at the time lodged a complaint with the govern¬
ment of the grand-duchy, and pointed out the
consequences to which proceedings of the kind
must inevitably lead. The warning was disre¬
garded. After the fall of Metz numbers of French
officers and soldiers, escaping from the captured
fortress, passed through the territory of Luxem¬
burg to evade the German troops, and to rejoin the
French army of the north. In the city of Luxem¬
burg itself the resident French vice-consul had an
office at the railway station, designed to assist the
French fugitives in reaching their own country;
and at least 2000 soldiers had in this manner re¬
inforced the French army. The government of
Luxemburg did nothing to prevent these acts ; and
the fact undoubtedly constitutes a gross violation
of neutrality. The conditions upon which Prussia
had based her neutrality have, therefore, ceased to
exist ; and, consequently, Prussia declares that on
her part she no longer considers herself, in the con¬
duct of her military operations, bound by any re¬
gard for the neutrality of Luxemburg, and reserves
to herself the right of claiming compensation from
the grand-ducal government for the German losses
216
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
arising through the non-observance of neutrality,
and of taking the necessary steps to secure herself
against the repetition of similar proceedings."
The note was answered by M. Servais, minister
of State and president of the Luxemburg govern¬
ment, in a long and elaborate document, disputing
the truth of some of the Prussian chancellor's state¬
ments, and diminishing the significance of others.
The Luxemburg government had evidently not
been sufficiently vigilant in preventing breaches
of neutrality; but it was equally clear that Count
von Bismarck had been to some extent misled by
the exaggerations of persons who, as M. Servais
remarked, " ne ter tired of lightly reporting things
calculated to endanger and cast suspicion on the
grand-duchy, while keeping themselves out of all
responsibility." Fearing absorption into Germany
by the Prussian chancellor, the inhabitants hastened
to testify their attachment to their legitimate rulers
by numerous addresses ; but the matter was at
length amicably settled by a special Prussian officer
being sent to Luxemburg to confer with the grand-
ducal government with a view to the prevention
of any similar ground of complaint.
It was impossible that, when our nearest neigh¬
bours were fighting, we should not in a vast variety
of ways be inconvenienced, and run the risk of
being involved in the broil—an illustration of
which occurred on the 21st December. Six Eng¬
lish colliers, returning from Rouen, were stopped
at Duclair, twelve miles lower down the Seine ;
some shots were fired, and the vessels themselves
were sunk to bar the navigation. The incident was
readily seized on by that numerous section of Eng¬
lishmen who, without any real intention of forcing
the country into a war with Germany, caught at
an opportunity of showing sympathy with France
by a paper quarrel with Count von Bismarck.
The facts were that six small sailing colliers
had been discharging coals at Rouen, by permission
of the Prussian authorities ; and after unloading
had received, through the British consul there, a
permit to return to England. Following the usual
course, they dropped down the river to a village
called Duclair, about twenty-eight miles below
Rouen, where ballast is taken in for the homeward
run. When the crews had finished ballasting, the
ships were seized by the Prussians, towed into
position across the fair-way channel, scuttled, and
sunk. The British consul, informed of what was
going on, started from Rouen by land, reached
Duclair at the moment the soldiers were about to
sink the vessels, and entered a vigorous protest,
of course without effect. He then undertook the
negotiations for the bonds of indemnity, which the
officer in command of the Prussians was willing
enough to furnish.
In considering the question involved in this
attack upon neutral property, it must be borne in
mind that it occurred in time of war, and in waters
which, after the expulsion of the French, were
subject to the German military authorities. Trad¬
ing vessels have not, like men-of-war, the ex¬
ceptional property of being extra-territorial ; and
there is, therefore, a great difference between the
confiscation of an English man-of-war and that of
an English collier. In this case the act was a
kind of military necessity. French men-of-war
had frequently steamed up the river, landed troops,
and caused loss to the German forces by firing
upon them. Hence the determination of the Prus¬
sians to have the Seine blocked up ; and as this
could not immediately be done by means of bat¬
teries or torpedoes, they seized and sunk, off
Duclair, eleven vessels, of which six were English.
Lord Granville, on hearing of the seizure, sent
a remonstrance to the Prussian authorities, and
Count von Bismarck at once wrote as follows to
the representative of Germany in London:—
" Versailles, Jan. 8, 1871.
" The report of the commander of that part of
our army by which the English collier-ships were
sunk in the Seine has not yet arrived ; but as far
as our intelligence goes, the general outline of the
facts is known.
"You are authorized, in con sequence, to say to Lord
Granville, that we sincerely regret that our troops,
in order to avert immediate danger, were obliged
to seize ships which belonged to British subjects.
"We admit their claim to indemnification, and
shall pay to the owners the value of the ships,
according to equitable estimation, without keeping
them waiting for the decision of the question who
is finally to indemnify them. Should it be proved
that excesses have been committed which were not
justified by the necessity of defence, we should regret
it still more, and call the guilty persons to account.'
The reply of the Prussian chancellor was con¬
sidered satisfactory, and the fullest compensation
was shortly after made to the owners and crews
of the vessels.
M A P
TO ILLUSTRATE
GENERAL FAIDHERBE'S CAMPAIGN.
18 7 0 - 71.
Drawn, tnider the Srrp erintend.en.ce of Captain. Eozier.
Wl LLlAM MACKENZIE L0»»". E0,NBurgh
Dn.gcavea.Tjv Rob ert Walker
& GLASGOW.
CHAPTER XXVI.
The German Plan of Campaign in the North of France—Alarm in the town of Havre—Singnlar Treatment of a Government Order—Appoint¬
ment of General Faidherbe to the Command of the French Army of the North—The Germans lose an Opportunity—Advance of Faidherbe
on Amiens—Von Goben despatched to accept the Challenge—The Positions of the respective Armies—Battle of Pont Noyelles—The
Straggle aronnd Querrieux—Gallant Conduct of the French—Ingenious Device of General Faidherbe to secure an Unmolested Retreat—By
an Incautions Advance Von Gtiben provokes another Attack from the French—The Battle of Bapaume—Positions of the Armies—Excel¬
lence of the French Artillery—The Prussians forced back into Bapaume—Critical Position of Von Goben's Troops—General Faidherbe
claims the Victory, but omits to follow up the Advantages—Incident of the Pursuit—Von Goben retires from Bapaume—Fall of Péronne
—Sharp Engagement near Havre—Siege and Capitulation of Mézières—France in very Serious Circumstances—M. Gambetta conceives a
last desperate Effort against the Invader—Prompt Consent of General Faidherbe for the Army of the North to do its Share—The French
descend in force upon St. Quentin—Characteristics of Von Goben—The Battle of St. Quentin—Position of the Town and of the respec¬
tive Combatants—Fatal Separation of the French Army—Fearful Charge of Prussian Cavalry—The French obliged to give way, and
finally retreat in disorder—Imposing Advance of the German Army—Storming of St. Quentin—An Opportune Railway Trip—The Siege
and Fall of the Fortress of Longwy.
The plan of campaign adopted by the Germans in
the north, after the capture of Amiens on Nov¬
ember 27, was considered as pointing to immediate
operations against Havre. The greatest excite¬
ment, therefore, prevailed there on news being
brought that Rouen had been occupied; and the
excitement was by no means allayed by the fur¬
ther intelligence that on the same day the Prus¬
sians had succeeded in recapturing Orleans. The
commandant-in-chief of Havre and the mayor
at once issued the following proclamation to the
inhabitants:—" By a rapid march the enemy has
arrived at the gates of Rouen. Havre, more
menaced than ever, but long prepared, is deter¬
mined to offer the most energetic defence. At the
approach of danger we make a new appeal to the
patriotism of the population. No sacrifice will be
too great to repulse the enemy, and preserve our
rich and valiant city from pillage and the inroads
of the foreigner. Supported by its energetic co¬
operation, we answer for the safety of Havre."
The inhabitants of the neighbouring communes
were invited to take refuge within the town, large
stores of cattle and fodder were collected, and such
things as could not be received, but which might
have been serviceable to the enemy, were destroyed.
The situation of Havre was especially favourable for
defence. There was no lack of men, arms, and
ammunition. The fortified works around the town
were formidable; and as it could not be entirely
surrounded by the Germans, it could evidently
stand a very protracted siege. General Briand,
with the forces which had evacuated Rouen,
shortly came in, together with a large number of
franc-tireurs and moblots. Almost simultaneously
vol. ii.
came an order from the Tours government for 4000
of the troops, and a proper complement of guns,
to be embarked for Cherbourg. This created a
furious scene of riot and disorder. Vast crowds
paraded the town, protesting against the order,
which the authorities were about to carry into
effect. The guns had been shipped, but the mob
proceeded to the harbour and compelled the com¬
mander of the transport vessel to unship them.
Finding that no other course would appease the
populace, both the civil and military authorities
resolved to disobey M. Gambetta's order, and issued
all over the town a proclamation to the effect, that in
their opinion he was not in so good a position as
themselves to judge of the local necessities of the
defence. " In presence, therefore, of circumstances
the gravity of which hourly increases, and the
legitimate emotion of the population, the superior
commandant and the sub-prefect have replied to
the government that the departure of troops from
Havre was inexpedient just now." The proclama¬
tion afforded a curious illustration of the state of
discipline prevailing in the country at this time.
There have been instances of disobedience of
orders in all countries; but the conduct of the
authorities of an unruly town in informing the
mob, under whose pressure they acted, that they
had disobeyed because they knew better, was
unprecedented even in the history of France.
After the battle of Yillers-Bretonneux and the
capture of Amiens, the remnants of the French
army of the north fell back behind the formidable
network of fortresses by which France is defended
on her Flemish frontier.
The three northernmost departments, from the
2 E
21S
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
Somme to the Belgian frontier, hold about twenty
fortresses of various sizee, which, though wholly
useless nowadays against a large invasion from
Belgium, formed a most welcome and almost un-
attackable basis of operations in this case. When
Vauban planned them nearly 200 years before,
he could not have foreseen that they would serve
as a great entrenched camp, a sort of multiplied,
quadrilateral, to a French army against an c nemy
advancing from the heart of France! But so it
was; and small as this piece of territory is, it was
for the nonce impregnable, as well as important
on account of its manufacturing resources, and its
dense, hardy, and patriotic population.
The army of the north first assembled under
the command of General Bourbaki ; and when the
ex-commander of the imperial guard was sum¬
moned to take charge of part of the Loire army,
the northern forces were left for a time under
the direction of General Farre. It was during
this interval that the battle of Yillers-Breton-
neux was fought and Amiens captured. On
the 3rd December M. Gambetta replaced General
Farre by the appointment of General Faidherbe,
one of the most competent commanders the war
produced. He was a native of the provinces he
was called to defend, having been born at Lille
on June 3, 1818, and had greatly distinguished
himself in Algeria and Senegal.
Opposed to Faidherbe was probably the least
dangerous of the German military leaders, as was
evidenced by the fact that, had the advantages
secured by the battles before Amiens on the 26th
and 27th November been promptly followed up,
the greater part of the beaten French army would
undoubtedly have been captured. So great was
the panic that whole regiments of the French lay
concealed for days in the woods adjoining Amiens,
not daring, in the presence of the dreaded German
troops, to retire on the open field. But when,
much to their surprise, they found they were not
pursued, they collected their scattered forces and
retired behind their northern fortresses, while the
main body of the Germans went off towards Rouen.
Had General Manteuffel, instead of taking this
course, made a bold effort to cut off the retreat, it
seems certain that French operations in the north
would have been permanently paralyzed. As it
was, the number who escaped to the triangle pro¬
tected by Arras, Cambrai, and Lille was so large
that, with the addition of some mobiles and drafts
from various neighbouring garrisons, they formed
for General Faidherbe an army of about 50,000
men and 70 guns.
The 20th of December was fast approaching when
Manteuffel, while engaged in the comparatively
sentimental work of capturing open towns and taking
seaside trips to Dieppe, received intelligence that a
new French army of the north was descending upon
Amiens, and Yon Goben was hastily despatched
back to the scene of his encounters of November
27. General Faidherbe had advanced much sooner
than was originally intended, in consequence of
a rumour that the Germans were preparing an
attack upon Havre. He had gathered together
a large number of men, and in his safe northern
retreat would gladly have had a little longer time
for reorganizing them. The fact, however, that
the second seaport of the country was threatened
hastened his movements, and he advanced on St.
Quentin, a detachment capturing Ham in passing;
reconnoitred La Fère; and on the 14th December
commenced demonstrations in the direction of
Amiens. The German commander had been too
well aware of the strength of Havre to lightly
attempt an attack upon it; and the fears of the
inhabitants, for which, indeed, there had been no
real cause, were dispelled by the manœuvres of
General Faidherbe; in consequence of which large
detachments of Manteuffel's army were at once
recalled, and a series of closely-contested engage¬
ments ensued, the most serious commencing on
December 23 and ending on January 3.
At a little distance from Amiens General Faid¬
herbe found that nature had supplied him with
defences much superior to those of the best en¬
gineer. From Querrieux to Bussy, on the summit
of a hill, or kind of elevated plateau, about three
miles in length, the French army was posted,
with its artillery, ready for action. Near the foot
of this hill ran a small river, the L'Hallu, skirted
by a long narrow line of wood, beyond which were
numerous small villages—Daours, Pont Noyelles,
Querrieux, Bavelincourt, &c. The French right
wing rested on a wood on the brow of the hill
overlooking Contay and Yadencourt; the centre
was at Pont Noyelles and Querrieux, and the left
at Daours.
The great festive season of the year had come,
and throughout England bright faces, blazing fires,
groaning tables, mirth and laughter were to be seen
on every side. It was far different, however, with
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
219
our nearest neighbours, who, especially here in
the north, were busily preparing again to defy
their enemies to mortal combat. The morning
of December 23 was bitterly cold and the frost
most intense, as the army of General von Goben
assembled on a vast plain near Querrieux, before
marching to accept the challenge of the French.
The fifteenth division, under General Kummer,
crossed the Somme by some pontoon bridges near
Carnon, and, leaving Rivery to the left, formed
on the plateau in front of Allonville, with the
cavalry of General Count Groben on the right.
The sixteenth division, under General Barnakow,
marched up the road to Rainneville and Pierregôt
to the north of Amiens, whilst a brigade proceeded
along the Somme from La Motte upon Vecquemont.
General von Goben's plan was to advance upon
the French position of Allon ville and Querrieux,
and to make a strong demonstration on their centre
and left flank ; whilst General Barnakow, with the
sixteenth division, after arriving at Rubemprè, was
to wheel round, and, having first taken the villages
along the extreme right, to advance upon the French
position, and endeavour to turn their right flank,
thus encircling them so as to shut them up to a
retreat on the Somne, which it was thought would
be fatal.
Having ridden some distance out upon the Albert
road, the general and his staff dismounted, and,
sending their horses to the rear, awaited the advance
of the troops upon Allonville. This little village
is situated upon one of those ridges of hills that
lie along the east side of the valley which stretches
from Frèchencourt past Querrieux to Corbie. A
magnificent sight was presented by the advance of
the troops. The twenty-ninth brigade, commanded
by Colonel von Bock, and composed of the thirty-
third and sixty-fifth regiments, with artillery, and
one squadron of the king's hussars, marched for¬
ward to the right of the farm of Les-Alençons;
the thirtieth brigade, with the seventieth and
twenty-eighth regiments, and two batteries of
artillery, advanced upon the left of Allonville,
covered by a regiment of lancers; whilst Count
Groben's dragoons rode along the crest of the hill,
looking across to the heights on the other side,
above Corbie. Steadily, as if on parade, marched
the compact masses of infantry; the skirmishers
in front, with their supports to the right and left
of the Albert road. They took possession of the
woods beside Allonville, and in a moment the
village was occupied, while as yet not a French
soldier was to be seen. But an orderly galloped
up to say that the village of Querrieux in the
front was strongly held by French troops. At Les-
Alençons a road leads off to the left through the
village of Cardonette, and on to the Pierregôt road.
Along this galloped Captain Allborn with orders
from General von Goben to the sixteenth division
to change front to their right flank, and, marching
across between Molliens-aux-Bois and Mirvaux, to
storm the French positions in the villages of Bave-
lincourt, Behencourt, and Frèchencourt. From
the château of Bengerie the French tirailleurs were
seen retiring upon Querrieux. The twenty-ninth
brigade then brought their left shoulders forward,
and two batteries of artillery took up position on the
right. At ten minutes past eleven the first shot
was fired by the French infantry from a windmill
to the right of Querrieux, and the batttle of Quer¬
rieux—or of Pont Noy elles, as it was called by
the French—commenced. By twelve (noon) the
village was stormed, and the French had retreated
upon the well-nigh impregnable position already
referred to. The considerable village forming the
centre of their line of battle was thus taken; but
the position of the Germans was anything but
pleasant, as the ridge and village they occupied
were easily commanded by Faidherbe's artillery
from the elevated plateau opposite; and the French
batteries all along the height, especially that to the
right of the villages of La Houssoye, kept up a
determined and well-directed fire upon it. Mean¬
time, to the right the Prussians had taken the
villages of Daours, Vecquemont, and Bussy, the
French retiring upon their intrenched position in
front of Corbie. Here both sides fought hard,
appealing to the bayonet to settle the disputed
possession of the villages, whose capture in fact
formed one of the most remarkable incidents of
the battle, as it was accomplished by the Rhenish
rifle battalion against a whole division of the
French army. With only about 800 men, Major
Bronikowski waited till the heavy columns of the
enemy who came to attack him were within ninety
paces. The Germans had every one been waiting
at this point with the eye on their enemy and the
finger on the trigger ; and when their commander
gave the word, " Nun ! Kinder, schnell Feuer ! "
they sent such a volley into the ranks of the
French as to leave upwards of forty dead in one
place. The Germans had in the meantime been
220
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN "WAR.
reinforced, but they bad not more tban 2500 men
in all at this point; and with this inferior number
the French left was forced back upon Corbie, the
villages of Bussy, Daours, and Vecquemont were
taken, and, still more surprising, held against
repeated assaults.
At two p.m. the French, under a heavy fire of
artillery, endeavoured to retake the village of
Querrieux. Hard, indeed, was the struggle between
the combatants here. For nearly twenty minutes
they fought, actually looking into each other's
eyes. But the French again retired, and again
their five batteries of thirty guns opened a crush¬
ing fire upon the Prussian line. Every eye was
now anxiously turned to the left flank, but as yet
there were no signs of Barnakow's division. The
Prussians were very weak before Querrieux, and
the reserve was ordered to move up to the left
of that village. The thirtieth brigade deployed in
the valley and took a small village, into which the
French poured a shower of shell and shrapnel
from their batteries to the right of the Albert
Road. And now the space between Querrieux
and Bengerie began to be filled with those tell¬
tales of an action—carts and carriages of all
descriptions, bearing ghastly burdens to the rear.
Fortunate it was that the waggons of the British
Society were there, for they supplied blankets to
cover the poor suffering soldiers, the pain of
whose wounds was increased by the biting frost
and intensely cold winds. About this time—
half-past two p.m.—the French made a strong
demonstration between La-Neuville and Daours.
With their guns planted to the left of La Houssoye
they opened a heavy fire upon the Prussian right
flank, a considerable body of troops at the same
time advancing as if to retake Bussy. But Cap¬
tain Fuchius' battery of horse artillery galloped
to the right, unlimbered, and opened such a hot
fire upon them that first of all the infantry halted,
then faced to the right about, and eventually
doubled to the rear in a most orderly manner, the
artillery quickly following their example.
About three o'clock the welcome sound of
General Barnakow's artillery was heard, and his
troops were shortly seen advancing on Frèchen-
court from the Contay road. At four p.m. the
sixteenth division had stormed the villages of
Bavelincourt, Behencourt, and Frèchencourt; but
their further advance was stopped by the same
formidable position which had brought the fif¬
teenth division to a halt. Now, however, the
Germans held the line of villages in the valley
through which the small river L'Hallu flows, and
which now formed the line of demarcation between
the two armies. On the other side of this stream a
natural glacis extended to the summit of the ridge
of hills occupied by the French. Up this glacis,
with 50,000 troops at the top, and fifty or sixty
guns, it was both too late and too dangerous to
advance; but the artillery on both sides continued
firing, as did also the skirmishers, some of whom
were at a distance of but 300 yards apart.
Meantime the village of Querrieux was held by
two battalions of the thirty-third and the sixty-fifth
regiment. Again and again had the French un¬
successfully tried to retake it. Thus far all had
gone well for the Germans throughout the day,
and as darkness set in it was hoped the French
would give up the contest. Suddenly, however,
a fire was opened from the hill, far exceeding
in intensity and deadliness the artillery play at
Gravelotte. It was dusk, and the spectacle was
indescribably grand. To this fire the Germans
responded but feebly, as the men had expended
their ammunition, which encouraged the French
to come down the hill and renew their attack on
Querrieux. The sixty-fifth were obliged to fall
back, and as they did so the dark uniforms of the
French chasseurs were seen advancing at the other
end of the principal thoroughfare. They had not
proceeded far, however, before they were received
by a murderous fire from the thirty-third, who
advanced upon them from the cross streets with
the bayonet, and once more drove them back pell-
mell out of the village. The thirty-third and
sixty-fifth were now nearly without ammunition,
but the gallant fellows would not give up the
position so dearly bought; and there they stood,
each man in his place, determined to make cold
steel do the work of ball-cartridge. It was now
dark. The Prussian artillery had ceased firing,
and the village of Querrieux was burning in four
places, the flames throwing their light far and
wide over the surrounding country. Six com¬
panies of the thirty-third regiment determined to
avenge the last attack of the French. In the
dark they stole out of the village, formed line, and
at the point of the bayonet charged up to the
French battery on the right of the Albert Road.
They had spiked two guns and taken the horses
when they were attacked by five French bat-
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
221
talions, before whom they were forced to retire
into Querrieux, followed so closely that at one
moment it was thought the village was lost. By
this time, however, the sixty-fifth had received
ammunition, and drove the French back with a
withering fire. It was now nearly six o'clock, and
the battle of Pont Noyelles was over, in which the
Germans had taken seven villages, 900 prisoners,
a lieutenant-colonel, and a post-captain in the
navy, who was jocosely asked why he had not
brought his ship with him. The day had wit¬
nessed one of the severest actions of the cam¬
paign, but had resulted in no real gain to either
party. The Germans had captured the villages
and numerous prisoners, but the French still held
the formidable position just beyond them, across
the little stream. For that reason General Faid-
herbe claimed the victory, and in support of his
claim made his men bivouac on the ground,
with the thermometer marking 8° below zero,
impressing on them, with the susceptibility of
a French general, that the hardship was absol¬
utely necessary to show that the day was theirs.
That they fought stoutly there is not the least
question, and great credit was due to their artil¬
lery, which was well served; but from the course
their general felt compelled to take almost directly
afterwards, it is difficult to see how he could fairly
claim to have obtained any advantage.
As night closed in each army could observe the
position of the other, clearly marked by the lines
of bivouac fires, which burnt brightly in the in¬
tensely frosty atmosphere at intervals of 1500 to
2000 yards. Early next morning Generals von
Goben and Manteuffel visited the field of battle,
and witnessed the curious sight of nearly 60,000
French troops, with at least seventy cannon, look¬
ing down upon 24,000 Prussians with forty guns.
There stood the heavy masses of the French
infantry, drawn up along the brow of the hill, with
their batteries right and left of the brigades,
covered by cavalry ; there stretched a long line of
tirailleurs covering the whole front, keeping up a
constant fire, wherever there was a chance, upon
the valley below. On the German side all was
still. The troops stood to their arms, the artillery
was unlimbered, the cavalry kept their bridles over
their arms; but not a shot was fired. They felt
that they were too weak to attack the powerful
force opposed to them, by which every moment
they expected to be assailed. The day, however,
wore on; General Faidherbe declined to follow up
his "victory;" and the two armies stood still,
silently confronting each other. Their weakness
in numbers had been apparent to the German com¬
manders early on the 23rd, and Manteuffel had
telegraphed for reinforcements. About midday on
the 24th, intelligence was received that Prince
Albrecht was coming from Paris with a cavalry
division of the guard, and that General Schliler
von Senden, with a division, was advancing in the
direction of Corbie from St. Quentin. Meanwhile,
General Barnakow had been detached to the French
right, in order, if possible, to turn their position;
and the Germans now commenced such disposi¬
tions of their troops as would enable them to avoid
making an assault on the Franvillers heights.
Towards the afternoon a heavy cannonade, inter¬
mingled with the discharge of rifles, was opened
from the hill, the reason of which was soon after
apparent. The French, witnessing the movements
of their enemies, had seen at once the great peril
they would be in should the Germans succeed in
completing their tactics, which must have led to
a repetition of the manœuvre at Sedan. They
peopled, therefore, the top of the hill with soldiers,
and feigned an intention to continue the battle.
For that purpose they discharged cannons and rifles,
galloped to and fro along the line, and showed
themselves exceedingly busy But in the rear,
behind the hill, was going on the very different
movement of conveying men, horses, and cannon to
the railway train. This completed, the dummies
on the summit suddenly disappeared, and when
the sixteenth German division had completed their
arrangements for attack, they found that the French
had abandoned the most magnificent position nature
could give them, and' were in full retreat upon
Arras and Lille. General Faidherbe admitted the
loss of 1400 in killed and wounded, while that of
the Germans was officially returned as 800, includ¬
ing twenty-six officers. The brunt of the day's
action was borne, on the German side, by the forces
under Yon Goben, who from this time became
general of the army of the Somne, while Ben-
theim, at the same time, took command of the
army of the Seine, with headquarters at Rouen,
General Manteuffel still holding the command-
in-chief.
With only one of his divisions—the fifteenth,
with which he had fought at Pont Noyelles—and
with the younger Prince Albrecht's flying column,
222
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
of about the strength of a brigade, Yon Goben
followed Faidherbe to Bapaume, sending the six¬
teenth division to invest Péronne, and keep the
communications ; a disposition of his army which
could only be justified by the event, and which
could not fail to tempt the French commander to
attack him before he could concentrate his forces.
He very speedily had reason to recall the sixteenth
division, and to leave the besieging of Péronne
to General von Senden, with what forces and mate¬
rial he could collect from St. Quentin and Amiens,
which the result proved to be sufficient.
Faidherbe gave as an excuse for his retreat on
the 24th the failure of his commissariat and train ;
experience, apparently, not having yet taught the
French the value of these services, to the short¬
comings of which their earliest disasters of the
campaign were to a great extent due. This, how¬
ever, was doubtless only part of his reason for
retreating behind his fortresses. Here he received
intelligence of the somewhat incautious advance
of Yon Goben to Bapaume, and perceiving his
chances, determined at once to resume the offen¬
sive. On Friday, the 30th December, the country
round Arras was swept by the division Lecointe,
which on the following day proceeded to advance,
with its left wing resting on La Scarpe, and its
right on the heights of Beaumont-les-Loges. The
front of the army, slightly convex in shape, ex¬
tended for about a league before Arras. On the 2nd
January the advanced guard attacked the Prussian
post before Bapaume, but, owing to the failure of
a subordinate general, without serious effect. Some
detachments made a reconnaissance on the Arras
and Douai roads, and came so near to a battery of
artillery that, had it not been for Count Portalais
and his squadron of king's hussars, the French
might have recorded the capture of some Prussian
guns. When, however, they were within 200
yards of the battery, it was saved by the hussars,
who rushed upon them, cutting them down where
they stood, and making 200 prisoners. Having
thoroughly felt his way on the German left flank,
General Faidherbe determined to attack at Ba¬
paume the next morning. Accordingly, at nine
a.m. on the 3rd January, just as General von
Goben with his staff arrived at Le Transloy, half
way on the Péronne road between Combles and
Bapaume, the French commenced the action.
Bapaume, with the villages of Avesnes-les-
Bapaume, Ligny-Tilloy, and Grevillers, were held
by the fifteenth division, under General Kummer.
The twenty-ninth brigade consisted of the bat¬
talions of the thirty-third and the sixty-fifth regi¬
ment. Two battalions of the thirty-third held the
villages of Avesnes and Grevillers; the sixty-fifth
regiment the suburb of Bapaume, called the Fau¬
bourg d'Arras. The thirtieth brigade, consisting
of the twenty-eighth regiment and the second
battalion of the sixty-eighth, made ground towards
the Arras road and the wooded heights of Sapig-
nies. Bapaume and its environs were * conse¬
quently held by about eight battalions, with six
batteries of artillery. As at this moment, with
the exception of those of the nineteenth regiment,
no battalion could bring more than 600 men into
action, the Prussian force at Bapaume may be put
down at 5000 infantry, with thirty-six guns. To
their left was the brigade of General Count Groben,
who lay at Miraumont, on the Arras and Amiens
Railway. The Prussian right was commanded by
Prince Albrecht, the younger, with the fortieth
regiment, three batteries of horse artillery, and the
division of the cavalry of the guard, whose head¬
quarters were in Equancourt, at the juncture of
the Cambrai, Bapaume, and Péronne roads. The
reserve consisted of the eighth jâger battalion,
one battalion of the thirty-third regiment, one bat¬
talion of the sixty-eighth, and the artillery reserve.
These lay upon the Bapaume and Péronne road,
between the villages of Beaulincourt and Le Tran¬
sloy. The position of the Prussian troops was,
therefore, with their left at Miraumont, centre at
Bapaume, and right at Equancourt. The French
right extended beyond Achiet-le-Petit, and lay in
the villages of Bihucourt, Achiet-le-Grand, and
Gomiecourt; their centre was in Behagnies and
Sapignies; whilst their left rested upon Yaulx and
Lagnicourt.
The French began with an attack upon the
Faubourg d'Arras, and by an attempt to drive the
thirty-third regiment out of the village of Grevil¬
lers. In this they failed, being driven back and
pursued by the thirty-third into the village of
Biefvillers, which the Prussians stormed and took
possession of, but were soon obliged to evacuate.
Heavy masses of infantry came on to attack the
gallant little band, amongst whom the French
artillery was making sad havoc. Slowly, and with
their faces to the enemy, they retreated upon the
suburb of Bapaume, where they found the sixty-
fifth regiment at their backs, and whence a quick
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
223
and uninterrupted fire was soon opened upon the
French troops. Meantime the Prussian artillery
posted on the Arras road swept the plateau be¬
neath, and poured a plunging fire of shell into the
heavy French masses as they struggled across to
gain the Faubourg d'Arras. The French artillery
was never better served than on this occasion,
both for rapidity and precision. Besides having
excellent cannon, and knowing how to use them,
the soldiers of the army of the north behaved most
admirably under fire, although composed mainly
of recruits, and without skilled leaders. Numerous
bayonet charges were executed with creditable
courage and gallantry against old and well-trained
Prussian warriors. During one of those charges
one battalion had to pass battalions of Prussians
hidden at about five yards' distance. A full
charge was given from the needle-guns with
such terrible effect, that it seemed as if little
more than fifty men of that battalion remained
alive or unwounded.
In the course of the morning the thirty-third
regiment, now fearfully reduced, was obliged to
retire from the suburb it had held so bravely, and
took possession of the old citadel of Bapaume,
situated on the Albert road, and of the windmill
to the left. The sixty-fifth still held a part of the
Faubourg d'Arras, while two horse-artillery bat¬
teries were sent forward to the left, and, taking up
a position at Ligny, opened fire upon the French
right.
The action now became general and Bapaume
was in a circle of fire and smoke. The Prussian
centre, overwhelmed by the numbers of the enemy
and the hot artillery fire, was beginning slowly to
give ground, when the Rhenish jagers, with two
fresh batteries, deployed to their left and went
into action. Meantime Prince Albrecht had
marched upon Baucourt from Equancourt, and
had detached two batteries with some cavalry
in the direction of Beugny-le-Chateau, whilst he
himself, with the fortieth regiment and the remain¬
der of his command, excepting the hussars of the
guard, engaged the French left from Fremicourt.
The hussars of the guard were sent along the road
to Cambrai, to make sure that no troops were
advancing on the Prussian right from that place.
At the village of Boursies two regiments of French
infantry, with a squadron of cavalry, were reported
as advancing on the Cambrai road upon the Ger¬
man right flank. The officer in command was
equal to the emergency. A squadron was dis¬
mounted, and took possession of the buildings and
outhouses of the village. The hussars with their
carabines opened a heavy fire upon the French as
soon as they were within range ; who, thinking
that the village was held by infantry, made a hasty
retreat. While matters were going on thus on
the centre and right of the Prussian army, General
Count Groben marched from Miraumout against
the French right. Making a slight détour to his
left flank, he suddenly appeared on the enemy's
rear, and, opening fire from his artillery, made
them imagine he was about to attack them in
reverse, which speedily had the effect of compelling
the French centre to draw off some of their forces,
and gave a little breathing time to the gallant
defenders of Bapaume.
There, in the meantime, confusion reigned
supreme. The inhabitants were rushing off pell-
mell in all directions. Shells went hurtling into
the houses, bullets smashed the windows, and the
town was set on fire in several places. On the
road outside Bapaume, leading towards Beaulin-
court, could be heard the sound of the heavy guns
playing upon Péronne; and anxious must have
been the commander of that fortress for news of
those who were trying to relieve him, and whose
fire he could distinctly recognize. Towards half-
past one things had a serious aspect for the Ger¬
mans. The heavy fire and superior numbers of
the French had told so effectually, that the whole
of the suburb of Arras was relinquished, and the
twenty-ninth brigade, under Colonel von Bock,
retired into Bapaume. The thirtieth brigade
formed up in rear of the town on thè Péronne
road, and for a brief period the French suspended
operations, except on the right flank, where Prince
Albrecht was hotly engaged, but where neither
side gained any advantage for a time. By sunset,
however, the French had not only entered the
suburb of Arras, where they at once erected strong
barricades, but, after desperate fighting, had taken
most of the villages around Bapaume, and even
had their posts in some of the streets of the
town itself, at only about thirty yards from the
German outposts. The sixty-fifth regiment accord-
ingly began to prepare for a fight in the streets bv
building barricades at every corner, and turning
every window into a loop-hole. The terrified in¬
habitants fled into the cellars, and even the soldiers
were not without apprehension, in consequence
224
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
of the very superior strength of the French.
Fortunately for them, the battle did not extend
into Bapaume, and the day closed upon a sanguin¬
ary fight, which again produced little or no real
advantage to either party.
General Faidherbe subsequently issued a pro¬
clamation, expressing the greatest indignation at
the pretensions put forward by the Prussians of
having had the advantage in the action, and
claimed to have won a " complete victory which,
he asserted, was proved by the fact that his army
slept in the villages it had taken. He had not, he
said, followed up his victory, because of the failure
of his commissariat, and his fear that an advance
would involve the destruction of Bapaume. The
battle may, indeed, be fairly said to have been
won by the French, but a fatality seemed to attend
their movements even when they were successful.
Faidherbe's army had behaved with the greatest
gallantry, and their repeated attacks so exhausted
the Germans—the thirty-third regiment, for in-
instance, having less than half its strength and
only three officers left—that at six p.m. General
von Goben gave the order to retreat across the
Somme. The heavy baggage trains were already
in motion when it was discovered that the French
commander, whether unaware of his victory, or
dismayed by his own losses, or alarmed by the
prospect of wanting food, retreated, and the Ger¬
man movement was stayed. Had he only advanced,
or even maintained his position till morning, he
would have secured an unmistakable victory, which
might possibly have given new life to France. It
would, at the least, have enabled him to relieve
Péronne, and to partially clear the left bank of the
Somme; and this would have had much more effect
in inspiring his troops with ardour and energy
than a paper assertion of victory while in full
retreat before the enemy. It was this want of
vigour, rather than of capacity or courage, in the
French generals, which on more than one occasion
made their greatest efforts of so little avail.
The real fruits of the victory remained, of
course, with the Germans, though dearly purchased
by the loss of nearly 1000 killed and wounded.
If the French slept in the captured positions, their
nap must have been brief indeed, for by midnight
a movement of retreat was commenced along their
whole line. The proof of a victory is in its results ;
and General Faidherbe would have furnished the
best evidence of having gained it if, instead of
wasting time in undignified discussions with Gen¬
eral Manteuffel, he had by advancing made the
most of it: for he must have known that every
day which passed added to the difficulties, the
dangers, the agony of Paris. The allegation that
the object of the fighting at Bapaume was frus¬
trated by the shortcomings of the French com¬
missariat, acquitted the soldiers at the expense of
their commander, who had full time for the
organization of the service in the north, and should
therefore have seen that his army was in a con¬
dition to keep the field. As to his other reason
for stopping short before Bapaume, " lest an attack
upon that place might involve its destruction,"
he ought to have considered that between him
and Paris there were many such places, within
which the Germans might have chosen to await
his onset, and that if he were equally scrupulous
about the safety of all of them, he would never
achieve the deliverance of the capital. Pursued
to within about four miles of Arras by the Prussian
cavalry—who, however, captured no guns and but
few prisoners—the army of the north again found
itself under the friendly shelter of their fortresses.
The principal cavalry intrusted with the pursuit
were the eighth Rheinischer cuirassiers, com¬
manded by Captain von Marées, who, just beyond
the village of Sapignies—between it and Mory—
came upon two retreating battalions of French
infantry, one a chasseur regiment, the other con¬
sisting of gardes mobiles. At the moment he
discovered them he was riding exactly parallel
to them, the undulating country having hitherto
hidden them from his view. He at once determined
upon attacking them. The greater part of the
country in the neighbourhood of Bapaume is arable
land, most of which had been ploughed, and the
furrows, from the severe frost of the previous
ten days, were frozen as hard as bars of iron.
Every one can see how serious were the difficulties
which a heavy cavalry regiment would have to
encounter in an attack over such ground. After
some deliberation a spot was, however, chosen
upon which to attack.
No sooner did the French infantry perceive the
approach of the Prussian cuirassiers than they
formed two squares. The foremost square, which
was first attacked, waited until the cavalry came
within 300 yards before it opened fire. Then, how¬
ever, a perfect shower of bullets rang against and
pierced the cuirasses of the advancing horsemen.
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
225
The captain was shot through the knee, and
his charger through the head; the lieutenant
was unhorsed, and suffered a severe concussion;
and the squadron sergeant-major received a bullet
through the heart. Undaunted by the fall of
their officers and sergeant-major, the men rode
boldly at and right through the square, scattering
their foes on all sides, and sabring and trampling
down many. Having thus pierced their way to
the other side of the French, they immediately
spread to avoid any concentrated fire. Had they
been supported, which unfortunately for them
they were not, in all probability the regiment of
infantry would have been cut to pieces; but a
ravine of great depth separated them from their
comrades, who were unable to cross in time to
take part in this gallant action. The remains of
the shattered French square were thus able to
gain the shelter of a village, against which it was
of course impossible to advance with cavalry.
Yon Goben did not consider it wise to hold
Bapaume, and soon after the battle of the 3rd.
retired to Domprere. The retrograde movement
was carried out along the whole German line;
General Kummer, who with the fifteenth division
was at Albert, withdrawing upon Bray-sur-Somme,
and Prince Albrecht retiring upon Combles. Con¬
siderable detachments of men and siege material
were despatched to Péronne, which, under the
fearful artillery fire poured upon it, speedily
became a mass of ruins, and on January 10
capitulated unconditionally, with its garrison of
2000 men, to General von Senden.
The same day on which the severe action at
Bapaume was fought General von Bentheim, on
the Seine, had a somewhat sharp engagement with
the French troops from Havre; to which place a
new commander had been recently appointed, who
had won considerable popularity by encouraging
and organizing a scheme for attacking the Prus¬
sian forces in the neighbourhood. For several
days the Prussian commander had heard that
large numbers of French were massing upon the
left bank of the Seine, threatening Rouen. To
prevent the completion of these movements Von
Bentheim, with a strong division, on the 3rd of
January, at five a.m., surprised the French army
in their quarters. The attack was short, sharp,
and decisive; four standards, 500 prisoners, and
two rifled guns falling into the hands of the
Prussians. Not satisfied with the result, a com-
VOL. n.
pany of infantry were immediately placed upon
waggons, and, with two horse-artillery guns and
two squadrons of cavalry, under the command of
Major Preinezer, of the artillery, went in pursuit
of the flying engmy, and captured two more guns
and many additional prisoners, before they could
ensconce themselves behind the earthworks of
Havre.
Besides Péronne, two other fortresses fell early
in the new year; namely, Mézières on January
2, and Rocroi on January 4. The former had
undergone a tedious process of investment, almost
since the capitulation of Sedan; for as it could
give little annoyance to the Germans, its reduction
by siege guns was deferred. Like almost all the
other fortresses besieged, it speedily yielded to
powerful artillery, which in a bombardment of
about three days caused a vast amount of damage
to life and property. The wreck, indeed, baffles
description; terrible as was the scene presented
by Bazeilles after being fired by the Bavarians, it
was not so fearful as that which met the eye in
some parts of Mézières. At Bazeilles the walls
of most of the houses were left standing, and
the streets were free of débris; but at Mézières, in
many places, the houses were a mere waste, and
not a stone of the front walls was left standing.
The narrow streets were so choked up with fallen
stones, that it was often difficult to get along. The
church was also much injured. The 2nd of
January witnessed the capitulation of the fortress
and the surrender of the garrison, numbering
2000 men.
Part of the force which had reduced Mézières at
once marched north-west to Rocroi, on the Belgian
frontier. Early on the morning of January 4
some cavalry appeared suddenly at the gate, and
demanded an immediate surrender, threatening
bombardment in case of refusal. The commandant,
believing that the enemy were unprovided with
siege guns, returned a firm reply in the negative.
The effective garrison consisted of 150 mobiles and
120 artillerymen and engineers. The guns were
old-fashioned pieces, and the fortifications antique.
A dense fog prevailed, when at noon the sound of
a cannon was heard and a hissing shell fell within
the fort. It appears that about thirty-six German
guns were ranged in batteries against the town, and
a fierce fire was at once opened from them. A num¬
ber of long-range guns were placed further in the
rear, and the whole were supported by a force of
2 F
226
THE FRANCO PRUSSIAN WAR.
several thousand men. On the other hand, the fort
of Rocroi possessed only four guns of serviceable
range. When the first shell fell the mobiles
rushed towards the ramparts on the side away
from the fire, climbed over them, and fled in all
directions. The 120 men who kept their ground,
for five and a half hours bore an unrelenting bom¬
bardment, of which every shot told, and which
crushed the town by the weight of 2000 pro¬
jectiles. Fires broke out in several places, and
a dozen houses were in flames. The four French
pieces which were available fired as rapidly as
possible against an enemy who could not be seen,
and their balls fell at random. The powder
magazine was so much damaged that there was
imminent danger of its explosion. At half-past
five another parlementaire appeared, stating that
it was useless to prolong the resistance, and that
only from respect to the valour displayed had the
Germans been induced to take the unusual course
of sending a second summons. The town continued
to burn, and no assistance was to be looked for.
The commandant, therefore, consented to capi¬
tulate, and the Germans entered and extinguished
the fires, which, owing to a violent wind, threatened
to destroy the whole place. Of the 120 men, nearly
one-half managed to escape after the capitulation;
the remainder, together with the officers, were sent
to Germany.
While General Faidherbe was, as we have seen,
availing himself of all opportunities of annoying
and injuring his enemies in the north, things in
other parts of the country were beginning to look
extremely serious for France. Paris, patient and
resolute, still kept at bay the hosts encompassing
it, but only by submitting to privations so severe
that it was easily seen they must soon issue in
starvation or submission. The army of the Loire,
at one time so full of promise to the nation, had
been obliged to retire, defeated and scattered, upon
Le Mans ; and already the Germans were concen¬
trating to deal it the last crushing blow. Seeing
that his chances depended upon the hazard of one
last desperate throw, M. Gambetta conceived the
idea of a simultaneous offensive movement through¬
out the country. Paris was to make a formidable
sortie in force, Faidherbe was to advance from the
north, and Chanzy from the south, while Bour-
baki was to put forth all his strength to cut the
Prussian communications, and even push his way
into Germany. M. Gambetta accordingly tele¬
graphed to General Faidherbe that the moment
for the supreme effort had come, and directed him
to draw upon himself as many of the Germans as
could be diverted from Paris. Promptly obeying,
he eluded the troops who were watching him, and
by forced marches arrived on the south of St.
Quentin, threatening his enemy's lines of com¬
munication. It was thought advisable, however,
to conceal if possible the extent and object of this
movement. In a despatch to Bordeaux published
on the 18th January, General Faidherbe therefore
stated that, " having learnt that the Prussians at
St. Quentin demanded of the inhabitants a sum of
548,000 francs, he had resolved to put an end to
their exactions, and sent a flying column for that
purpose under the orders of Colonel Isnard. That
officer encountered the enemy at Catelet Bellicourt,
and pursued him, killing and wounding thirty
men. Colonel Isnard subsequently entered St.
Quentin on the 16th, the enemy flying in great
disorder, and abandoning 130 prisoners, as well
as a considerable store of provisions. The inhab¬
itants of the town received the troops with great
enthusiasm."
Though somewhat coloured as to the "great
disorder," &c., the despatch was correct in stating
that St. Quentin was evacuated by the Germans.
No artifice, however, could conceal from the well-
informed Yon Goben that the French had really
advanced in great force ; and promptly gathering
together his little army, he gave orders for an
immediate attack. The remarkable feature in the
conduct of this commander was the great exactness
with which he carried out his plans, and the care
taken by him of all parts : none were neglected by
him, even while each was working for itself for a
certain time, and scarcely knowing it was con¬
nected with another until the moment came when
all acted together as a whole. He cared com¬
paratively little how many perished on the march,
provided it was completed in the given time ; and
in the operations around St. Quentin on the 19th
were seen the results of his exact method. Every
one was in his right place at the right time. The
officers of the Prussian army attributed to Man-
teuffel's slowness the fact that Faidherbe had
not been more decisively beaten on previous
occasions, while the confidence of the common
soldiers in Yon Gôben's talent was great. On
the fatiguing march through snow and mud, from
morning till evening, they might often be heard
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
227
saying, " Well, Goben knows that all this is
necessary," and they held on as merrily as ever.
The fighting commenced by some skirmishes on
Wednesday, the 18th of January. On the previous
day General Faidherbe had established his quar-
tier-general at St. Quentin, and early the following
morning despatched a brigade of the twenty-
second corps in advance of the main army, which
shortly after followed, in a southerly direction
towards Mézières on the Oise. The French being
very deficient in cavalry, his reconnaisances were
too limited to enable him to know for certain the
direction occupied by the enemy, and in conse¬
quence a portion of General Faidherbe's men came
unexpectedly upon advanced posts near the village
of Roupy. They were suddenly attacked by a
Prussian battery, and compelled to fly with severe
loss. Several other skirmishes of a similar nature
and with like result occurred in the course of
the 18th, showing clearly the proximity of very
numerous hostile forces, and giving some indica¬
tion of the severity of the battle next day.
About nine o'clock on the morning of the 19th
the principal engagement commenced by an attack
of the Prussians, from some heights overlooking
the villages of Grugis and Castres, upon the twenty-
third French corps, commanded by General Gislin.
The unceasing fire of the Chassepots was not to
be mistaken, and served to point out distinctly
the French position. To understand this fully
the reader must picture St. Quentin situated in
a hollow, inclosed by hills, the hilly circle being
separated by a valley from a second similar cir-
cumvallation. Eastward of this natural fortress,
about 5000 paces from the second height, between
St. Quentin and Savy, a small village to the
south of it, is a thick forest of considerable length,
separated by a plain of about 500 paces from a
second forest, less extensive than the former, still
more westward, towards the road to Péronne, near
Vermand. The French army was so posted on
the second height as to have its left wing eastward
of St. Quentin, the right beyond the second forest,
and the bulk behind both forests, which were
lined with soldiers. Two batteries were, in a
masterly fashion, placed behind the height sepa¬
rating the two forests, and so concealed that their
existence became known only by the smoke after
the discharge. On the Prussian side the six¬
teenth division was on the right, the third cavalry
division on the left wing, and the fifteenth division
in the centre. The respective batteries were
with their divisions, and the artillery corps kept
in reserve.
At Savy orders were given to the Prussian
infantry to take the forests ; and to help them,
three batteries were mounted near a windmill
behind the village, which threw their shells partly
into the forests, and partly amidst those troops
who were posted on the height connecting them.
The French batteries, likewise, began to roar from
behind the hill, and aimed well. So long was the
range of the Chassepots, that at a distance of 1000
yards the advancing infantry had already several
wounded.
So early as ten o'clock the French had to
abandon several of their positions, and a powerful
attack was then made upon their lines by the
Prussians with a large artillery force. The twenty-
second French corps, however, held its ground
well for a time, but the twenty-third soon began
to give way. The two corps had unfortunately
become separated by the Canal Crozat, too broad
and deep to be crossed but by bridges, and conse¬
quently could not aid each other. The twenty-
third corps, therefore, soon began to yield, and by
three o'clock made a disorderly retreat—in fact,
" ran away " would more correctly describe the
conduct of those who had not become prisoners.
General Faidherbe endeavoured to restore con¬
fidence by directing some battalions of the twenty-
second corps to go to their aid ; but before this
movement could be accomplished the panic was
too great.
The cavalry fared no better. Immediately
behind Savy several squadrons of French dra¬
goons were drawn up in line against about an
equal number of the king's hussars. The former
were extremely nice and clean ; their horses
well tended ; saddles and bridles apparently a
few days only in use ; their white cloaks as if
put on for the occasion. The hussars, on the
other hand, as well as their horses, were covered
with mud ; their uniforms, usually so neat and
shiny, were all soiled from the long and toilsome
marches of the last few days. Suddenly, and
without a moment's warning, the hussars dashed
forward like lightning against the enemy, and
fairly overrode him. The first shock dismounted
half of the French dragoons ; their white cloaks
covered the ground, or were trodden into the
earth ; while the other half fell under the strokes
228
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
of the hussars' sharp sabres, or were made prisoners.
When brought in it transpired that they had
entered the army only three weeks before, and had
never previously been on horseback.
At noon the Prussian artillerv, having no means
*> ' O
of estimating the effect of their shells on the con¬
cealed batteries of the enemy, left off firing. They
resumed it only when the French batteries, pressed
hard by the German cavalry.division, had changed
their front towards their right flank, and continued
it until they had compelled General Faidherbe to
give up his excellent position. The twenty-third
French corps having given way, the forests were
already in possession of the Prussian infantry.
About three o'clock two light and one heavy bat¬
tery advanced in columns in the direction of St.
Quentin, leaving the first forest to their left. Be¬
fore that forest they were drawn up in line against
the artillery of the French, who, being in retreat,
had taken position on the first height around St.
Quentin. Nearly at the same time four batteries of
the corps artillery were summoned to the battle¬
field, and placed themselves at the right of the
former three. Thus, on the west side of St.
Quentin, seven batteries came into action, and the
grandeur of their roaring, and the whistling of
their shells, were indescribable. The cavalry divi¬
sion continued to exercise the utmost pressure on
the French right, as the sixteenth division did
on the left, and General Faidherbe had no other
course but to abandon the last heights, and to fall
back into the town.
From the time the twenty-third French corps
had commenced their early retreat, the twenty-
second, under Generals Deroja and Paulze d'lvoy,
sustained the brunt of the fight. Even among
them some mobiles gave way, but were again
rallied and placed in front of the regiment of
zouaves of the north. These latter were as fine
and daring a body of troops as the French had ;
but by four o'clock General Paulze d'lvoy, being
unable any longer to continue the defence, the
retreat was sounded ; and under a tremendous fire
from the augmented Prussian batteries, the dis¬
heartened French set out for St. Quentin, but only
en route for a farther distance still; for, determined
to repossess the town they had evacuated three
days before, the Germans were gathering fast for
the pursuit. Thus, when evening was falling, the
weary men—almost dead with several days' march¬
ing to and fro, first upon Albert, next tacking
westward upon Fins—were trudging several kilo¬
mètres to Cambrai, in the dreary darkness, know¬
ing they had lost an important day, and that their
conquerors were pressing forward to occupy the
town they held the night before.
One of the grandest war pictures ever witnessed
was now displayed. The full light of day had
already disappeared; the wide plain on which a
fierce battle had raged was silent ; but on the
right and left wing were heard the cries of vic¬
torious troops. When the enemy was driven from
his last position, the whole long line of German
infantry and cavalry, followed by the artillery,
began to march on St. Quentin, with drums beat¬
ing and banners fluttering in the air ; and amidst
the shouts of " Hurrah ! " advanced until they
reached the heights just abandoned by the French.
The batteries were then mounted in a semicircle
around the town, which the fifteenth division now
took by storm, assisted by the sixteenth, which
attacked it on the east. To defend the place suc¬
cessfully was impossible; to remain within it was
either to become victims to the pitiless rain of
Prussian shells, or be taken prisoners. The ma¬
jority of the French, therefore, after some slight
show of resistance, fled in utter confusion, some to
Guise, but most to Cambrai, the Prussian cavalry
making about 4000 prisoners at St. Quentin alone.
They had previously taken an equal number, and,
in all, the battle finally resulted in the capture of
more than 12,000. Had not night retarded the
pursuit, it is probable that few, indeed, would have
been left to France of its army of the north.
Thus, within ten days, a second French army,
upon which high hopes had been built, was
shattered and dispersed beyond recovery. In a
report to the minister of War, General Faidherbe
stated that at this battle his troops amounted to
only 25,000, his four divisions having been reduced
during six weeks' operations to 6000 or 7000 men
each; and that, resolved to sacrifice his own army
in order to assist the sortie from Paris, he had gone
forward certain of meeting an overwhelming force.
If the army of the north was indeed reduced to a
strength of 25,000 men, France and Paris, which
had been led to believe that it had at least three
times that number, had been shamefully deceived.
In a pamphlet published by him at the close of
the war, General Faidherbe also remarked some¬
what complainingly respecting this battle, " How
could we withstand indefinitely the fresh troops
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
229
brought continuously by rail on the field of battle, |
even from Paris?" That no very great force was i
despatched from among the besiegers of Paris might
be inferred from the fact that they themselves had
serious work on hand just at this time, the sortie
on Montretout having taken place on the same day
as the battle of St. Quentin. It is doubtful, how¬
ever, if the whole war affords a more striking
example of the military genius of Yon Moltke
than an opportune railway trip he ordered for the
sixteenth brigade, forming part of the beleaguering
army. As the result of calculation he had found
that Von Goben would make his mark at St.
Quentin all the deeper if he were strengthened
with 4000 or 5000 men and a few guns; by cal¬
culation and good information together, he had
even learnt the hour at which this help would be
most useful. The brigade quietly went away for
the fight, just as a lawyer goes down to a pro¬
vincial town for the circuit ; and, the work done,
it returned immediately to its quarters before Paris,
just as the lawyer returns to his cases in the
Queen's Bench. The device had simply for the
time converted 5000 men into 10,000. Of all
Von Moltke's predecessors, Napoleon I. perhaps
most effectively utilized his soldiery by means of
rapid movements ; but he had not the locomotive
and the militàr-zug. General Faidherbe had carried
out M. Gambetta's instructions to the letter ; he
had drawn upon himself as many of the Prussians
from around Paris as could be spared, but by
doing so he had effectually insured his own
irremediable defeat. The victory had cost the
Germans 94 officers and 3000 men.
The only other matter of any importance which
occurred during the war in the north of France,
was the siege and fall of the fortress of Longwy,
the strict investment of which was not undertaken
by the Germans until after the fall of Mézières.
It is situated on the Belgian frontier, thirty-three
miles north-north-west of Metz. Its citadel stands
on a steep rock, below which extends the town,
hospital, military prison, &c, Longwy, which
has been termed the " Iron Gate of France," was
taken by the Prussians in 1792, and again by the
allies in 1815. The details of the siege of 1871
prove that the defence of the place was in no
way exceptional as compared with that of similar
crowded fortresses in north-eastern France, and
that it was given up owing to the same causes
which led to the surrender of Thionville, Mézières,
and Péronn, The working parties, with the siege
train, were brought into the vicinity on the 18th
of January, concealed in distant villages during
the daytime, and in the evening advanced to begin
the work of throwing up the usual concentric bat¬
teries which the Germans had found so effectual
in like cases, and which were placed at points
averaging 1500 yards from the town. Their con¬
struction was attended with unusual difficulties,
owing to the severe frost which prevailed, and in
consequence they were not completed until the
night of January 21. There were nine of them
in all ; eight armed each with four rifled German
12-pounders or 24-pounders, and one with four
French mortars, the same as at Thionville. Fire
was opened at seven a.m. on the 22nd, and was
hotly replied to by the fortress at first, the French
causing a good many casualties, and dismounting
three of the guns in one Prussian battery (No. 6),
on which they directed their chief fire. This,
however, soon slackened, from the effects of the
constant shower of missiles thrown into the bas¬
tions, and then the German artillery began to
direct their shots against the public buildings and
barracks. Their fire was kept up at the usual
measured intervals during the night, and resumed
continuously next morning. At ten a.m. of the
24th the church tower fell with a mighty crash,
audible above the din of the firing; and at four p.m.,
after thirty-three hours' bombardment, Colonel
Massaroli hoisted the white flag and sent out a
parlementaire to treat for terms, which Von Kren-
ski readily granted. Nearly all the houses in the
town were more or less damaged, some, however,
very slightly; but the public buildings had been
set on fire by the shells, and were wholly destroyed.
It needed not this fresh proof to show how unten¬
able the second-rate Vauban fortresses of France
had become in the face of modern artillery, before
which they inevitably fell without even causing
the besiegers the trouble of opening approaches,
unless the inhabitants had consented to be wholly
sacrificed to the defence.
CHAPTER X X Y 11.
The State of France at the Close of 1870—The Accumulated Misfortunes of the Country—German Strategy and its Object—Activity of Chanzy
—An Expedition to St. Calais and its Results—A Warm Protest—German Preparation for the Winter Campaign—The Progress towards
Le Mans—"Beating up" the Enemy in a Fog—"Only an Incident"—Closing in upon General Chanzy—Great Strength of Le Mans—
The Utility of a Map in War—The Battle of Changé—Audacity serving the Purpose of Numbers—The Wisdom of Secrecy in War—Gal¬
lant Behaviour of the Third Corps—Carrying the Heights of Champigné—A Brave Officer not to be Deserted—The Beginning of the End—
The Army of General Chanzy in Full Retreat—Capture of Le Mans—The Takings of the Victors—The German Losses.
How many years must pass before a Frenchman
shall have forgotten the closing scenes of 1870?
Christmas and the new year was fast approaching,
but men's minds were oppressed from day to day
with thoughts contrasting sadly with the associa¬
tions of the season. Not a single rift could be
seen in the clouds which hung over the fairest part
of Europe. From every quarter came distressing
reports of the misery already inflicted by the war,
and gloomy anticipations of the future. The
bitter severity of the weather intensified the ago¬
nies of the wounded, whose sufferings were too
horrible to relate ; while in rural parts a distressing
solitude, only broken by the occasional appear¬
ance of women or old men, reigned along the roads
and around farm-houses and hamlets. Ploughs
rusted in untilled fields, and the only sign of life
,n connection with farming affairs, was the sight
now and then of a woman tending sheep or goats,
as in some barren mountain district. The young
and middle-aged men had been drained away to
such fields as now surrounded Beaugency. Thou¬
sands of wounded constantly passed southwards,
until there was scarcely a town in France without
a military hospital ; and yet the prospect of a de¬
cisive issue to the war seemed as faint as ever.
Throughout the United Kingdom there prevailed
a strong feeling of sympathy with France in her
misfortunes, and an impression that Germany could
now well afford to show a generosity which would
encourage the French to entertain the idea of con¬
cession and peace. It could not be denied that the
Germans had been driven into a war of defence,
and that the disasters they had inflicted on the
French were justly merited ; but the punish¬
ment had already been exemplary beyond any
recorded in history. They had taken prisoner
the emperor who menaced them and the states¬
men who joined with him in his schemes were
driven into exile. They had destroyed or led into ■
captivity his whole army, with nearly all its mar¬
shals and most renowned commanders. They
had taken Strassburg and Metz, with a number
of minor fortresses ; they had overrun France and
laid her provinces under contribution from the
Rhine to the Channel ; they threatened her beautiful
capital with fire and famine; the ruler of Germany
had occupied for three months the palace of the
man who was his greatest enemy, and " all the
glories of France" were humbled under his flag.
Was not such a punishment enough for justice?
Would it not be a cruelty akin to that practised
by the Roman on the Gaul if Germany, with her
veteran army and her incomparable organization,
continued to crush the gallant but undisciplined
bands who were now fighting in desperation to
save some shreds of the honour of France?
To such reasoning the impassive Bismarck slill
had but one answer. His royal, and soon to
become imperial, master was quite willing to listen
to overtures from France, but would not surrender
his claim to a solid security for the future, and
a substantial compensation for the thousands of
precious lives he had been compelled to sacrifice.
On the other hand, M. Gambetta's answer to this
demand for a " solid security " was the organiza¬
tion of new armies and defences on every side.
We have shown in previous chapters that the
great object of the German commander was to
cover the army investing Paris. Every movement
was necessarily subordinate to the siege of the
capital. D'Aurelles de Paladine, strongly posted
at Orleans, constituted a danger which it was
requisite to remove. But that object attained, it
was questionable whether success in that direc¬
tion need be much further pursued. The one
essential point was, that no French army in the
provinces should be suffered to acquire sufficient
consistency to threaten the rear of the Germans
before Paris. To secure this object General von
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
231
Moltke required as much caution as boldness. It
was necessary that his base of operations should
not be so widened as to weaken it. His armies
away from Paris must be like an outer suit of
armour to his army around it: they must stop
every gap, and make fast every link and joint in
defence of the inner panoply. At first the Ger¬
man flying columns merely threatened Orleans,
Chartres, Dreux, Nantes, Beauvais, and Soissons;
but after subduing this first zone, their excursions
extended towards Bourges and Tours, Evreux and
Rouen, Amiens and St. Quentin. The advanc¬
ing tide had been here and there momentarily
stemmed, but hardly ever forced permanently
backwards. It mattered very little whether or
not Prince Frederick Charles entered Bourges, or
the grand-duke of Mecklenburg, Tours, or Man-
teuffel, Havre. The important point was that
neither Chanzy from Vendôme, nor Bourbaki from
Gien, nor Faidherbe from St. Quentin, should have
a chance of marching to the relief of Paris.
Bearing these strategical motives in mind, it
will be readily seen why, after General Chanzy's
brilliant and gallantly defended retreat to Le
Mans, fully described in Chapter XXV., the German
commanders stopped short in the pursuit at Ven¬
dôme. They were undoubtedly weary of the
continual strife; but apart from this, further sac¬
rifice in following Chanzy was needless, as the
besiegers of Paris were relieved from present
anxiety, and it was hoped that the speedy fall
of the capital would be the signal for a cessation
of hostilities. Such, however, was not Chanzy's
opinion. Once behind the fortifications of Le
Mans, he, though almost under his enemy's eye,
set to work with immense energy to reorganize
his shattered forces. The camp of Conlie was
broken up ; the best of its recruits were drafted to
Le Mans ; and with these and other reinforcements
he soon found himself again at the head of about
150,000 men, thoroughly armed with Remington
or Chassepot rifles, and provided with a field train
of at least 300 guns. But the result of all these
preparations will abundantly prove that armed men
do not, strictly speaking, constitute armies.*
From the 15th of December, the day on which
the last serious fighting occurred, to the first few
days of January, the army of Prince Frederick
* For much useful information in this Chapter, we here, with pleasure,
acknowledge our indebtedness to Captain Brackenbury, the very able
military correspondent of the Times, who at this time accompanied
the German armies.
Charles was comparatively inactive; the men, save
in a few reconnoitring expeditions, enjoying a
period of well-earned rest. One of these expedi¬
tions threw a little light upon the question, often
suggested, but never fully tried, as to how the
invariably victorious Germans would behave in
a retreat. In retaliation for the doings of some
franc-tireurs, a small column of troops was ordered
to sweep the country from Vendôme as far as
Sougé, on the bank of the Braye, and levy re¬
quisitions. The orders were to advance as far
as Montoire on December 26, to push on through
Les Roches on the 27th, remain the unbidden
guests of the villagers at Sougé, and return on
the 28th. The advanced guard reached Troo on
the 27th, and here met with determined opposi¬
tion from the French, who, from the shelter of
houses and walled gardens, poured forth such a
fire as checked the advance. After a two hours'
conflict the French were thrust out, and leaving
a company to hold the village the column pushed
on to Sougé. This was found filled with troops,
and another fight ensued, during which it was
observed that the heights in the rear were being
crowded with Frenchmen bent on cutting off the
retreat of their diminutive enemies. It was seen
that the only chance was at once to fight their way
back to Vendôme; and relinquishing the idea of
passing the night at Sougé, Colonel Boltenstern
ordered a hasty retreat, the thundering of artillery
and Chassepots on all sides now telling him only
too plainly into what a hornet's nest he had fallen.
The men marched rapidly, and had well nigh
gained the shelter of Montoire, when a row of
armed men appeared in their front, blocking up
the entire retreat. Shells fell fast among the
little band from the sides and behind ; rifle bullets
whistled through the air from the foe in front;
and many a spiked helmet sank from its place.
Still before them rolled the icy waters of the
Loir, bridgeless until that line in front could be
passed. Scattering four companies into skirmish¬
ing order, the colonel took the rest of his men
in hand, and sent them full at the French. The
line barring the passage hesitated, wavered, and
broke; too soon for success, too late for safety.
There was no time to count the killed and
wounded, nor the prisoners whom the Germans
took and drove before them as they went, for
the increasing fire told of an enemy gathering in
strength for pursuit. Steadily the little column
232
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
trimmed their ranks and crossed to the left bank
of the river, carrying their prisoners, uncounted
as yet, with them. For some time hostile infantry
pursued along the road ; then all was quiet, and on
the Germans marched in the twilight and the dark¬
ness, driving their herd of prisoners, until, having
accomplished his orders, the colonel reported him¬
self at Vendôme about an hour before midnight.
He had lost in round numbers 100 men; but when
the unwounded prisoners came to be counted, it
was found there were ten officers and 230 men.
Another expedition was followed by such im¬
portant events that a brief mention of it cannot
be omitted. At St. Calais, a little town of 4000
inhabitants, lying between Le Mans and Blois,
some franc-tireurs and French dragoons lodging
there saw a small Prussian force approaching on
the morning of December 25, and took the op¬
portunity of firing upon it from some houses.
The Germans vigorously replied; the franc-tireurs
retired; and the mayor went out and endeavoured
to explain to the Prussians that the inhabitants
were not responsible for the resistance offered. He
was, however, rather rudely repulsed, and the unfor¬
tunate town ordered to pay 20,000 francs immedi¬
ately. The sum was afterwards reduced to 15,000
francs, and the town was asserted to have been given
over to pillage for an hour. This, however, has
been as loudly denied ; but the report exasperated
General Chanzy. and induced him to write a warm
protest to the Prussian commandant at Vendôme.
The protest was embodied in an order of the day,
and read three times to the French troops on parade;
General Chanzy expressing confidence that every
one would share his indignation, and his desire to
take revenge for the insults heaped upon the French
nation. The following is the text of the protest:—
" To the Prussian Commandant at Vendôme,—I
am informed that violence, for which I can find no
language suitable to express my indignation, has
been resorted to by the troops under your com¬
mand against an innocent population at St. Calais,
notwithstanding their good treatment of your
sick and wounded. Your officers have extorted
money and authorized pillage. This is an abuse
of power which will weigh upon your conscience,
though patriotism may enable our countrymen
to bear it. But it cannot be permitted that you
should add to this injury a gratuitous insult.
You have alleged that we are defeated. This is
false. We have fought and held you in check
since the 4th of December. You have dared to
treat as cowards men who could not answer you,
pretending that they submitted to the will of
the government of National Defence in resisting
when they really wished for peace. I am justified
in protesting against this statement by the resist¬
ance of the army, which up to the present time
you have not been able to conquer. We reassert
what our struggle has already taught you; we
shall struggle on, conscious of our good right,
and determined to triumph at any cost. We shall
struggle on à outrance, without truce or mercy. It
is no longer a question of fighting against a loyal
enemy, but against devastating hordes, whose sole
object is the ruin and humiliation of a nation
fighting for the preservation of its honour, its
independence, and the maintenance of its rank.
You reply to the generosity with which we treat
your prisoners and wounded by insolence, by
arson, and by pillage. I protest with indignation,
in the name of humanity and the law of nations,
which you trample under foot."
General Voigts-Rhetz sent the letter to his chief
at Orleans, saying that he knew not what answer to
give to such a document, which differed strangely
from all that he had read in the history of warfare.
Meantime he bid his men hold fast to their posts,
and guard patiently the line of the Loir. At
Orleans the letter was regarded as a challenge to
a renewal of fighting, and confirmed the suspicion
as to the mischief which had been brewing around
Le Mans. General Chanzy was doubtless about
to commence some new movement for the relief
of Paris, and severe as the weather was, Prince
Frederick Charles resolved to take the initiative,
and march out to meet him. Two main circum¬
stances contributed to this resolution. In the first
place, by his eccentric movement eastward (de¬
scribed in the succeeding chapter), General Bour-
baki had removed all apprehension the prince
might have entertained on his account, and enabled
him to take with him the bulk of his force to the
west without any uneasiness as to the safety of
his position on the Loire at Orleans. In the
second place, Von Moltke had determined on
resorting to extreme measures against Paris ; and
as he was about to use his heavy guns, he was
able to spare bayonets and sabres for the armies
in the provinces. Accordingly, dispositions were
made for a gradual concentration towards Ven¬
dôme, and for the first three days of the new
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
233
year the roads from Orleans leading in that
direction were covered, as far as the eye could
reach, with infantry, cavalry, and train, all ad¬
vancing with the regularity of a well-directed
machine to their respective starting points. The
tenth German corps (Hanoverians) guarded the
advanced positions on the Loir, occupying Blois
and Vendôme, and the country between. Von der
Tann's Bavarians were resting near Orleans. The
ninth corps (Schleswig-Holsteiners and Hessians)
held Orleans, with detachments before it and higher
up the Loire. The third corps (Brandenburgers)
were higher up the river towards Gien. It was
intended that these various corps should advance
by different roads towards the line of the Loir, drive
back the French before Vendôme, find out and
overthrow the army of Chanzy, and by taking Le
Mans relieve the investing army before Paris of all
fear for its safety. The eighteenth division (ninth
corps) was to reach the Loir at Morée, and having
cleared the way, prepare to act as a reserve. The
third corps were to cross the river near Vendôme,
while the tenth were to march to La Chartre, and
be ready to turn Chanzy's right, and then join the
other corps in the battle before Le Mans. The
duke of Mecklenburg, who was at Chartres, was
to advance and drive in Chanzy's left. Duke
William of Mecklenburg, with the sixth cavalry
division, was to keep on the left of the prince's
forces; the second cavalry division was to main¬
tain the communication between the ninth corps,
which formed the prince's right, and the left of
the duke of Mecklenburg's army. The fourth
cavalry division was to protect the grand-duke's
right, and the fifth was sent to keep watch in the
country north of his line of march.
For the success which eventually resulted from
these movements the Germans were indebted in
no small degree to the masterly strategy of their
commander. Prince Frederick Charles, as will be
seen from the various movements we are about to
relate, put in practice against Chanzy the prin¬
ciples which had succeeded so well against
Benedek in the Bohemian campaign—a double
attack was made upon his opponent, the one line
at right angles to the other. The grand-duke of
Mecklenburg's corps were not moved up directly
against Le Mans from Chartres, but were required
to make a detour, so as to descend in a northerly
direction, and compel Chanzy's army to present
two fronts—a mode of operation implying a cer-
VOL. XI.
tain contempt for the enemy, inasmuch as it
offends against the rule of attacking with superior
numbers. But the capacity of a commander is
shown by his knowing when a rule must be
observed, and when it may safely be set aside.
On the 4th of January Prince Frederick Charles
moved his headquarters to Beaugency, the grand-
duke of Mecklenburg being still at Chartres. The
third corps was by that time concentrated in and
around Marchenoir, the eighteenth division was
near Orleans, the nineteenth at Blois, and the
twentieth at Vendôme.
On the 5th the prince moved to Oucques, where
the third corps had their headquarters. The
eighteenth division moved up from Orleans to
Ouzouer-le-Marché, and took its place on the right
of the force, under the immediate command of the
prince. The twentieth was still before Vendôme,
skirmishing with General Chanzy's advanced posts,
and the nineteenth moved up from Blois towards
St. Amand. The grand-duke advanced from
Chartres southwards to Illiers.
On the 6th Prince Frederick Charles marched
from Oucques to Vendôme, close on the other side
of which the tenth corps was seriously engaged
with the French before the forest of Vendôme,
supported by the third corps, which had advanced
that day from Marchenoir. The opposition was
greater than the Germans had expected, as the
French fought better than usual. The fire of
musketry was hot in the front, but the Hano¬
verians and Brandenburgers pressed on until their
artillery and needle guns had borne down all oppo¬
sition, and their leading division, the fifth, had
reached a rivulet between Azay and Villiers. It
subsequently transpired that General Chanzy had
determined upon forcing his way towards Paris at
whatever cost, and with this view had arranged
for his army to move in several columns, every
man being furnished with four or five days' pro¬
visions. It was one of these columns, on its way to
attack Vendôme on the 6th, which came in contact
with the fifth division (third corps), and for a time
resisted all the efforts of the Germans to continue
their advance. Night, however, found the French
forced back beyond the Azay-Villiers line, where
the Prussians halted, after taking 500 prisoners.
On the right the eighteenth division reached
Morée, on the Loire, north of Vendôme. While
this engagement was going on, Duke William of
Mecklenburg fell in with considerable forces of
2 6
234
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
tlie French on the left, near Villerporclier, and
was unable to proceed. General Hartmann was
therefore sent with a cavalry division and a brigade
of infantry from the tenth corps, in the direction
of St. Amand, which caused the French troops in
that quarter to fall hack towards Tours, whence
they were transported by railway to Le Mans. On
the same day the grand-duke marched with the
seventeenth division to Brou, and the twenty-
second advanced to La Loupe and La Fourche.
All the marches from Orleans had been made in
bitter weather. Three or four inches of snow lay
upon the hard frozen ground, and a piercing wind
blew. The moisture exhaled from the lungs or
skin froze instantly, and covered hair, beards, and
greatcoats with rune. Icicles hung from mous¬
taches and formed curious frames for the indis¬
pensable pipes or cigars which protruded from all
mouths.
On the 7th a thaw set in ; the roads were covered
with melting snow, the ditches were fast turning
to running streams, and the rivers were more
impassable than usual. A dark fog, sometimes
concealing all objects at a distance of 100 yards,
obliged the Germans to advance with caution.
The tenth corps was delayed by the attack on
Duke William, and not till next day, when the
French had retreated towards Tours, was its march
resumed. The fifth, sixth, and eighteenth divi¬
sions, however, advanced steadily, occasionally
coming in contact with the rear-guards of the
French columns. By night-fall the first two of
the three divisions had reached the line of the
Braye, at Savigny and Sargé, and the last was at
Epinay. The grand-duke of Mecklenburg moved
his headquarters to Beaumont -les- Autels ; the
seventeenth division being at Authon and the
twenty-second at Nogent-le-Rotrou.
The doings of the Prussian army during these
first few days of January thus consisted principally
in a well-devised concentration ; and no part of the
strategy of the war better showed how thoroughly
both officers and men had been trained by a system
of peace manoeuvres to act together in war with the
greatest intelligence. The sagacity displayed by the
Prussian soldiers, indeed, is worthy of admiration.
A description of the advance of one of the columns
on the seventh will give a fair idea of the progress
of the army generally. Imagine a straight road
leading over a succession of round hills; on either
side of it a rich country, dotted with farm-houses,
cottages, orchards and walled gardens, hedges,
(exactly like those of England), and occasional
woods. In fact, Kent and Surrey combined, with
vineyards instead of hop-gardens, would be an
exact picture of the country through which the
Germans were pushing on, under all the disad¬
vantage of the fog, in a land never seen before.
The column was led by a small detachment of
cuirassiers. After these came three infantry sol¬
diers, two of them about 150 yards in front of the
column, and one behind to connect these foremost
men with the detachment of infantry which fol¬
lowed. The three foremost soldiers of the German
army in face of the enemy were accompanied by
four pet dogs, trotting quickly along beside them.
After the infantry detachment came a squadron
of cuirassiers, then more infantry, all of the same
regiment, and followed by the light battery of the
advanced guard. Owing to the thick mist the
troops moved cautiously, for they knew that the
enemy might appear at any moment. The pace
was a moderate walk, about three miles an hour,
with occasional halts, to examine a farm or a group
of cottages near the road. Right and left of the
road were cavalry and infantry marching in pairs,
searching like dogs for game. They were gene¬
rally concealed by the fog, but now and then a
small party would peep out from a lane or cottage
garden, and vanish again into the mist, when they
saw that all was going smoothly, and that they
had not lost their place beside the column. The
troops marching along the undulating road had
no reason to take thought for anything, save
in front, as they had perfect confidence in the
sagacity of their comrades, who, sometimes walk¬
ing quickly, sometimes with rifle at the charge,
were pushing on as well as they could over vine¬
yards and gardens, ploughed fields and stubble,
walls and fences, peering into every tree and bush
for any enemy who might possibly be concealed
by a copse, a garden wall, or a cottage. Occa¬
sionally one would run to the road and report
something that had a suspicious look, when instantly
some of his comrades were sent in the direction
named to see whether any Frenchmen might be
concealed there. All this was done so quickly as
scarcely to interrupt the march of the column.
After a time there was a halt. The red trowsers
had been seen to the right for a moment, and
had immediately disappeared in the fog. Quest
was made with increased numbers and redoubled
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
235
caution among the small fields and hedges, but no
sign of the enemy. The march was resumed, and
continued until the few horsemen in front rode
back to the head of the column, reporting some¬
thing like men on the road. Slowly the infantry
advanced, straining their eyes to ascertain the
nature of the obstacle. The fog became thicker,
and closed in the view to within a few paces.
The foot soldiers, with outstretched necks, felt
their way onwards. The. fog became gradually
lighter, when dim figures assembled together, and
above the group an appearance like the erect quills
of a porcupine—soldiers, probably, with bayonets.
Instantly there is a murmur, "Are they ours?"
Has one of the searching parties gone a little too
much to the front? Nay. The figures remain
still, and seem to block the way. " Cuirassiers to
the front!" In a sort of good-humoured growl,
some one says, " Yes, it is always cuirassiers
here, cuirassiers there." But the order has been
given, and the cuirassiers know no other obli¬
gation but the call to duty. The men, who
had been brought in behind the infantry de¬
tachment, draw their swords, set their helmets
firmly on their brows, press their knees firmly to
their horses, and file past the infantry once more
to the front. " Trot ! " The fog comes down
again, and the dim figures with the spikes become
once more invisible, but not unheard. The horses
have not gone more than half the 400 or 500 yards
uphill in the direction given to the riders, when
the air is filled with a crackling, whizzing sound, as
of innumerable heavy insects flying faster than
insects ever flew before. Every horseman bends
to his saddle-bow. The officer who leads them
waves his sword, and gives a word of command.
The cuirassiers who went at a trot return at a
gallop, but always steadily and in order, followed
by those swift hornets with the fierce stings. Like
magic the foremost infantry soldiers dissolve, but
not to retreat. They spring to the sides of the
road into the ditch, full of half-melted ice, into
the fields, and begin in their turn to creep forward.
The enemy is still in the mist, though near ; and
as the hornets come thickly and fast, the squadron
of cavalry now occupying the front seems inclined
to follow the example of the infantry, and dive for
shelter. But such is not their part in battle, and
one simple " No," in an expostulatory tone, from
their commander, recalls them to their steady atti¬
tude. One of them, and not theleast steady, remarked
quietly, " These French Chassepots shoot so far
that one gets killed without seeing them. A
comrade of mine was shot yesterday through his
heart, and I don't think he even heard the rifle."
Cavalry are of no use where these men stand, so
their officer soon draws them off into a field at the
side. On the left, behind a house a little removed
from the road, cavalry patrols are calmly waiting
under shelter. Along the strait road for miles is
a column of infantry, artillery, and train. Now
for the mitrailleuse at work in its proper place.
Its horrible growl must have been expected by
many, but it came not. The French always seem
to do the wrong thing. Their shells burst high
in the air, and they pit their mitrailleuses against
field artillery at long ranges.
Meanwhile, the infantry soldiers work steadily
forward, firing at the flashes of the enemy's rifles,
and helping to create a denser cloud than ever,
though the sun at that moment, half-past twelve
o'clock, seemed striving to break through the fog.
The fight is partly transferred to the fields, for the
bullets fly more at the sides of the road, and strike
the trees with a sound like the chopping of an
axe. Several minutes go by, long minutes, when
the hornets are whizzing past with their sharp
stings. The firing increases in intensity, but there
are several shots now for every bullet that comes
down the road or at the sides. The report of the
needle-gun, too, sounds farther off. It increases
to a heavy fire as more men come up. Still the
French hold their ground. Guns begin to press
forward, but as they cannot be made to tell, they
do not fire a single shell. The sounds grow faster
and fiercer. The combatants approach each other.
A loud hurrah makes the mist quiver again. The
Prussians have skirmished enough ; they bound
forward, reckless of consequences, and carry the
position by storm.
It was only an incident which checked the
march for a few minutes. It is past, and the
Prussians move on, looking sadly on the stretcher
with its straw, and the fine young fellow with
the pale face trying to support his broken
arm and save it from the swing of the bearers;
looking yet more seriously at those forms lying
quietly by the side of the road, their faces
covered decently from the light, which they will
never see more.
On the 8th the ground was again frozen, and
the prince moved his headquarters to St. Calais,
23G
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
where he had the fifth and sixth divisions not far
in front of him, on each side of the high road;
the eighteenth division being just behind Illiers.
The tenth corps, in spite of the obstacles to its
advance, was at La Chartre on the Loir, on its
way to Le Mans. To connect La Chartre with St.
Calais, a detachment of six squadrons of cavalry,
one battalion of infantry, and six guns, was formed,
and placed under the command of General Schmidt.
On the same day (the 8th) the grand-duke of
Mecklenburg reached La Ferté St. Bernard with
his entire infantry corps; the fourth cavalry divi¬
sion marched down the Iiuisne to Bellême; the
second kept up the communication between the
grand-duke's and the prince's corps; and the fifth
was on the grand-duke's right.
On the 9th the roads were once more hard
as iron with frost, and covered with ice, which
remained for days, and made the cavalry all but
useless in the actions which were to result in the
capture of Le Mans. A strange sight was pre¬
sented by the army, as it struggled on over the
icy roads. Even the prince had to dismount and
walk ; most of the staff and cavalry escort were also
dismounted; others, mounted, forced their horses
to stumble on in the ditch by the side of the road.
The horses of the artillery and train were falling
every instant, and ice nails became worth nearly
their weight in gold. Still, however, the army
pressed on, slipping and falling, but never halt¬
ing, driving before it the French, who had
hesitated too long to descend on Vendôme, and
were now recoiling from the first shock of contact
with the burly Brandenburgers on the hills above
the Loir. The prince's headquarters were this
day moved to Bouloire. Both divisions of the
third corps were at Ardenay and along the line
of the Narrais. The eighteenth division was with
the prince; the nineteenth about Vancé; the
twentieth at Grand Luce. The grand-duke moved
with the seventeenth division to Le Luard, near
Connerré, the twenty-second occupying Sceaux,
on the main road six miles in advance of La Ferté.
The German army was now within fighting dis¬
tance of Le Mans. The prince had in front of
him an army numbering, according to telegrams
from Bordeaux a week before, 200,000 men, but
rated by the Germans at the time at 160,000, and
afterwards said by English correspondents at Gen¬
eral Chanzy's headquarters to have been 118,000.
The armies of Prince Frederick Charles and the
duke of Mecklenburg numbered only 85,000,
although in telegrams sent to Bordeaux from
Le Mans they were reported to reach a strength
of 180,000. But both men and horses were in
the finest condition, and the supply departments
were admirably served. The ninth corps had
very recently shown its marching powers by
having advanced, on the 16th and 17th of De¬
cember, more than fifty English miles in twenty-
four hours ! The men were much attached to
the prince, their commander, who on the 9th
marched with them for twelve miles with the
greatest ease.
Le Mans, towards which the Germans were
now hastening, is naturally a place of considerable
strength, being situated just above the confluence
of the two rivers, the Sarthe and the Huisne, the
former flowing from north to south parallel to
the railway line which, from Cherbourg and Caen,
goes by Alençon and Le Mans to Tours; the
latter following a north-westerly course parallel
to the other line which, from Paris by Chartres,
Nogent-le-Rotrou, and Le Mans, proceeds to
Angers. The town lies on both banks of the
Sarthe, and the Huisne winds round the hills
which dominate the place on the east and south.
To these natural advantages the French had for
several weeks been adding earthworks of some
magnitude, rendering the position one of extra¬
ordinary strength and security. In addition to these
points in their favour General Chanzy's men were
armed with breech-loading rifles from the United
States, of a pattern far surpassing the needle-gun ;
and he was also well supplied with the Gatling
gun—a mitrailleuse firing a heavier projectile
than that used in the imperial army early in
the campaign.
On the 10th Prince Frederick Charles had drawn
so near the French position, that the question
seemed to be how to get into Le Mans. This,
however, was a problem, for the grand-duke was
not coming up so quickly as had been expected.
The tenth corps, delayed by the state of the roads,
was still behind, though the brave Hanoverians
were toiling and sliding along as best they could.
Using the only force immediately at his disposal,
the prince ordered General Alvensleben to lead the
third corps (his Brandenburgers) from Ardenay,
and clear the principal roads to Le Mans, nearlv
up to the Huisne, behind which the French had
taken up their position. He accordingly ordered
Brawn, uniler tie SiipariaJenaanre of Captain, Bczier.
EHTERED >' ST,1'O»ERS HALL.
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THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
237
three of his brigades to advance by different forest
tracks and meet at night at Changé, while the
fourth was to push on and clear the woods to the
right as far as Champigné. One of the three bri¬
gades, the ninth, met a French corps in the woods
near Challes, and succeeded in driving them back
towards Parigné, where a stand was made. The
commander of the tenth brigade, General Schwerin,
hearing the sound of firing at Challes, took at
once a decided step, accepting the responsibility
without hesitation. He saw by his map that there
was a road leading behind the battle, where he
might take the French in rear. He marched his
men quickly towards the place, which he had
never seen, but knew to be there, because a mili¬
tary map was as familiar to him and as easily read
as a book, and the careful Prussian war office had
supplied him with the means of knowing France
better than Frenchmen themselves knew it. When
the enemy began to retreat, therefore, they found
the Germans barring the way beyond Parigné.
Defeated, broken down, and bewildered, they sur¬
rendered themselves and two mitrailleuses, because
General Schwerin had a map, could read it, and
knew how to take on himself responsibility.
Parigné, behind Challes, the place thus taken
by General Schwerin, did not surrender without
a fight. It was strongly occupied by the French,
and so built that several streets, slightly divergent,
ran from the centre of the town in the direction of
the German advance. It would have been hard to
carry the place had it only been attacked in front;
but the turning movement was irresistible, and
Parigné soon fell into the hands of the Prussians.
The eleventh brigade, keeping more to the
right, pressed on until it found itself close to
Changé about four o'clock in the afternoon. Then
the men were halted to take five minutes' rest,
while the church bell rung out an alarm in their
ears. The sound of the bell was soon drowned by
the rolling fire of rifles and the explosion of burst¬
ing shrapnels. The men sang, mocked the hideous
crash of the iron missiles, and speedily threw them¬
selves into their work, like well-trained fox hounds
in a cover. The French had no need of intrench-
ments, for every field had its banks and hedges.
Along these the thirty-fifth regiment (Berliners),
scattered into skirmishing order, crept or ran sud¬
denly from bank to bank, across the fields, always
driving back the French, but leaving many dead
and wounded. At last they gathered together in
groups, and dashing forward with a vociferous
cheer, carried the hamlet Gué la Har, about 1000
yards short of Changé. Supposing their work to
be over for the day, they must have felt disap¬
pointed in finding that there were many banks yet
to be carried, and a natural wet ditch, now covered
with ice, to be passed before their quarters for the
night could be won. The evening closed in ; the
fight raged in the twilight and in the darkness,
under the gloom of which it was hard to tell
friends from foes. The Berliners doubted some¬
times whether they should fire against some dark
group visible against the snow, until, in measured
accents, broke forth the Avar cry, " Brand-en-burg !
hur-rah ! " quickly answered in like fashion. The
dead lay thickly, and the wounded must surely
perish that bitter night unless room should be
won for them in Changé. Still the Chassepot
bullets, fired at random by Frenchmen who were
comparatively safe behind banks or in houses,
whizzed through the air in a fearful leaden storm.
The Prussians were discouraged, but still constant,
when they heard sudden firing in advance of them,
and to the left of the village much crackling of
Chassepots, and the well-known sound of the
needle-gun, speedily followed by a " Hurrah," and
they knew that Changé was theirs. The timely
friend was again General Schwerin with the tenth
brigade, who, by bringing his troops round in rear
of Parigné, which they had taken, had now out¬
flanked and turned the position of Changé. Still
the ill-fed, thinly-clad soldiers of France, though
startled, behaved well, maintaining a gallant de¬
fence in the streets for some time after the place
was entered. All, however, was in vain; for when
man met man at close quarters, the terrible Chasse¬
pot was no longer of advantage ; and finding further
resistance useless, the Frenchmen took refuge
in the houses, only to be made prisoners. Eight
hundred of them soon lay huddled together in
heaps for warmth within the walls of the church,
whence the tocsin had sounded that afternoon.
The orders of General Alvensleben had been faith¬
fully carried out, and the three brigades made their
hardly-won quarters that night in the village. This
action of the 10th was distinguished by the Ger¬
mans as the Battle of Changé; those of the 11th
and 12th being called the Battles of Le Mans.
On the morning of the 11th the French watched
the enemy from a position which might well be
deemed impregnable. A curving range of hills
238
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
forms a vast natural parapet before Le Mans, the
river Huisnc forming its wet ditch. On this
parapet guns and mitrailleuses, side by side, were
more thickly planted than the Germans had ever
seen before in the campaign. All the bridges
over the river were also in the hands of the
French. The grand chaussée from St. Calais and
Vendôme was that by which the prince's eight¬
eenth division was advancing; but the river is
fenced off from the road by a range of hills which,
running from the north-east towards Le Mans,
meets the Huisne at Yvré. The prince had only
three divisions with him—the fifth and sixth
of the third corps, and the eighteenth of the
ninth corps; for the grand-duke was still at some
distance, and the tenth corps, detained at Montoire,
had got no farther than Mulsanne and Ruaudin,
on the south-westerly road from Le Mans. Across
the Huisne the prince's three divisions had in
front of them, at one time or another, almost the
whole of the French army, and all the while the
whole passages of the river were in their hands.
Cautious and timid commanders would have hesi¬
tated, perhaps retired, before a danger so imminent.
But neither Prince Frederick Charles nor Alvens-
leben of Mars-la-Tour were timid commanders.
" The whole country is full of woods, right down
to the Huisne," they said. "Let us attack, and
the French will never know how weak we are."
The wisdom of secrecy in war was, in fact, never
more manifest than in the operations of this day ;
for had the French known the real number of the
force opposed to them, they would certainly never
have permitted their position to be taken. Their
ignorance, or at least the possibility of deceiving
them by an audacious movement, was one of the
elements in the calculations of the German com¬
mander, who might have been attacked with a
fair chance of success if the French had been
well served by spies. The prince ordered the
eighteeenth division to carry the hills above
Champigné, and sent the fifth and sixth divisions,
forming the third corps, against the Huisne. The
third received the order to advance on the 11th,
in the middle of the day. Their numbers could
not have exceeded 18,000 men, for they left
Orleans only 22,000 strong, and had been fighting
ever since. They advanced, however, against the
great natural rampart held by 50,000 men, over
ground covered with woods, and intersected by
lanes separated from them by ditches and banks.
The woods were filled by French riflemen, and
beyond the river, in front, were their artillery and
mitrailleuses. Alvensleben's brigades advanced, the
tenth going northward to try and gain the road to
Le Mans by Savigné; the eleventh marched upon
Château-les-Noyers, about 500 yards from the
Huisne; the twelfth was sent to attack Yvré; and
the ninth was held in reserve. The eleventh, in
executing its orders, soon found itself enveloped
in a furious tempest of fire from the French bat¬
teries on the hill opposite Chateau - les - Arches.
After the battle not a tree could be found that
was not marked with balls. The eleventh was
compelled to give way, and the twelfth, recalled
from Yvré, was sent to its aid. The latter
attacked Les Arches and drove the French out;
but when the divisional artillery was brought up,,
it could not hold the position in face of the
French fire. Towards evening the eighth regi¬
ment was sent forward from the reserves to its
assistance, as a French force of 25,000 was push¬
ing forward to secure, as was afterwards found, the
road by which another French force, retreating
from before the grand-duke of Mecklenburg, might
enter Le Mans. This, however, was not known
at the time ; and had the French at this moment
advanced boldly, they might very likely have
swept away the small number of Germans opposed
to them. But they were contented with simply
holding the position, which the third corps was
not strong enough to carry. Help had been hoped
for from the tenth corps, but these were still
toiling painfully along the slippery road from La
Chartre; so on this, as on other occasions, the
Germans had to multiply their numbers by audacity
and quickness. They ran from hedge to hedge
and from tree to tree, never exposing themselves
unnecessarily, yet always ready for a charge and
hurrah when a chance presented itself. But
Chassepots innumerable crackled in front, the
mitrailleuse snarled from its cover, and the per¬
petually recurring thump of the Gatling was met
on every path. The third corps could do wonders,
and on this fatal 11th it fought gallantly all day,
and held its own against fearful odds; but it failed
to accomplish the task assigned to it, and the
face of General Alvensleben wore an anxious and
unsatisfied expression, as he saw his men struggling
in vain against superior numbers, and falling
wounded or dying in the snow, while the mournful
wind sang dirges over them through the pine trees.
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
239
Meanwhile the action on the main road was
progressing. The twelfth brigade, which had
occupied Château-les-Arches, hard by the road, in
the morning, then joined the rest of the third
■corps, and it came to the turn of the eighteenth
division to carry the heights of Champigné, which
tower above the road, not parallel to it, but con¬
verging from about a mile to the right of St.
Hubert, and coming close to the highway not far
from the river Huisne in the direction of Le Mans.
The hills are steep, and the end nearest St. Hubert
is broken by three ravines. The prince, who was
at St. Hubert, ordered the attack to be made, and
moved near to watch it. A road from St. Hubert
leads towards the right to Champigné, at the foot
of the heights nearest to where the Prussians were
advancing. One brigade remained at St. Hubert.
About four battalions marched along the main road
towards Yvré, which lies in the rear of the heights
and the river; nearly an equal force took a path
through the woods leading to the village of Cham¬
pigné. The former force, spreading out into com¬
pany columns, covered by skirmishers, went at the
heights in front, with its left towards the river,
and took the hills before it in gallant style. The
other four battalions, or three with some jagers,
pushed through Champigné, and moved steadily
at the flank of the hill. One battalion remained
below in reserve; one company mounted the hill,
upwards, onwards, driving the enemy before them,
over one elevation, down into the ravine, up and
down again, striving to gain the flank of the
French, and assist their struggling friends who
were attacking the hills in front. But on the last
crest stood three mitrailleuses snarling defiance,
and causing even the Germans to recoil. The fire
was terrible, especially when artillery could not
fire at it from long range. The small force lay
-down to save themselves as well as they could, and
when the company rose afterwards it was short of
thirteen men. The rest of the brigade cleared the
back of the heights.
Then Captain Mauntz, of the eleventh infantry,
chose a small body of picked men, determined that
the prince's commands should not remain unful¬
filled. Quietly they stole through the ravine,
quietly gained the crest where stood the many-
barrelled pieces belching forth volleys of bullets.
The hill was so steep that the muzzles of the mit¬
railleuses could not be pointed low enough to meet
them until the band of brave men had reached
the summit. One moment's breath, and then with
a wild hurrah they sprang forward, and carried
everything before them. The road was cleared,
the men on the other bank rose to their feet—all
except the thirteen who never rose more—and
the heights commanding the Huisne were in the
hands of the Prussians, though not completely
until the next day. While Captain Mauntz and
his chosen comrades stood beside the pieces they
had taken, a Prussian battery opened upon them,
not knowing of the gallant deed they had accom¬
plished; and either here, or a little later from the
French, he received a wound, "light" in the voca¬
bulary of soldiers, but heavy enough to prevent
him from advancing further that day. He was
reposing quietly in a little hamlet on the heights,
when it was reoccupied by the French, who held
it through the night. They would have carried
him ofif as a prisoner, but a woman who had seen
his gentleness to her wounded countrymen caused
him to lie on her bed, and represented to the French
that his wound was dangerous, so that they also
pitied him and left him there. Night came, and
the faithful few whom he had led so well, con¬
sulting how they might rescue him, moved silently
out in the darkness and crept into the village,
where the French were taking their rest after the
battle. The Prussian kinder, who knew where
their captain lay, stole quietly into the house with
a stretcher, and saluting him with " Here, captain,
now is your time," they set him on the canvas,
and slipped out as they had come, unperceived.
By this time it must have been perceived by
the gallant General Chanzy that his army was in
sore peril. Before him were the advancing troops
of Germany; on his left the duke of Mecklenburg
was ceaselessly pressing, driving his outstretched
wing so closely to the body as to cripple his
powers of motion; behind him was the Sarthe.
Another day and his army would be taken as in
a net. There was only one chance for him. He
had his railways, while the roads were in such
a state that the Prussians could hardly move on
them. Not unwisely, he began at once to retreat.
The German cavalry saw with bitter disappoint¬
ment trains moving towards Sillé, Le Guillaume,
Sable, and La Flèche, while they were prevented
from cutting the iron way by the ice on the roads
and the closeness of the country, everywhere inter¬
sected by numerous small hedges, gardens, and
farm inclosures. So the French lines became
240
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
weaker, while the Germans were strengthened by
the arrival at last of the tenth corps.
The night of the 11th was passed in some
anxiety by General Alvensleben. When compli¬
mented in the evening on the behaviour of his
men he remarked, " Yes, but I am not quite satis¬
fied with what the third corps has done." Not
satisfied, when he had shown so bold a front that
the French must have believed they had a whole
army before them! The Germans, indeed, disap¬
pointed as they were with their tactical achieve¬
ments, did not know what advantages they had
really gained this day. While Alvensleben was
vexing himself in his quarters, General Chanzy
was writing a despatch announcing his own defeat.
In the course of the night he telegraphed from Le
Mans to Bordeaux the following message to M.
Gambetta:—" Our positions were good last night
excepting at La Tuillerie, where the mobiles of
Brittany disbanded themselves, thereby causing
the abandonment of the positions we occupied
on the right bank of the Huisne. Vice-admiral
Jauréguiberry and the other generals think a
retreat is necessary under these circumstances. I
resign myself to it unwillingly." La Tuillerie was
an important link of the positions stretching from
Changé to Savigné l'Evêque, and upon its main¬
tenance Chanzy calculated as the key to his whole
plan of resistance. The Brittany mobiles who
held it had been warmly praised for their behaviour
under fire hitherto; but an attack of artillery
opened upon them on the evening of the 11th
completely disconcerted both officers and men.
The officers were too astounded to give orders,
and the men, thus left to themselves, in an evil
moment determined upon instant flight. Horses
were precipitately harnessed to the guns, and the
column commenced a retreat which never paused
till they reached Le Mans. A movement of
retreat had been previously commenced by other
parts of the army, but it was not until the aban¬
donment of this essentially important position that
General Chanzy became convinced of the utter
hopelessness of further resistance. The possession
of La Tuillerie would have enabled the Germans
effectually to turn the French position and attack
them in the rear, a manœuvre which might have
resulted in a worse misfortune than a retreat.
Had La Tuillerie been held by such men as held
the left bank of the Lisane—as in the next chapter
we shall have occasion to show—the chances of
Prince Frederick Charles entering Le Mans would
have been exceedingly small.
On the 12th the grand-duke of Mecklenburg,
who had fought a successful action at Connerré,
was able to move his own headquarters to Montfort,
his seventeenth division being at Corneille, and
the twenty-second at La Croix. The French, as
we have seen, were already in full retreat, and
their guns had almost all disappeared from the
hills ; nevertheless, as a matter of prudence, Gen¬
eral Chanzy ordered an attack on Les Noyers,
which, in the prevailing uncertainty, and after the
heavy loss of life on the previous day, caused some
anxiety to the Germans. The attack, however,
was repulsed; the sixth division took Yvré; while
the tenth corps and General Schmidt's detachment,
after some fighting at Chateau delà Paillerie, reached
the heights above Le Mans, and threw some shells
into the town on the retreating columns of'the
French. The fifth division followed in the same
direction, and the Germanspassed into Le Mans, not,
however, without some opposition from the French,
who fired upon them from houses, and maintained
an obstinate contest in the streets and squares. It
was not until the following day, January 13, that
Prince Frederick Charles thought it prudent to
remove his headquarters to the préfecture of the
captured town. The grand-duke of Mecklenburg
was sent towards Alençon, which in a few days
experienced the fate of Le Mans. The eighteenth
division pushed on, and occupied the entrenched
camp at Conlie. The tenth corps was sent on
towards Laval, but found the bridges broken up,
and was not sufficiently strong to overcome such
opposition as Chanzy's troops were still able to offer
At Le Mans and Conlie an enormous quantity of
arms, ammunition, food, and what was even of
more consequence, railway materials and rolling
stock, fell into the hands of the Germans. On
the 16th Prince Frederick Charles reported that,
in the engagements from the 6 th of January to
that date, he and the grand-duke of Mecklenburg
had taken from the enemy more than 22,000
unwounded prisoners, two colours, nineteen guns,
and more than a thousand loaded ammunition con¬
veyances, besides a large quantity of arms and other
war material. The army of the Loire was in fact
broken up, and with it Paris had lost its best hope
of relief. The losses of the Germans in the fight¬
ing about Le Mans amounted, in killed, wounded,
and prisoners, to 177 officers and 3203 men.
J
V/LLERSÉXEL
Français:
DELL
UPPOLYTi
le Doubs
MORTE AU
CHAPTER XX VI11.
The War protracted in the East—The Germans at Dijon—The Battle of Nuits—Evacuation of Dijon—The last Great Effort of France—Com¬
position of the Loire Army—The P .rtion under the Command of Bourbaki—The Scheme of Colonel de Bigot—Vital Importance of the
German Communications—Pro and Con of the proposed Eastern Expedition—Result of it as concerned Chanzy's Army—Errors in
Bourbaki's Arrangements for marching—The confusion resulting—Arrival of General Werder at Vesoul—Battle of Villersexel—The
German Position for covering the Besiegers of Belfort—Battle of Hericourt—Piteous Sufferings of the French from Defective Supplies—The
attack on General Werder resumed—Temporary Success of General Cremer's Division—Repulse of the Second Atiack—Deadly Precision of
German fire—Third Day of the Battle, and Retreat of Bourbaki's Army—Criticism upon the Engagements—Von Moltke's Master-stroke—
The Expedition of Manteuffel—Garibaldi hoodwinked—Fatal irresolution of Bourbaki—Exclusion of the East from the Armistice—The
Horrors of the Moscow retreat renewed—The French Army driven into Switzerland—Gratitude of the Emperor to General Werder—An
Extraordinary Feat of Marching—Exit Garibaldi—Siege of Belfort—Failure of the German Assault—Capitulation, with Honourable Terms.
We now resume our narrative of the events
which transpired in the east of France, and which
will conclude our history of the war, apart from
Paris. The struggle was practically closed in the
south and west by the capture of Le Mans and
the dispersion of Chanzy's army, just described;
in the north by the defeat of Faidherbe at St.
Quentin on January 19; and at Paris, by the
capitulation, on January 28: but for several days
a portion of eastern France was unfortunately
excluded from the operation of the armistice
concluded at Versailles, and the war was conse¬
quently prolonged there to a later date than in
any other quarter.
Our last notice of affairs in the east was on
the occasion of the expedition of Garibaldi for
the relief of Dijon, an enterprise which resulted
in almost disastrous, certainly ridiculous, failure.
The motley assemblage of troops of all nations,
generally known as " Garibaldini," was pursued
by a Prussian detachment as far as Autun, where
a smart fight took place, after which the Ger¬
mans deemed it prudent to retire back to Dijon,
being considerably harassed by the French on
the way. At that town General Werder, with
the Baden corps, remained, as it served as an
advanced post of observation in case any serious
movements were made by the French to interrupt
the lines of German supply and communication
from Strassburg, via Nancy, &c., to Paris. The
great and important fortress of Belfort, which
formed the key to central and southern France,
had been for some time besieged by a force under
General von Tresckow; and in addition to its other
uses General Werder s position at Dijon afforded a
safeguard against the approach of any relieving
corps to this stronghold.
vol. ii.
The position was held without any incident
worthy of notice until the middle of December,
when General Werder became unpleasantly aware
of a concentration of French in his front, and he
determined to ascertain, if possible, its proportions.
Accordingly, on the 18th of December, the first
and second Baden brigades, under General Glumer
and Prince William of Baden, proceeded towards
Beaune, and at Nuits, a small town about eight
miles north-east of the former place, encountered
a strong French force under General Crerner. A
most desperate engagement ensued, which lasted
for five hours, and issued in the Germans storming,
with severe loss, the defensive position of the
French. General Glumer and Prince William
were both put hors de combat; and Colonel v.on
Reutz, the officer upon whom the command then
devolved, was himself soon after mortally wounded.
Of the Germans fifty-four officers and 880 men,
killed and wounded, covered the field, while the
loss of the French was not less than 1000, besides
sixteen officers and 700 men taken prisoners, and
the capture of four gun-carriages, three ammu¬
nition waggons, and a large quantity of arms.
But as the position thus won was considered
too advanced and exposed to be held with any
advantage, it was evacuated on the 20th by its
conquerors, and at once reoccupied by the French.
The evacuation of Dijon by the Germans fol¬
lowed soon after the battle at Nuits. This step
was taken in consequence of the very large con¬
centration of French troops discovered not only
at Beaune but at Besançon, the entire suspension
of civilian traffic on the Lyons and Besançon Rail¬
way, the possibility of portions of the Loire army
being despatched to the east, and the probability
of those forces attempting the relief of Belfort
2 h
242
THE FRANCO PRUSSIAN WAR.
or a movement on his flank. General Wcrdcr was
accordingly directed to concentrate the Baden
division on the line of Vcsoul, Lure, and Mont-
béliard, to give up the advanced positions of Dijon
and Langres, and to repel any attempt to relieve
Belfort. The French ships of war had about this
time captured several German merchant vessels,
and detained the captains as prisoners of war. In
retaliation the Prussians, a few days before leaving
Dijon, summoned thirty of the "notables" of the
place, and explained to them that they required
forty hostages, who would be sent off to Ger¬
many, where, however, they were assured they
would be well treated. Twenty were taken from
Dijon, ten from Yesoul, and ten from Gray, and
in spite of some strong protestations were at once
despatched to Prussia. Dijon had been required,
on the entry of the Germans, to deposit £20,000
as security for the good behaviour of its townsfolk;
but at the entreaty of the mayor, who gave a
touching description of the distressed condition
of the working classes, the amount was reduced
to £12,000. This was returned to the mayor by
General Werder on his departure, with a letter
complimenting the inhabitants on their exemplary
conduct.
We now approach the last effort that could at
all be regarded as formidable, made by the pro¬
vincial armies to retrieve the disasters of France
and checkmate the enemy, whose hitherto triumph¬
ant progress had been without a parallel. Our
readers will remember that after the army of the
Loire had been dispersed from Orleans on Decem¬
ber 4, it was divided involuntarily into two main
portions, and that M. ' Gambetta, accepting the
situation, constituted the two halves respectively
as the first and second armies. That which had
fallen back along the upper, or left bank of the
Loire, towards Bourges, now called the first army,
was placed under the command of Bourbaki, the
late chief of the imperial guard; while the other
division, or second army, was confided to General
Chanzy. The "great and paramount object" of
the forces of both generals, as announced by M.
Gambetta at the time, was the relief of Paris ; and
in order to effect this the two armies were each rein¬
forced, reorganized, and thoroughly equipped, as
far as was possible whilst under the surveillance of a
vigilant enemy. In all, including the forces oper¬
ating in the east and north, there could not at this
time (about the end of December) have been less
than 450,000 Frenchmen, with from 700 to 800
guns, under arms, exclusive of the garrison and
army of Paris—a marvellous spectacle, considering
the circumstances; but unfortunately, as Napoleon
has observed, there is a wide difference between
men and soldiers. The great bulk of these troops
were unformed levies; and as most of what was best
in the force originally under D'Aurelles had fallen
in the terrible struggle of the previous two months,
it may be affirmed that the real strength of the
principal armies in the field, under Chanzy and
Bourbaki, was not nearly equal, even if united, to
that of the first army of the Loire. The organiza¬
tion of the new corps was pitiable, and there was
such a lamentable want of officers, that their pro¬
portion to the men was wholly inadequate. Thus,
while the victorious armies of Germany, as we
have seen in the previous chapter, had been largely
and formidably strengthened, there was nothing like
a corresponding increase in the forces of France.
So far, however, as comparative numbers could
constitute strength, the forces of Bourbaki and
Chanzy were strong indeed, considerably outnum¬
bering the united forces of Prince Frederick
Charles and the duke of Mecklenburg, who were
thus exposed to an overwhelming onset, had both
branches of the Loire army resolved upon closing
in upon them. Though Bourbaki had remained
inactive for several weeks, he with such good
effect held in check the German army occupying
the line of the Loire, under the command of
Prince Frederick Charles, that, enterprising and
adventurous as the prince was known to be, he
seemed reluctant either to attack Bourbaki or to
withdraw from his position in front of him. The
prince's duty was to cover Paris on the southern
side; and he co-operated with the grand-duke of
Mecklenburg, who, with his army at Chartres,
was almost daily awaiting Chanzy's attack from
Le Mans. If at this juncture any important event
of the war could have been confidently anticipated,
it was a combined movement by the two French
generals against the prince and the grand-duke.
The courage and firmness with which Chanzy held
every position from Vendôme to Le Mans, although
he fought single-handed and stood on the defen¬
sive, may be taken as an earnest of what he might
have achieved had he been seconded by Bourbaki
and acted on the offensive, as best suits French
soldiers. That he had by far the best disciplined
half of the Loire army may be infened from the
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
243
fact that, while his troops performed prodigies of
valour at Beaugency, and stubbornly contested
every inch of their retreat, those under Bourbaki
had fallen back along the Upper Loire without
firing a shot. Bourbaki's soldiers, however, if
properly provisioned, were by no means unfit to
take the field; and, such as it was, his army was
sufficient to paralyze all German movements. To
withdraw it, therefore, from Bourges, till it was
demonstrated either that Chanzy could raise the
siege of Paris without Bourbaki's help, or that he
could not raise it even with his help, would appear
to be the height of folly.
Not so, however, thought Lieutenant-colonel
de Bigot, a staff officer of the regular army, and
attached to the seventh division at Besançon. It
was natural that the mind of this intelligent officer
should dwell especially on the best means of
striking an effective blow in the part of his
country in which he was, or had been, more im¬
mediately interested. He saw that Belfort was
invested by some divisions of Werder's army,
while Werder himself was operating generally in
Franche Comté. His forces, however, were incon¬
siderable, numbering perhaps 40,000 or 50,000 in
the field. They were, withal, occupied in reducing
or holding the northern towns of the province,
and in guarding the railway lines that from Dijon
and Vesoul converged on Paris; they were already
kept somewhat in check by Garibaldi and the
French army of the east, and had even suffered
some slight reverses. Bourbaki, however, and his
numerous army were in force at Bourges and
Nevers—that is, at no great distance to the west;
*and Colonel Bigot thought an opportunity was
thus presented to strike a sudden and decisive blow
which, if successful, would completely change the
position of France in the east, and might lead to
the relief of Paris. If Bourbaki, with 90,000 out
of his 120,000 troops, were to unite with a part of
the army of the east, he might, by a rapid attack,
isolate and overwhelm Werder, and cause the
siege of Belfort to be raised. This done, he could
not only master the German communications by
Dijon and Vesoul, but a few marches would place
him upon the leading railway line which, from
Strassburg to Paris, via the great dépôts at Nancy,
was the mainstay of the besieging army, and
essential to its safe existence. A move of this
kind, vigorously executed, might compel the
invaders to relax their gripe on the invested
capital; nor was it necessarily attended with peril
to the operations of the French as a whole. True,
the withdrawal of Bourbaki might subject Chanzy
to the necessity of fighting single-handed with
Prince Frederick Charles and the grand-duke of
Mecklenburg, who were now extended from Char¬
tres to Orleans, with detachments pointing towards
Le Mans ; but having been largely reinforced, he
could, it might be expected, hold his own; nor
was it likely that a combined movement of this
kind would be made against him. On the con¬
trary, it was reasonable to suppose that, when
informed of Bourbaki's march, Prince Frederick
Charles would detach against him the whole or a
large part of his troops, or would pause, hesitate, and
delay at Orleans. In either case Chanzy would
be safe, and might perhaps be able, by a bold
advance, to defeat the enemies in his front in
detail, and so open a way to Paris. Nor would
the operations of Bourbaki be marred even were
he followed by Prince Frederick Charles; for he
would have greatly the start of him ; and a French
corps could be left in his rear to observe and retard
the prince's movements.
Such was the scheme for the last effort of the
provincial armies in behalf of Paris; and although
it is unfair to judge of strategy by the event, yet
looking at the relative condition and strength of
the belligerents, the project from the first might
have been pronounced desperate. No doubt the
communications of the Germans formed their most
vulnerable point, and a few facts will suffice to
show their vital importance. Experience had
shown that " requisitioning " was of but trifling
use in providing for the wants of an army. Only
upon the first occupation of a district did it supply
any considerable amount of food. If the enemy
remained for any length of time the provisions
of the inhabitants were either exhausted or con¬
cealed, and were not to be had for love or money.
Throughout the siege of Metz the troops engaged
in that undertaking had to be fed by Germany;
and although the army besieging Paris, and those
in the several zones around, resorted at first to
extensive requisitions, the supplies from this source
ultimately proved so precarious as hardly to be
worth the.danger incurred by the detachments
told off to gather them in. Throughout the war,"
therefore, Germany was the main base of supplies
for her armies, whose enormous requirements
may be conceived when we remember that, in the
244
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
course of twenty-four hours, each corps d'armée
consumed 1800 loaves of 3 lbs. each ; 120 cwts.
of rice or pearl barley; either 70 oxen, 120 cwts.
of bacon, or a proportionate amount of prepared
sausage; 18 cwts. of salt; 30 cwts. of coffee; 12
cwts. of oats; 3 cwts. of hay; 35,000 quarts of spirits
and 3500 ounces of orange essence, or some other
bitter tincture, to mix with the spirits. To this
gigantic repast must be added 60 cwts. of'tobacco,
1,100,000 ordinary cigars, and 50,000 officers'
cigars for each ten days. Multiply these figures
by twenty-five, and we have the sum total of the
consumption in one day, or as regards tobacco in
ten days, of the German troops in France. The
difficulties of bringing up such gigantic stores
were often aggravated by the usual disasters inci¬
dental to warfare. Sometimes a large number of
the oxen, having become infected with the cattle
plague, had to be destroyed; and frequently stores
would arrive in such a condition that they had to
be thrown away and replaced by fresh cargoes.
The wear and tear of the war in a rainy autumn
and an unusually cold winter, moreover, required
the continuous forwarding of an incalculably large
stock of every article of clothing. Several times
during the campaign each corps had distributed
among them woollen shirts, flannel bandages,
woollen comforters, woollen plaids, woollen stock¬
ings, boots, &c. The field-post, too, in an army
where everybody could read and write, took up
no inconsiderable amount of rolling stock. From
the 16th of July to the 31st of December, 1870,
no fewer than 67,600,000 letters and 1,536,000
newspapers—in other words, about 400,000 letters
and 9090 papers per day—were despatched from
and to the army. In the same period 41,000,000
thalers and 58,000 parcels of all sizes and weights
were sent by the War Office to the German mili¬
tary authorities in France. The soldiers received
from or sent to their friends and relatives at home
13,000,000 thalers and 1,219,533 parcels, or
22,173 of the latter per day. A large number of
sick and wounded were constantly being conveyed
back to Germany, besides prisoners, the number
of whom was unprecedentedly large. Add to all
this that, towards the close of 1870, from 180,000
to 200,000 new troops were brought up to the seat
of war, and that the transport of guns, shell, and
every variety of ammunition never ceased for one
day until peace was declared, and we can then
form some idea of the extreme importance of
having secure command of" the various roads and
railways of German communications. Colonel de
Bigot rightly judged, therefore, that if the tran¬
sport of such vast and necessary supplies could be
effectually stopped, German armies in France must
soon cease to exist, and they would fall an easy
prey to levies of men who, however raw, were well
armed, and operating in their own country.
The scheme of isolating the Germans from their
base of supplies, after defeating them in Franche
Comté, would have been feasible, and even prom
ising, had Bourbaki had a trained and well-organ¬
ized army of 150,000 men, and could the forces of
Chanzy have been counted on to cope successfully
with Prince Frederick Charles and the grand-
duke of Mecklenburg, on the supposition of their
acting together. But even on these hypotheses
it is doubtful whether it would not have been
more prudent to attack the communications of the
Germans at points considerably nearer Paris than
a few marches to the west of Belfort; and in the
actual state of the combatants the whole project
was, we think, desperate. Bourbaki's army, even
if reinforced to 150,000 men, was known to be
raw and ill provided; its movements would have
to be conducted in an exceedingly intricate and
mountainous country, in the depths of a severe
winter; it was, therefore, by no means certain that
it would overpower Werder and raise the siege of
Belfort, and far from probable that it could master,
at least for a sufficiently long time, the great line
of the German communications, already not with¬
out protection, and which reinforcements could
easily reach. Success, therefore was far from
assured, even where it appeared most promising;
and even success, unless extraordinary, would
leave the rest of the forces of France exposed to
defeat and disaster. The march of Bourbaki from
Bourges and Nevers would obviously set Prince
Frederick Charles, in conjunction with the grand-
duke, free to move against and attack Chanzy;
and how could he, with an unorganized and in¬
efficient army, contend against masses of veteran
troops, who could, moreover, speedily receive
additions? The notion that Prince Frederick
Charles would follow Bourbaki, and leave Chanzy
to deal separately with the grand-duke, was a mere
assumption; and it was absurd to imagine that
the prince, a really great commander, would halt,
irresolute where to strike, and allow his enemies
to elude him. Thus, while the operations of
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WILLIAM MACKENZIE, LONDON. EDINBURGH S 6LASG0W.
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
?45
Bourbaki were not very promising in themselves,
and would expose Chanzy to defeat and ruin,
their failure would not only mar the prospect of
raising the siege of Paris, but bring down disaster
on his own army.
Properly considered, the project, in truth, was
simply a series of eccentric movements, to be
executed by inadequate forces, against an enemy
vastly superior and in a formidable central posi¬
tion; and those who admire it overlook the deci¬
sive fact of the immense disparity between the
combatants. There seems very little doubt that
at this conjuncture it had become impossible to
relieve Paris; the German commanders had recti¬
fied the miscalculation they had made, and the
barrier of the covering armies, which in conse¬
quence of the bombardment could now be rein¬
forced from within, had become too formidable
to be broken. Nevertheless, one chance there
perhaps was ; and had it been seized by the
French generals, they would at least have averted
a frightful catastrophe. Had Bourbaki vigor¬
ously attacked Prince Frederick Charles, instead
of going off to the east, he would certainly have
detained a very large part of the prince's forces.
By that means, although the operation might not
have succeeded, Chanzy might have defeated the
grand-duke and any other divisions in his front,
and at least have endeavoured to reach Paris. In
any case the French armies would have had their
lines of retreat open, and would have followed the
rules of prudent strategy. The contrary course,
however, was adopted. A scheme which might be
attended with results so dazzling seized on the
imagination of the ardent Gambetta; and in the
last days of December Bourbaki, leaving one corps
under Le Comte at Bourges, to observe the move¬
ments of Prince Frederick Charles, set off with
three corps from his headquarters to effect a junc¬
tion with the army of the east, a portion of which
was to co-operate with him.
The result was what might have been expected
by those familiar with the German strategy. Prince
Frederick Charles no sooner saw that the enemy,
who at Bourges and Nevers had compelled him to
remain in force at Orleans, had gone away, than
he instantly prepared to turn upon Chanzy, his
nearest antagonist, and if possible to overwhelm
him. For this purpose he directed a general
movement of his whole troops, in concert with
those of the grand-duke, against Le Mans; and
as he had three well-recruited corps, with more
than 300 guns, and the grand-duke had perhaps
60,000 men, with probably detachments from the
besiegers' lines, it was certain that this splendid
force would suffice to crush a French army com¬
posed chiefly of raw levies, and hardly, if at all,
superior in numbers. By the first days of January
the broad German line, extending from Chartres
to Beaugency, was in full march on the positions
of the enemy; and in the preceding chapter we
have traced the disastrous fate of the best hall
of one of the largest and most patriotic French
armies the campaign produced.
The command of the proposed expedition to
the east was, in the first instance, offered by M.
Gambetta to the staff officer who had devised it.
The reason why he declined it, and the manner
in which it was ultimately carried out, reveals
with fearful significance the concurrence of
causes which contributed to the misfortunes of
France. Colonel de Bigot refused to accept the
command, " because he would not serve under
a revolutionary government!" and the choice of
M. Gambetta then naturally enough, but unfor¬
tunately, fell on Bourbaki, who did not thor¬
oughly apprehend the plan he was commissioned
to execute. Rightly appreciating the necessity of
rapid movements and good lines of retreat, Colonel
Bigot had proposed that the French army should
advance in four or five columns at least, and
should especially hold in force the passages along
the Swiss frontier. For this purpose he had
insisted that the march to Belfort should be
made by a number of converging routes, and that
the roads by Montbéliard and Pontarlier should
be occupied by several divisions. Instead of this,
Bourbaki chose to move with the great mass of
his men in a single column through the rugged
defiles in the valley between the Ognon and the
Doubs, throwing out only very feeble wings.
The result was, of course, to retard his progress,
and to confine him almost to one line of opera¬
tions. His force consisted of four corps of three
divisions each and a reserve division, and numbered
altogether 133,000 men and 332 guns and mitrail¬
leuses. The cavalry were hardly worth taking into
account, being composed of the débris of all sorts
of regiments, and, as a rule, badly mounted. The
infantry, on the other hand, taken altogether,
were good: the mobiles especially were strong and
young; the regiments de marche were indifferent,
246
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
but they were blest with officers worthy to com¬
mand, whereas eighty per cent, of the officers of
mobiles were not lit to be corporals. Though the
greater number were supposed to have had four
months' training, they were incapable of carrying
out the orders issued, and in many instances,
under the fire of the enemy, had to be shown how
to execute the simplest movements. In general,
however, they were not wanting in courage. It
is due to General Bourbaki to say, that the expedi¬
tion was undertaken in spite of his protest that
his troops were not equipped and supplied for an
arduous campaign; though, had the original plan
of different routes been adhered to, much of the
misery that ensued would doubtless have been
avoided. As it was, the march was heart-rending;
the troops were half famished for want of food,
without shoes, and starved by the cold ; the few
staff officers, knowing nothing, were continually
giving wrong orders, and the artillery and trains
were in hopeless confusion. One instance will
suffice. On the very day of the first attack on
Von Werder, when it might be supposed moments
were of priceless importance, the division of
General Cremer, while marching to take the Ger¬
mans in rear at Frahier, were actually cut in two
by the eighteenth corps of 30,000 men and seventy-
two guns marching on Chagey. A delay of three
hours took place before the two corps got disen¬
tangled, and the contemplated rear attack on the
enemy never took place.
As already mentioned, General Werder retired
from Dijon on December 27, to Vesoul, where he
arrived on the 30th. Several strategic movements
were made from the town, with the intention of
deceiving the French, and gaining time for reinforce¬
ments to arrive. Twice the whole army left Vesoul,
bag and baggage, but returned the same evening,
after a promenade of four or five hours. This lured
the French general to approach within a couple of
leagues of Vesoul; but as it was a strong position,
he retreated without hazarding an attack. Finding
this, on the 9th of January General von Werder
quitted Vesoul to take up a strong position before
Belfort, at Brevilliers. On his way he met a part
of Bourbaki's army at Villersexel, and a desperate
struggle ensued for the place, from which an active
general might easily have outflanked the Germans.
Werder won the position, capturing some 1000
prisoners, but gave the enemy an apparent claim
to victory by immediately evacuating it. The
truth was that a part of his forces had fought
the action to detain the French and give time
to the main body to fall back to strong posi¬
tions before Belfort, along the east side of the
little river Lisane, a tributary of the Doubs,
from Montbeliard by Iiericourt to Chenebier.
On the 12th January Werder reached his goal,
his army was completely concentrated and strongly
entrenched; and with reinforcements of heavy
guns from the lines around Belfort, he confidently
awaited the arrival of the French. Villersexel was
only about twenty miles from the Prussian posi¬
tion at Hericourt, and it took Bourbaki five days
—from the 9th to the 14th—to bring his troops
up in front of that position, so as to be able to
attack it next morning ! To meet the 133,000
Frenchmen now before him General Werder had
less than 40,000 men, of whom 4000 were cavalry,
so that in round numbers the French were nearly
four to one. The original plan of Colonel de
Bigot embraced a simultaneous attack upon the
front and rear of the Germans, which, with the
immense preponderance of men, might easily have
been effected. But the time lost by the French
was an important gain to their enemy, whose dis¬
positions now rendered such a movement extremely
difficult, and the attack was mainly confined to the
front at Hericourt.
At eight o'clock a.m. on the morning of Sun¬
day, January 15, General Bourbaki commenced
the attack with artillery, which kept up a con¬
tinual fire until dusk. The small-arms, which
did not come into play until a couple of hours
later in the morning, never ceased throughout
the day, and at about four o'clock the roar of all
arms was fearful. The Germans kept steadily the
position they had taken, and when night put an
end to the conflict they bivouacked, along the
whole line, on the same spot on which they were
attacked in the morning. The frost was about
twenty-five degrees below the freezing point, and
no adequate idea can be formed of the horrible
sufferings which resulted on this night from the
defectiveness of the French arrangements. To
General Cremer's corps was intrusted the oper¬
ations against the extreme right of the Prussian
position, near Chenebier, and of all Bourbaki's
army no portion had made such energetic efforts
in getting to the scene of action. It had been
detained at Dijon till January 9 by a piteous
call from Garibaldi, who mistook the appearance
Ungra-vod "by Cook; from. a. Photo £ra.pli-
(BEWE1M ViH W E11 E Ë „
WILLIAM MACHEN/tf , LONDON EDINBURGH S6LASG0W
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
247
of a few uhlans at Flavigny and Scmur for an
advance of the whole Prussian army on the capital
of Côte d'Or. By forced marches the corps
reached Lure on the 14th, cold and hungry, and
wearied with a march of twenty-five miles in the
snow. Wearied, as may he imagined when it is
remembered that the French soldier carried sixty
pounds; and cold, because shoe leather had failed,
and in many instances the men were barefooted.
Pushing rapidly on, the gallant corps reached
Btoban at half-past three on the 15th, and did ex¬
cellent service with their artillery on the Prussian
position at Chenebier. Neither officers nor men
had anything to eat from seven a.m. on the 14th
till six p.m. on the 15th, although during that time
they had marched over forty miles, and been for
several hours under fire of the enemy. Night
closed in, the hardest the French had yet known,
and the Prussians were but 800 yards distant
from the main body. The only thought, however,
was how to fight against the cold, and contrary to
all military rule fires were lit, round which there
huddled, without distinction of rank, generals,
officers, and men, ay, and even horses, to avoid
being frozen to death. A strong cutting wind
swept across the plâteau, carrying before it blinding
clouds of snow, and drifting into small mounds
that buried the men up to the knee. Sitting
on their knapsacks they passed the night with
their feet almost in the fires, in the hope of
retaining the vital heat. Their craving for food
was forgotten in the torpor that gradually stole
over the camp, and the rest so anxiously looked
forward to was found by many in that " sleep
which knows no waking."
Next morning, the 16th, General Bourbaki
renewed the attack, principally on the right wing,
against which immense masses of troops were
thrown in a vain endeavour to break the German
line. Had that object been accomplished at this
point, and the advantage actively pursued, the
French would have obtained the considerable
siege material before Belfort; the investment of
that place would have been raised; fresh troops
would have been thrown into the garrison, and
a further supply of victuals into the town; the
army of General von Werder, if not beaten,
must have retired, and it would then have been
possible at once to cross the Rhine and carry the
war into German territory at Baden. On the
second day, as on the first, however, along the
whole line the inflexible German troops remained
almost unshaken in their position: almost, for
the divisions under General Cremer, by far the
best of Bourbaki's force, succeeded in an attack
on Chenebier, and a bold, well-supported flank
movement at this crisis would have enabled the
assailants to reach Belfort. As, however, on so
many other occasions during the war, the French
success was not followed up, and the Germans
were allowed to take up a still stronger position
at Frahier. In the attack the French sustained
a very heavy loss, and that of the Germans was
much greater than on the first day, when it was
only from 200 to 300. On the second it was
nearly 1200, principally at Chenebier and Champ-
ney. In killed, wounded, and taken prisoners,
the French lost a far greater number ; while the
waste of ammunition may be conceived from the
fact that on one acre of ground, where there was
not a single man, about a thousand shells were
thrown. The mitrailleuses made a fearful uproar,
but either they were difficult to manage or were
ill served, for they did comparatively little damage.
When they did strike, however, the result was mur¬
derous; twenty-one men were killed and wounded
by one volley. The fire of the Germans on this
occasion was marked by a precision perhaps never
before equalled. Near Bussurel an attack was
made on a battalion of landwehr by 600 French,
who were allowed to come within .150 paces, when
the Germans fired and killed or wounded the
whole 600, with the exception of forty-two, who,
panic-stricken, were made prisoners. Again, the
second day, the German army bivouacked on the
ground they had taken up in the morning.
The third day, January 17, the attack was
renewed, but faintly. Bourbaki's orders clearly
showed that he had lost all confidence, not only
in his men but in himself; and in the afternoon
he directed a retreat along his whole line, having
failed to attain even his first object, much more
to reach the German communications. The luck¬
less commander retreated by the narrow valley
through which he had advanced, and it was
not until the 22nd that his army, a beaten and
disbanded mass, found a temporary shelter under
the guns of Besançon.
In this three days' battle 133,000 Frenchmen
fought against 35,000 to 40,000 Germans, and
could not force their entrenched position. With
such a numerical superiority, the boldest flank
248
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
movements were possible. Fifty thousand men
resolutely thrown upon the rear of the Ger¬
mans, while the rest occupied them in front, could
scarcely have failed to force them from their
position. But merely its entrenched front was
attacked, with immense loss as the result. The
flank attacks were carried out so weakly that
a single brigade (Keller's) not only sufficed to
counteract that on the German right, but to hold
Frahier, and ultimately Chenebier, so as in turn
to outflank the French. Bourbaki's young troops
were thus put to the severest task which can be
found for a soldier in battle ; while their superior
numbers would have rendered it easier to carry
the position by manoeuvring.
Though successful, the troops of Yon Werder
were sorely tried in the engagements; and not
until the 20th, two days after Bourbaki's retreat,
were they able to commence the pursuit. For
three nights in severe frost, and a fourth under
a complete thaw, the Germans had bivouacked
on the field, and had made efforts which perhaps
have never been surpassed, if equalled, in the long
roll of battles. When it is considered that this
defence was made between two hostile fortresses
(Belfort on the north, not four miles distant, and
Besançon, from two to three days' march to the
south-west), against an enemy very nearly four
times as numerous, who never once shook the
German position, the brilliancy of such a defence
and the heroism of the troops will remain one of
the greatest achievements of the war.
On the 20th General Werder began his south¬
ward march, and found everywhere traces of an
army not only demoralized but starving. The
road as far as Eougemont was strewn with knap¬
sacks, broken Chassepots and swords, cartouche
pouches, caps, cooking utensils, and indescribable
refuse. Dead horses abounded, from which the flesh
had been hacked as they lay. By the 23rd
12,000 prisoners had been taken. The French
army, in fact, was in a state of dissolution, when
a new enemy descended cn its path.
The French operations had been arranged with
the greatest possible secrecy ; but Von Moltke
seems from the first to have divined Bourbaki's
mission, and set himself to baffle, and, if fortune
favoured, to defeat and crush him. The stage
which the siege of Paris had reached enabled
the great strategist to diminish the force of the
investing army, and a whole corps (the second)
was directed from the capital to watch from Troyes
and Châtillon-sur-Scine the operations of Bour¬
baki's army. This corps, supported by some divi¬
sions from Metz and the German army of the north,
was placed under the command of Manteuffel, with
orders to push forward rapidly, as soon as Bourbaki
had begun his march to Belfort, and fall on his
flank and rear. Disregarding all obstacles, the
Germans, not more than 50,000 strong, but well
provided, in perfect order, and in the highest state
of efficiency for war, were soon, therefore, closing in
upon him. The four divisions comprisingthe expedi¬
tion were concentrated about Châtillon on the 12th
of January, when Manteuffel arrived from Versailles
to take personal command. To move rapidly to
Werder's aid it was necessary to cross the hills as
directly as possible, and the chief routes were closed
by the French holding Dijon and Langres. The
march was, however, commenced without delay on
the three cross-roads between those places which
debouched at Selongey, Pranthoy, and Longueau,
into the great valley which runs north and south
between the Côte d'Or and the Vosges and Jura
ranges. The second corps, being to the right or
south on the march, detached Kettler's brigade on
Dijon to keep Garibaldi occupied. The roads,
naturally bad, were rendered almost impassable
for artillery by the frost; but large working
parties dragged the guns up the slippery inclines;
and through the untiring exertions of men and
officers the main body of the army was debouch¬
ing from the hills by the 18 th, undiscovered by
the French on either side. On the 19th the ad¬
vance reached the valley of the Saône. At this
time it was intended to continue the movement
eastward on Belfort; but news of Werder's successes
before that place, and of the retreat of Bourbaki, now
reached Manteuffel, who swung round to his right,
and turned southwards to intercept the French.
For several days the detachment left at Dijon
furnished ample employment for Garibaldi, who
imagined himself and his troops to be hemmed in
by a besieging host. To sustain this idea some
attacks were made by his opponents, and as they
were " victoriously repulsed," the old general pub¬
lished flaming proclamations, congratulating his
men upon having " conquered the most experi¬
enced troops in the world." " In an obstinate
two days' struggle," he added, " you have written
a glorious page in the annals of the republic, and
the oppressors of the great human family will once
MAHTEUFFEIL.
WILLIAM MACKENZIE, LONDON EDI KBLR6H & GLASGOW
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
249
more recognize in you the noble champions ot
right and justice." In a defence of his military
conduct afterwards published in the Italian papers,
it transpired that General Garibaldi was all this
time utterly ignorant of the manœuvres of the
Germans which were going on around him. The
detachment from Manteuffel's force thus'effectually
hoodwinked him, while the main body of the army
moved past his position to accumulate upon Bour-
baki's rear. Manteuffel reached Dôle on the 24th,
and here captured 230 railway waggons loaded
with provisions, forage, and clothing—an irre¬
parable disaster under the circumstances to the
now hardly-pressed French. From Dôle the
Germans crossed the Doubs, and rapidly marched
to seize the defiles along the Swiss frontier, and
thus hem in- their intended victim.
Bourbaki reached Besançon on the 22nd, where
with fatal irresolution he halted until the 26th,
issuing orders, meanwhile, which can only be
explained on the supposition of his utter bewilder¬
ment. The ex-commander of the imperial guard
may have been a dashing officer at the head of
a division; but the nerve required to brace oneself
up to a bold resolution in a decisive moment is
very different from that which enables one to
command a division with éclat under fire; and
like many men of undoubted personal bravery,
Bourbaki seemed deficient in the moral courage
so necessary to decision of character and prompti¬
tude in action. From the moment when he saw
that he could not pierce Werder's lines, his mind
ought to have been made up as to the course he
should take. He must have known that Prussian
reinforcements were approaching his line of retreat
from the north-west; that his position, with a
victorious enemy in his front and a long line of
retreat, close to a neutral frontier, in his rear, was
extremely dangerous; that in regard to its object
this expedition had irretrievably failed; and that
his most pressing, nay, his only duty, under the
circumstances, was to save his army by retiring
as hastily as he could. But the resolution to
retire, involving as it did a practical confession
that he had failed in his expedition, appears to
have been too much for him. He dallied about
as if loath to quit the scene of his last battles,
unable to advance, unwilling to retreat, and thus
gave Manteuffel the time to cut off his retreat.
After four days of inactivity a reckless order for
a retreat southwards towards Lons-le-Saulnier
vol. n.
was given; but at that very time the Germans
at Mouchard and Safins were nearer the Swiss
frontier than the fugitives, and their retreat was
virtually cut off. It was no longer a race; for the
Germans could occupy leisurely the outlets of all
the valleys by which escape was possible, while
Yon Werder pressed on the French rear. The
unhappy Bourbaki, frenzied by finding his enemies
thus closing in upon him, madly shot himself, and
his ruined army rushed forth from Besançon almost
literally without a commander. The horrors of
that flight were like those of the retreat from
Moscow; cold, hunger, and terror soon breaking
up the mass into a horde of pitiful fugitives.
Such was the situation of military affairs in
the east of France when Paris capitulated and M.
Jules Favre negotiated the armistice. Count von
Bismarck, desirous that Belfort should be in Ger¬
man hands when terms of peace were discussed,
demanded that the fortress should be surrendered.
As he must have expected, this demand was
refused, and he therefore declared that the siege
operations must go on. M. Jules Favre had been
for months past shut up in the besieged capital,
and if he knew aught of the operations in the
east, it was only through the medium of a
sanguine despatch from M. Gambetta, conveyed
through the precarious pigeon post. Having,
therefore, no definite idea of the real state of
matters, he actually stipulated that if Werder were
left at liberty to besiege Belfort, Bourbaki should
be free to endeavour to raise the siege. The
stipulation was acceded to, and the consequence
of M. Favre's ignorance was that the army of the
east, of which, since the incapacity of Bourbaki,
General Clinchamp had taken the command, was
given over to the last horrors of defeat. Driven
like a flock of sheep into a mountainous country,
where skilful leading alone could have saved even
well-formed and well-disciplined troops; hemmed
in upon the Swiss frontier without hope of escape;
pressed closer and ever closer by a relentless
enemy—the army lost provision waggons by the
hundred, and the men walked they hardly knew
whither, over icy roads or through the deep snow,
day after day. General Clinchamp made a last effort
to escape by the only route which he could now
hope might be open; but in anticipation of this
the narrow strip of country along the Neufchâtel
frontier was already blocked by the columns of
Manteuffel. A series of running fights ensued
2 i
250
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
near Pontarlier, which ended in the French being
fairly driven over the frontier. A convention
was signed between General Clinchamp and the
Swiss General Herzog, who with a large force had
been guarding the neutral line; and on the 1st
of February the relics of what had once been an
army of 133,000 men crossed that line and laid
down their arms. The Germans had captured about
15,000 men, with 19 guns, before their escape to
neutral territory could be effected; while 84,000
surrendered to the Swiss. Most of these unfortun¬
ate men—surely the most to be pitied of any of the
victims of the war—arrived in Switzerland in a
state which defies description. Their clothes were
rent, and dropping off them in tatters; their feet
and hands were frost-bitten. While the shrunk
features and crouching gait told of gnawing hunger,
the deep cough and hoarse voice bore witness to
long nights spent on snow and frozen ground.
Some had bits of wood under their bare feet to
protect them from the stones ; others wore wooden
sabots ; hundreds had merely thin cotton socks,
and many none at all; others who appeared well
shod would show a boot without sole or heel—the
exposed part of the foot, once frozen, now present¬
ing a wound crusted with dirt. For weeks none
had washed or changed their clothes, or put off
their boots. Their hands were blacker than any
African's. Some had lost their toes; the limbs of
others were so frozen that every movement was
agony. The men stated that for three days they
had neither food nor fodder served out to them,
and that even prior to that period of absolute
famine one loaf was often shared between eight of
them. One corps, the twenty-fourth, escaped, and
regained Lyons; but with this exception, such was
the melancholy fate of the army led by the brave
and brilliant Bourbaki. It was ill organized, ill
formed, and execrably led; for the officers of the
general's staff proved themselves ignorant of the
very roads of their own country, and continually
compromised the safety of the corps by their mis¬
takes. Yet such as it was, its capabilities, or what
were deemed such, caused for the first fortnight of
the year much anxiety at Versailles; and the Ger¬
man emperor celebrated its defeat in the battles of
January 15, 16, and 17, by the bestowal of pre¬
eminent honours and rewards upon General Wer-
der, the commander. On the 18 th of January the
emperor sent the oak-leaf for the Order of Merit,
which General Werder had already received. On
the 20th he issued 150 Orders of the Iron Cross
for distribution among the army, accompanied with
the following telegram :—
" Versailles, January 20.
" General von Werder,—Your heroic three days'
victorious defence of your position, in the rear of
a besieged fortress, is one of the greatest feats of
arms in all history.
" I express my royal thanks, my deepest ack¬
nowledgments, and bestow upon you the Grand
Cross of the Red Eagle, with the Sword, as a proof
of this acknowledgment.
" Your grateful king,
" WILLIAM."
The catastrophe of Bourbaki's army was the
Sedan of the war in its second phase. In a purely
military point of view it was as heavy a blow as
the fall of Paris, for it deprived France of the
only force available to defend the east and centre.
Though not necessarily the result of the false
strategy we have described, it must, in a good
measure, be ascribed to it; though doubtless the
main causes were the disorganized state of Bour¬
baki's troops, his own incapacity, and the great
ability with which Manteuffel's movements against
him were directed. If Von Moltke had never
done anything else, this single operation would
mark him out as one of the master spirits of war;
nor less admirable were the precision, the intelli¬
gence, and the promptitude with which the Ger¬
mans went down on their foe. The march of
Manteuffel has, perhaps, not a parallel in modern
war, and formed a most striking proof of the
perfection of the Prussian administration of sup¬
plies upon the march. In sixteen days his force,
with all its trains of necessaries and other impedi¬
ments, crossed two ranges of mountains over by¬
roads; and, leaving enemies on each flank, and
passing through the heart of one poor and hostile
district, plunged directly into another equally poor
and hostile, to intercept and finally destroy an army
numerically twice as large. On the other hand, the
uselessness of attempting great combinations with
undisciplined troops and an inefficient commis¬
sariat, was shown at every stage of the miserable
failure in which Bourbaki's career well-nigh ended.
As soon as possible after the news of Bour¬
baki's reverses reached him, Garibaldi withdrew,
comparatively unmolested, into a department pro¬
tected by the armistice, and Dijon was immediately
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
251
reoccupied by the Germans. The part which ho
played in the war, although doubtless well-meant,
will always form one of the most singular and
humiliating features of the struggle. To the dire
necessities of the nation alone he owed his position
in France. The fanciful garb and swaggering
mien of the foreign adventurers who followed him,
caused them to be sneered at as " Franconi's
circus;" but in the anguish of her defeat France
was loath to part with even the least chance of
deliverance, and Ricciotti's success at Châtillon,
and the capture of the one Prussian flag at Dijon
on January 23, reconciled many Frenchmen to
the presence of the Garibaldini. But unfortu¬
nately for himself, the general was loudly blowing
his own trumpet at Dijon, and claiming a great
victory, at the very time when he was duped by
Manteuffel and prevented from rendering any aid
to Bourbaki. Scarcely troubling himself to inquire
how it was that, in the midst of his fancied triumph,
he found himself in full retreat, Garibaldi heard of
his return as a member of the National Assembly,
and leaving his disorderly army to take care of
itself, he made his way to Bordeaux. He had on
his arrival his programme all ready ; he would vote
for a republic, and for a peace on the conditions
of the status quo ante helium, allowing the Ger¬
mans only a pecuniary indemnity, to be paid by
the partisans of the empire and by the priests. On
the following day he resigned both his seat in the
Chamber and his command in the army ; and
asserting that his duty was at an end and his
mission concluded, he retired to Caprera.
Of all sieges during the war that of Belfort was
the most prolonged, and the most trying equally
to victors and vanquished. The fortress was
invested on the 3rd of November, but not until
the 3rd of December was a formal bombardment
opened, which down to the 18th of February
was kept up almost continuously night and day,
For seventy-three days without interruption the
civil population lived in the vaults and cellars of
the town. At the moment of investment the
population, usually 8000, numbered about 6000.
There was a garrison of 16,000 troops, composed
of gardes mobiles, with a fair proportion of line,
artillery, and 457 officers. These at the close were
reduced, by wounds, disease, and some slight deser¬
tions, to 13,500, and 400 of the population perished
during the siege.
The besieging force seized early upon the posi¬
tion occupied by the Prussians in 1814—that is, the
villages of Danjoutin and Bauvilliers—the south
or Swiss side raking the town and forts in profile,
and intercepting the approach of a relieving army
from the east; but the heights to the right and
left, those of the two Perches and of Bellevue, from
which in 1814 the town was bombarded, were
crowned with recently constructed forts, with
which an incessant contest had to be maintained.
The most noticeable incident of the siege oc¬
curred on the night of January 26, by which
time the besiegers' parallels were within thirty
yards of the two forts. Then the assault was
delivered. Through the Bois des Perches, the
trees of which had been cut to spikes, pressed
the heavy German columns, to be received by a
murderous fire. That night, in killed, wounded,
and prisoners, they lost nearly 1000 men. The
assault failed, but the next day the French
vacated the two forts. The tidings of their
abandonment were communicated by some de¬
serters, and the besiegers lost no time in occupying
them and placing guns in position. From this
moment the fate of Belfort was decided. The
fort of Bellevue opposite, at a lower altitude, was
speedily silenced. The population were notified
by M. Denfert Rocherau, the commandant, that
beyond a certain point no fortress was defensible;
and its condition having been communicated to
the Paris government, their despatch authorizing
surrender relieved the garrison from hopeless
resistance, and the town from imminent destruc¬
tion. Belfort passed through a somewhat similar
ordeal in 1814, when it was bombarded by the
Allies, and from the very heights which now
were French forts ; but the power of the artillery,
though at a longer distance, was so much greater
now than then that it did much more injury.
Then, as on the present occasion, the town sur¬
rendered only in consequence of negotiations
preliminary to peace. The troops were allowed
to quit with the honours of war the place they
had so well defended, and the garrison marched
out with arms and baggage, taking with them
also their papers and archives. The town was
originally included in the territory demanded by
the Prussians preliminary to peace ; but Count von
Bismarck ultimately offered to yield it on con¬
dition of the German occupation of Paris ; and to
save a position of such importance, M. Thiers con¬
sented to this last act of humiliation for the capital.
CHAPTER XXIX.
Feeling in Paris after the Sortie on November 30 and December 2—Communications between Connt von Moltke and General Troehn as to the
Fall of Orleans—Paris Determines to Resist to the Last—Disbandment of some of the Republican National Guards—Difficulties of the
Government with the Democratic Clubs, which advocate most Extreme Measures—Irritation amongst the Germans at the Long Continu¬
ance of the Struggle, and Preparations for the Bombardment of the City—Presentation of an Address to the King of Prussia on the
Unification of Germany, and His Majesty's Reply—Proclamation of Goneral Trochu to the Army, and Reception of Encouraging News from
M. Gambetta—Great Sortie at Three Different Points on December 21—Description of the Engagements and their Results—Severity of
the Cold, and Sufferings of the French in Consequence—Christmas Inside and Outside the City—Commencement of Active Siege Operations,
and Capture of Fort Avron by the Germans—The Last Days of 1870 in Paris—Want of Food and Fuel—Bombardment of the City—
Renewed Determination to resist on the part of the Inhabitants—Results of the German Fire—Remonstrances of M. Jules Favre and the
Diplomatic Agents against the Destruction of Hospitals, Churches, and Schools, and Count von Moltke's Reply—Installation of the King of
Prussia as Emperor of Germany at Versailles—Description of the Ceremony, and Address of the King—Bloody Sortie on January 21—
The Germans at first surprised, and Desperate Fighting on both Sides—The French unable to maintain their First Successes—Excited
State of Public Feeling in the City during the Fight, and Despair when the Soldiers returned—Military Reflections on the Engagement.
Although the result of the great sortie on No¬
vember 30 and December 2, described at the close
of Chapter XXIV., failed to secure any advan¬
tage to the besieged, the Parisians were fain to
believe that the retrograde movement of their
troops on that occasion had only been undertaken
with a view to future and more effective operations.
In fact, the prevailing opinion was that the retreat
was purely strategical, and that the army encamped
in the Bois de Vincennes was yet destined to re¬
trieve the fortunes of the capital. It was even
currently reported in the city that the Prussians
had evacuated Versailles, and crowds assembled in
the public places, hoping to find the information
officially confirmed. These illusions, however,
were rapidly dispelled. The German successes
at Orleans on December 4 were immediately com¬
municated to General Trochu by General von
Moltke; with an offer that, if he deemed it expe¬
dient to receive confirmation of the fact through
one of his own officers, a safe conduct to come and
return should be provided for him. This intelli¬
gence was, of course, forwarded in the hope that
the government of Defence would see from it the
desperate character of their position, and be induced
to capitulate ; and when the document was dis¬
cussed at a council of ministers, the minister of
Finance, M. Ernest Picard, seemed disposed to
embrace the opportunity of considering whether
a cessation of hostilities were possible. Whatever
impression his counsels might have made upon
his colleagues, was speedily nullified by the
determined course of the governor of Paris, whose
conduct on this occasion was certainly not that of
a man who thought himself engaged in a hopeless
cause. General Trochu contended that the over¬
tures of the enemy went to prove their critical
position in the heart of a hostile country in mid¬
winter; that the victory at Orleans might not be
so conclusive as was represented ; and that every¬
thing was to be gained by continuing the struggle
until help came from the provinces, as Paris could
still hold out, and victories might follow reverses.
Accordingly, yielding to his eloquence and enthu¬
siasm, the council decided unanimously on the
continuance of the war, and the German parlemen¬
taire was despatched with a reply declining Count
von Moltke's offer.
The Parisians were immediately informed of
this interchange of correspondence by a note sent
to the press, in which the members of the govern¬
ment again expressed their determination to prose¬
cute the defence with vigour. " This news," said
they, " which reaches us through the enemy,
supposing it to be accurate, does not deprive us of
our right to rely on the great movement of France
rushing to our relief. It changes nothing either
in our resolutions or our duties. A single word
sums them up — to fight ! Long live France !
Long live the Republic !"
A profound impression was, however, produced
in the city by the i ntelligence. The question as to
the truth and importance of General von Moltke's
communication was freely discussed, and led to
the expression of very conflicting opinions ; but at
best the tidings were unwelcome, and confirmed
the misgiving which now prevailed respecting
the possibility of averting the fall of the capital.
On December 8 a decree was published dis¬
banding the tirailleurs of Belleville, consisting
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
253
chiefly of red republicans. They had repeatedly
demanded to be led against the enemy, but on the
only occasion on which they were called to encoun¬
ter the least danger they had behaved in the most
cowardly and disgraceful manner; many of them
afterwards deserted, and it was next to impossible
to maintain even the appearance of discipline
amongst the remainder, either officers or men.
In fact, they were useless for service, and were,
moreover, on such bad terms with the battalion
of La Yillette, that a barricade had been erected
in the trenches to separate them, and prevent
collision ! A day or two later another order of the
day was published, dissolving the battalion known
as the volunteers of the 147th. It had received
orders to proceed to Rosny, but mustered only 100
men, half of whom presented themselves without
arms. The battalion refused to march, on the plea
that their wives had not been paid the allowance
which, by order of the government, they were to
receive while their husbands were in the field.
While these extreme military measures were
required to preserve discipline in the ranks of the
disaffected national guards, the government expe¬
rienced no small difficulty through democratic
clubs inside the city. At most of these gatherings
the authorities were loudly denounced as betrayers
of the republic ; and at one of them a motion was
proposed, signed by M. Ledru-Rollin, calling on
them to renounce the idea of capitulation, and to
make a sortie en masse, so as to force the Prussian
lines and deliver Paris with the least possible
delay ! It was urged, with somewhat more reason
than was displayed in the discussion of other
matters, that battle should be given to the enemy
before famine had weakened the bodies and damped
the courage of the people. Eight days—a space
which was considerably reduced by the more enthu¬
siastic—were allowed the government to raise the
siege. If they failed to do anything within that
period, they were threatened with another demon¬
stration at the Hôtel de Ville and the proclamation
of the Commune.
On the other hand, the prolongation of the
struggle was causing irritation, not only in the
besieging camp but throughout Germany, and in
some quarters a change of tactics was warmly
urged, to bring about the capitulation of the city.
Preparations for bombardment were therefore car¬
ried on, but the plan of " waiting and watching "
was still continued. The weak points of the Ger¬
man investment were also strengthened, although
the general feeling was that the delay in striking
a successful blow from inside the city had ren¬
dered General Trochu's operations comparatively
hopeless. The promised relief had failed; the
army by which it was to be achieved had been
hurled back beyond the Loire; and although the
besieged garrison might make a gallant effort,
the Germans entertained little apprehension of
their succeeding in breaking through the lines
of investment.
On the afternoon of December 16 a deputation
of thirty members from the North German Reichs¬
tag, headed by the president, Herr Simson, arrived
at Versailles with an address from the legislature
to King William, and to congratulate him on the
decision of the South German princes to offer him
the imperial crown of Germany. On the 18th the
deputation was received at the headquarters in the
préfecture of Versailles. Herr Simson read the
address, setting forth that, by means of treaties
with the South German states and by making
two alterations in the constitution, titles were
secured to the future (German) state and to its
most exalted head, which had been revered for
long centuries, and to the restoration of which
the yearning of the German people had never
ceased to be directed. The address then con¬
tinued :—" Your Majesty receives the deputies
of the Reichstag in a city in which more than
one destructive armed incursion against our coun¬
try has been considered and put into execution.
Near it, under the pressure of foreign force, were
concluded the treaties in immediate consequence
of which the German empire collapsed. To-day,
however, the nation may from this very spot con¬
sole itself with the assurance that emperor and
empire are again erected in the spirit of a new
and living present, and that, with the further
assistance and the blessing of God, it will secure
in both the certainty of unity and might, of right
and law, of freedom and peace." In his reply,
after referring to the wonderful dispensations of
Providence which had brought them together in
that " old French royal residence," and to the sup¬
port he had received from the German provinces,
the king said:—"The victorious German armies,
among which you have sought me, have found in
the self-sacrificing spirit of the country, in the loyal
sympathy and ministering care of the people at
home, and in its unanimitv with the army, that
254
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
encouragement which has supported them in the
midst of battles and privations. The grant of the
means for the continuation of the war which the
governments of the North German Confederation
have asked for in the session of the Diet that is
just concluded, has given me a new proof that the
nation is determined to exert all its energies to
secure that the great and painful sacrifices, which
touch my heart as they do yours, shall not have
been made in vain, and not to lay aside its arms
until German frontier shall have been secured
against future attacks. The North German Diet,
whose greetings and congratulations you bring
me, has been called upon before its close to co¬
operate by its decision in the work of the uni¬
fication of Germany. I feel grateful to it for the
readiness with which it has almost unanimously
pronounced its assent to the treaties which will
give an organic expression to the unity of the
nation. The Diet, like the allied governments, has
assented to these treaties in the conviction that the
common political life of the Germans will develop
itself with the more beneficial results, inasmuch as
the basis which has been obtained for it has been
measured and offered by our South German allies
of their own free choice, and in agreement with
their own estimate of the national requirements."
In the evening the deputies dined with the
king, and the following morning (Sunday) were
taken to the front to obtain a glimpse of the be¬
leaguered city. They then attended divine service
at the chapel of Louis XIV. in the palace of
Versailles, where King William was attended by
a large number of illustrious personages.
Returning to Paris at this period, there were
evident indications that another sortie was in
active preparation. On the 17th of December
General Trochu issued an address to the army, in
which, after giving them credit for having made
efforts on behalf of the country which had been
of good service to their sacred cause, he pro¬
ceeded " Our companions in arms of the army
of the Loire—improvized by the patriotism of
the departments, as the patriotism of Paris has
improvized the army of Paris—set us an admir¬
able example. They recruit themselves under
fire, as we do, at the price of heroic sacrifices,
in a combat which astonishes the enemy, who
staggers under the magnitude of his losses and
the indomitable energy of our defence. May
these noble examples strengthen you; may the
touching spectacle of the citizens of Paris become
soldiers like yourselves, and fighting with you in
the close bonds of duty and peril, raise you to the
high level of all duties and dangers ; and may your
commander succeed in instilling into your souls
the sentiments, the hopes, and the firm resolutions
which animate him."
On the following morning the Official Journal
contained a despatch from M. Gambetta, to the
effect that the army of the Loire, far from being
annihilated, "according to the lies of the Prus¬
sians," had been divided, and that now two
armies, instead of one, were marching upon Paris
from the south. A hopeful view was likewise
taken of General Faidherbe's operations in the
north. "The Prussian retreat," continued M.
Gambetta, " is a movement concerning which
there can be no mistake. If we can only hold
out, and we can if we have only the will, we
shall beat them. They have suffered enormous
losses, and experience the greatest difficulty in
obtaining supplies of food. But to triumph we
must resign ourselves to supreme sacrifices with¬
out murmuring, and fight- even unto death." Most
of the Parisian journals received the announcement
with exultation, and began to speculate upon the
German retreat.
In preparing for the approaching sortie orders
were given that the gates of the city should be
closed; the marching companies of the national
guard, provided with 120 rounds of ammunition
per man, had their posts assigned them; battalions
of sappers and miners were despatched to the front
with materials for the construction of bridges;
and trains of artillery waggons proceeded to the
scene of the proposed operations.
The action commenced about eight o'clock on
the morning of the 21st, and extended over an
area reaching from Mont Valérien to Nogent-sur-
Marne, or half round the city. On their right the
French, commanded by Generals Malroy and Blaise,
acting under the orders of General Vinoy, attacked
the village of Neuilly-sur-Marne, the Villa Evrard,
a lunatic asylum in advance of Neuilly, and the
Maison Blanche, a farmhouse near the Strassburg
railway. The attack was opened and maintained
with great vigour, but the fighting was carried on
almost exclusively by artillery. The French soon
gained a decided advantage, the superiority of their
new heavy guns being speedily established. The
Prussian batteries at Noisy-le-Grand maintained a
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
255
stubborn ordnance duel with theirs on the plateau
of Avron, and somewhat checked the advance for
a time; but although in one redoubt alone they
had placed a battery of twenty pieces of artillery,
the guns of Avron, assisted by the Fort de No-
gent, dismounted every one of them and destroyed
the work. After this the French succeeded, in
spite of a vigorous defence by the Prussians, in
successively taking and occupying Neuilly-sur-
Marne, La Maison Blanche, and Villa Evrard,
which had been occupied as the headquarters
of the Prince-royal of Saxony. Meanwhile Fort
Nogent kept silent the Prussian batteries of Noisy-
le-Grand and Villiers.
The centre of the movement, and that which
sustained the heaviest of the fighting, was com¬
manded by Admiral la Roncière, under General
Ducrot, whose troops consisted of soldiers of the line,
a brigade of sailors, and the mobiles of the Seine.
Preliminary to the attack on Le Bourget, which
was the centre of the action, the Forts Aubervilliers
and L'Est directed a vigorous fire on the village,
as did also a couple of batteries stationed at Cour-
neuve. Pieces of flying artillery were likewise
moved up, and on the Soissons Railway a novel
mode of attack was made by a couple of cuirassed
locomotives, which were used to considerable
advantage. Steaming forward to the most favour¬
able point with comparative impunity, these for¬
midable batteries of cannon and mitrailleuses poured
a destructive fire into the German positions. At
eight o'clock there was a lull in the fire from the
forts, and the infantry were thrown forward to the
attack. An attempt to take the village by storm
was made by a battalion of marines, commanded
by M. Lamothe Heuet, and the 138th regiment of
the line, supported by the tenth and twelfth bat¬
talions of the mobiles of the Seine. The marines,
at the head of the column, went into action
hatchets in hand, and rifles slung at their backs,
and had a desperate hand-to-hand struggle with
the men of the Prussian royal guard at the entrance
of the village. The marines, however, succeeded
in getting into some houses, and took ninety-seven
prisoners, who were immediately sent to the rear.
The northern part of Le Bourget was held for
three hours, but the fierce and stubborn resistance
made by the Prussian guard caused it to be aban¬
doned. The French had lost very heavily. Of
600 who went forward to the assault, 279 were
wanting at its close. Of fourteen marine officers
engaged, four were killed, and four others seriously
wounded. The tenth mobiles had its lieutenant-
colonel, the commandant, the captain-adjutant-
major, a captain, and a lieutenant, put hors de
combat almost at the first fire.
While this column was engaged on the left of
the village, another attack was directed on it from
the south by a second column, composed of the
franc-tireurs of the press (300 strong), and the
134th regiment of the line, under the leadership
of General la Voignet. The first and second
companies of franc-tireurs extended in skirmish¬
ing order and advanced at the pas gymnastique,
with the intention of entering the village by the
left; the third company entered by the right; and
the fourth advanced on the full front. The Prus¬
sians were admirably protected by barricades and
breastworks ; every house was a small fortress, and
from every window, roof, and cellar a formidable
fusillade kept the assailants at bay. The French,
however, showed great coolness and courage ; but the
attack failed. At two o'clock the fire of the small
arms ceased; the baffled columns retired, carrying
some of their wounded with them; and the forts
renewed their cannonade. Generals Trochu and
Ducrot were on this part of the field, and ordered
up three batteries of field-guns, which opened on
the enemy's position. His guns at the Pont Iblon
and Blanc-Mesnil were silenced, and a portion of
Ducrot's army was enabled to advance on the farm
of Groslay and Drancy, to the south of Bourget.
A diversion was also made during the attack on
this quarter, on the village of Epinay, by mobiles
of the Seine and national guards of St. Denis.
On the west, and simultaneously with the attack
upon Le Bourget, General Noel also made a demon¬
stration against Montretout on the left, Busanval
and Longboyau in the centre, and on the right
against L'Ile du Chiard ; the latter under the direc¬
tion of the chef de bataillon Faure, commandant of
the engineers at Mont Yalérien, who was griev¬
ously wounded at the head of a company of the
Paris freeshooters. The only purpose of this move¬
ment was to distract the attention of the besiegers.
During the general attack the weather was
intensely cold, and although a large number of
Frenchmen had been provided with pickaxes and
spades to intrench the troops as soon as an advan¬
tage had been gained, the ground was frozen so
hard that they could not carry out their purpose.
To this excessive cold the French attributed their
256
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
want of success, and certainly it told very much
against their movements.
At the close of the day the French right still
held the positions they had gained, but the main
body of the troops was withdrawn to the trendies,
a sufficient force being left to hold Neuilly, Villa
Evrard, and Maison Blanche. At Villa Evrard a
somewhat remarkable incident occurred. When
the action was over the French prepared to encamp,
and lighted their bivouac fires. General Blaise
and some officers of his staff were warming them¬
selves round one of these, and discussing the inci¬
dents of the day, when suddenly a Prussian bugle
was heard, followed in an instant by a discharge of
musketry. General Blaise was killed on the spot,
and several of his staff were severely wounded.
The enemy who had done this turned out to be
some Saxons who had remained in the cellars of
Villa Evrard, and had crept out of their place of
concealment when all was quiet. Few of them,
however, escaped.
In this sortie it will be seen that the French
had obtained considerable advantages, and occupied
several positions which they had taken from the
Prussians; but contrary to expectation the move¬
ment was not followed up, avowedly owing to the
cold, which, as already stated, was exceptionally
severe for the French climate. In one of the out¬
posts on the night of the 23rd, 125 men were
frost-bitten, and several instances occurred of others
who were frozen to death.
This state of affairs continued until the morning
of the 25 th ushered in Christmas, which found the
besieged capital undergoing fearful hardships, but
still determined to hold out against the invader.
Hardly a cannon shot, however, disturbed the hours
of the Christmas festival, such as it was. Bâtions
of beef, with a small portion of butter per head,
were served out instead of horseflesh. On the
German side it was made as comfortable as cir¬
cumstances would permit, and although the fear
of renewed sorties required the strictest watch to
be kept, there were many very successful merry¬
makings and much joviality.
Almost immediately after Christmas active siege
operations were commenced by the German com¬
manders. The French position on the plateau of
Avron was first selected as the object of attack.
One of the results of the sortie of November 30
was the occupation by the French of a broad spur
of land lying along the front of Fort Rosny, and
reaching from Drancy to Neuilly-sur-Marne. On
this ground, which included the plateau of Avron,
the besieged had established batteries, amounting
in the aggregate to 100 guns, some of which were
powerful marine artillery, supported by a large
infantry force. From this point d'appui, which
bulged out into the lines of the besiegers, much
trouble and annoyance had been caused to them.
On the 21st December, when the French ad¬
vanced to the capture of Villa Evrard and Maison
Blanche, they made this excellent position their
starting point, and were materially supported by
the fire of the guns from the redoubt. This finally
determined the Germans to destroy it, although
their engineers had been for some time previous
selecting their points of attack, and working par¬
ties had been engaged during the nights in making
preparations. The works were completed with
great rapidity after the sortie, and on December
26 the Germans had established twelve batteries
of heavy guns brought from Strassburg, Toul, La
Ferté, and Soissons — three at Raincy, three at
Gagny, three at Noisy-le-Grand, and three at the
bridge of Gournay. Lieutenant-general von Kameke
was appointed chief engineer, and Major-general
Prince Hohenloe commanded the batteries, with
Colonels Reeff and Bartscli as chief assistants.
The positions, which were admirably chosen,
completely enfiladed the plateau of Avron, and
also covered the Forts Noisy, Rosny, and Nogent.
During the night of the 26th the German pioneers
were busy cutting down the trees which had masked
their works, and met with considerable attention
from the French forts, which had awakened to the
dangers of the situation. On the following morning
the weather was intensely cold, and the snow was
falling quickly, but the German guns opened a tre¬
mendous fire upon the plateau, which was continued
with systematic steadiness throughout the day, and
was only partially suspended when far into the
night. Some of the shells from the batteries of
Raincy actually fell within the district of Belle¬
ville. The besiegers made a vigorous reply,
although their discharge was less regular and
their aim less accurate. The troops, however,
stood firm, and although some 3000 shells were
thrown from the German batteries the entire casu¬
alties were less than sixty. On the morning of
the 28th the cannonade recommenced, and con¬
tinued during the day at the rate of about five to
eight shots per minute.
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
257
General Trochu rode out early to tho plateau,
and visited the trenches, addressing some words of
encouragement to the troops. During the after¬
noon the Prussians brought up some field batteries,
and pelted most furiously at the French positions
on the plateau, which was completely furrowed
by the fire of eight converging batteries. During
this fierce cannonade, the French troops sought
concealment in the trenches, but the ground, hard
as granite through the frost, opposed a resistance
which caused almost every shell to burst. The
French batteries, the parapets of which were almost
as brittle as glass, were also struck full in front
by shots from Chelles, right and left by the enfil¬
ading fire of Eaincy and Gagny, and pounded at
in the rear from Noisy. The powerful artillery of
the French was unable to cope with the Krupp
cannon; the plateau became untenable; and orders
were consequently given to the troops occupying
it to retire. The retreat commenced at six o'clock
in the evening; but as there were about 100 guns,
many of them of large calibre, to carry off along
the slippery roads and in darkness—for the camp
fires were extinguished, so that they might not
attract the enemy's fire—it was three o'clock on
the following morning before the mitrailleuses
which had remained behind to protect the retreat
were enabled to quit the plateau. The gardes
mobiles, exposed in the trenches for six and thirty
hours to the Prussian cannonade, lost about 300
in killed and wounded. One shell alone laid six
low out of a party of nine gathered round the
breakfast table of a commander of mobiles, who,
together with his wife, was wounded, while only
a single one of his guests escaped scathless.
The Germans, however, were surprised at their
own success, and not until the afternoon of the
29th did their patrols, who groped their way up
the sides of the plateau, discover that the position
had been evacuated. The same evening the vil¬
lages of Bondy and Villemonble were found
deserted, and at midnight the German advance
came upon the late French positions on the crest
of Avron, amidst an awful scene of devastation.
The military bulletin announcing the abandon¬
ment of the plateau had a most depressing effect
upon the Parisians, whom no consoling news now
reached from outside, and who were without fuel
and almost without food. The document intimated
that the conditions of the defence would have to
be changed, although its means and its energy
vol. n.
would not be affected by the bombardment. During
the whole of the 29th the Germans continued to
bombard Forts Noisy, Rosny, and Nogent. In
the course of five hours 155 shells fell on the
barracks in Fort Rosny; casemates believed to
be impenetrable to every kind of missile were
rent and torn away; and from eight o'clock in
the morning till six in the evening nearly
2000 shells fell within the enceinte and on the
scarp and counterscarp of Fort Rosny alone;
yet very few of the naval gunners were injured,
and " the men stood to their pieces firm, reso¬
lute, vigilant, and undauntable." In the adjacent
village only a few houses were damaged, and
yet the road between Rosny and Avron was so
ploughed up by the number of projectiles which
had struck it, as to be impassable. The military
report stated that altogether between 5000 and
6000 shells were thrown against the three forts
in the course of the 29th. The closing days of the
year 1870 proved a trying time indeed to the be¬
leaguered city. While the German guns were
pounding away at the eastern forts, the inhabitants
were suffering not only from the want of food but
also from the bitter cold. The price of fuel in
consequence rose immensely, and the government
had been unable to obtain a supply for the wants
of the people. They therefore resolved to cut
down the woods of Yincennes and Boulogne, and
the trees on the boulevards ; but the necessary
preparations consumed time, in which the poorer
classes were perishing. An indiscriminate on¬
slaught was consequently made upon trees, pal¬
ings, and trellis-work, without distinction of public
or private property. These proceedings led the
authorities to speedily accumulate a sufficient
supply.
Thus closed the year 1870 in and around the
capital of France. Provisions were getting dearer
and dearer. The death rate had doubled. The
" Red " party were showing signs of uneasiness. The
popular voice bespoke impatience with the feeble¬
ness of the government operations; and the Prus¬
sians were thundering at their very doors. But
no one dared to whisper the word " surrender! "
The new year was ushered in by the booming
of the guns from the Paris forts, while the Ger¬
man sentinels stood to their posts in the biting
cold which prevailed. The besiegers, strength¬
ened by their easy success at Mont Avron, had
the fullest confidence in their ultimate triumph;
2 K
258
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
and the besieged, amidst hardship, disease, and
death, appeared equally determined to prolong
the struggle. The gloom of the city, as on the
emperor's fête day, when the army of the Rhine
was grappling with the invader, was increased
by its contrast with the usual festivities of the
season, and by a growing apprehension that the
energies of the provisional government were not
equal to the duties which the emergency imposed
on them.
The morning of the 5th of January commenced
a fresh era in the history of the siege, for on that
day the bombardment of the city itself really com¬
menced. The months spent in watching an enemy
who contented himself with remaining passive, not
even answering the fire of the forts, combined with
the growing scarcity of food, had told heavily on
the Parisians, whose martial ardour was fading fast
under the ever-present shadow of the Germans.
The bombardment came like a ray of light to
restore energy and give the required excitement.
The Germans directed their shells on the city
from the south, and continued their fire from
day to day with great severity. Their pro¬
jectiles fell in the quarters of Grenelle, Yau-
girard, and Montrouge, reaching even to the
gardens of the Luxembourg, killing and wound¬
ing men, women, and children, and striking alike
public buildings, private dwellings, and mili¬
tary hospitals. Some 40,000 deadly missiles were
hurled upon the forts alone before the general
bombardment commenced; but after the 5th of
January 10,000 shells on the average were daily
fired from the German batteries, of which 500 fell
within the city proper. The French, however,
replied with considerable effect, and caused much
damage to the enemy's batteries; many of their
naval guns being superior in weight to any that
the Germans could bring against them.
The bombardment has been described as " the
one mistake made by the Germans during the
war," and very probably it prolonged the de¬
fence of the city. That it was commenced
without the previous warning usually given by
civilized nations where the fate of non-com¬
batants is at stake, excited the just indignation
of the French government, as well as of the
various diplomatic agents within the city; and
this bitter feeling was intensified by the presumed
peculiar direction given to the Prussian fire. In
one night five shells struck the Hospital of the
Infant Jesus, where 600 sick children were do¬
miciled. On the night of the 8th, a poor woman
was slain in the Hospital de la Pitie; men were
killed and wounded in the Military Hospital of Val
de Grace; and five little children asleep in their
beds at the school of St. Nicholas fell victims to
a shell, which also wounded many others. Nor
was any respect shown by the besiegers to asso¬
ciations connected with scientific research. The
garden of Medical Botany, founded in 1626 by
Louis XIII., and associated with the greatest
names among the savants of the nation, was vig¬
orously assailed, and a greenhouse filled with
rare tropical plants was totally destroyed. These
occurrences roused the faltering spirits of the
people; and the government issued an indignant
protest, in which they deprecated the fact that
" Prussian shells had been wantonly launched
against hospitals, ambulances, churches, schools,
and prisons, and that the exigencies of war could
never be an excuse for the shelling of private
buildings, the massacre of peaceful citizens, and
the destruction of hospitals and asylums. The
government of National Defence, therefore," con¬
tinued the document, " protest loudly, in the face
of the whole world, against this useless act of
barbarism." Notwithstanding protests of this
nature, however, the bombardment continued
with great violence, and spread death and dismay
throughout the more exposed quarters of Paris.
Count von Moltke, in reply to the French com¬
plaints, said that the striking of hospitals and
ambulances was purely accidental, owing chiefly
to the long range and the fog. " When the
batteries are approached nearer the city," said
the general, " the gunners will be able to take
better aim."
During this time also, much internal uneasiness
prevailed in the capital. Rumours of treachery
and espionage were rife, and suspicion was openly
expressed against the households of those high
in position. The members of the government of
Defence had hitherto worked harmoniously; and
although the confidence of the populace in Gen¬
eral Trochu had at times wavered, it was not till
late in the history of the siege that there appeared
reason to believe the other members of the cabinet
doubted his ability to offer effective resistance to
the German army.
Beyond the bombardment, almost the only
movement among the opposing armies consisted
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
259
in casual engagements between outposts and
patrols. In some of these skirmishes, which
were secretly planned, the French obtained
slight advantages, taking and killing some of the
enemy. The range of the French operations em¬
braced demonstrations against the bloody ground
around Le Bourget and Mont Avron; and the
Saxons put out a feeler to test the capacities of
Fort Noisy, but only to discover the impossibility
of a successful assault. Thus while cold, hunger,
and death prevailed in the French capital, the
besiegers also were subjected to a heavy penalty,
and had to encounter much hardship and danger
as they closed their grip upon the city.
But there is perhaps nothing more remarkable
in the history of the war than the scene which
was witnessed in the palace of Versailles on the
18th of January. After having long lain in abey¬
ance, the title of Emperor of Germany was to be
restored to the Prussian king in the midst of an
enemy's country ! Could any event more forcibly
illustrate the astounding victories of the German
arms and the humiliation of their opponents?
The previous day witnessed a great " gathering
of the clans," and the ceremony of formally pro¬
claiming William Emperor was made the occasion
of a grand military display. The Galerie des
Glaces had been prepared, delegates from all the
regiments of the third army with their colours
had been summoned, the Bavarian regiments also
sending their colours. The flags were arranged
in a semicircle in the order in which their regi¬
ments lay before Paris, the place of honour being-
given to those of the landwehr guard, which,
placed in the centre on a raised platform, were
protected by the gardes du corps. An altar had-
been erected on the side of the gallery facing the
park, and here stood the army chaplains, con¬
spicuous among whom was the king's favourite
preacher, Chaplain Rugger. On the right of the
altar were ranged the military choristers and
musicians, to the left the delegates from the
various regiments, decorated with the Iron Cross.
At twelve o'clock the king arrived, followed by a
host of grand-dukes, princes, counts, and generals.
After prayers and a consecration sermon by
Rugger, the king from the steps of the altar
made a short speech, and commanded the chan¬
cellor to read aloud his address to the German
people, as follows:—
We, William, by God's grace king of Prussia,
hereby announce that, the German princes and
free towns having addressed to us a unanimous
call to renew and undertake with the re-establish¬
ment of the German empire the dignity of emperor,
which now for sixty years has been in abeyance,
and the requisite provisions having been inserted
in the constitution of the German Confederation,
we regard it as a duty we owe to the entire Father¬
land to comply with this call of the united Ger¬
man princes and free towns, and to accept the
dignity of emperor. Accordingly, we and our
successors to the crown of Prussia henceforth shall
use the imperial title in all our relations and affairs
of the German empire, and we hope to God that
it may be vouchsafed to the German nation to
lead the Fatherland on to a blessed future under
the auspices of its ancient splendour. We under¬
take the imperial dignity, conscious of the duty
to protect with German loyalty the rights of the
empire and its members, to preserve peace, to
maintain the independence of Germany, and to
strengthen the power of the people. We accept
it in the hope that it will be granted to the Ger¬
man people to enjoy in lasting peace the reward
of its arduous and heroic struggles, within boun¬
daries which will give to the Fatherland that
security against renewed French attacks which
it has lacked for centuries. May God grant to
us and our successors to the imperial crowm that
we may be the defenders of the German empire
at all times, not in martial conquests, but in works
of peace, in the sphere of national prosperity,
freedom, and civilisation."
Count von Bismarck read the proclamation, and
the grand-duke of Baden advancing, cried, " Es
lebe Seine Majestat der Deutsche Kaiser Wilhelm,
hoch!" The assembly cheered, and the German
princes did homage to their new suzerain. In
the evening a dinner was given to the emperor, to
which all the German princes were invited, and
at which Mr. Odo Russell represented England.
On the same day, at home in Prussia, Count
Itzenplitz had read the proclamation of the king
relative to the imperial dignity in both houses
of the Prussian Diet, when a call for cheers for
Germany's emperor, King William, was responded
to amidst great enthusiasm.
While these important historical events were tak¬
ing place at the German headquarters, the interior
of Paris was busied with preparations for a great
military movement—the last and most bloody
260
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
which took place under the walls of the capital.
It was felt that the time for the final great effort
had arrived. All promises of help from the pro¬
vinces had collapsed, and there was nothing for it
but that General Troehu should silence his detrac¬
tors, and play his last card by making a great sortie
on the besiegers' lines. All through the day
troops marched merrily along towards the western
gates of the city, singing the " Marseillaise" and
the " Chant du Départ." The populace assembled
in the principal thoroughfares to see them pass,
and great anxiety was shown by many of their
relatives. The troops consisted of regulars, mobile
guards, and mobilized national guards; and on the
night of the 18th they encamped without the
walls, behind Mont Valérien and in the Bois de
Boulogne, so that they were ready for action early
on the following morning. The plan of the sortie
had been carefully prepared by a council of war
under the presidency of the governor of Paris, the
base of operations being Mont Valérien. The
army of operation was composed of 100,000 men,
formed in three main columns, and supported by
300 guns. The movement was directed by General
Trochu in person, who had left General le Flô in
Paris as governor ad interim.
The column of the left, under the command of
General Yinoy, was ordered to carry the redoubt
at Montretout and the villas of Beam, Pozzo di
Borgo, Armagand, and Ermenonneuve; the centre,
under General Bellemare, was to proceed to the
east of the Bergerie. The column of the right,
commanded by General Ducrot, was to operate
against the west of the park of Busanval.
The line of front from Montretout to Ruel
extended, as will be seen by reference to the map,
about three English miles across. The task of
bringing together and handling a force so large,
and most of them novices, in such a narrow com¬
pass, was difficult and delicate; and their concen¬
tration was not effected without immense trouble.
The night was dark, and the morning of the 19th
enveloped in a curtain of thick fog.
The preparations, however, had been carried out
with great secrecy, and in the earlier period of the
action the Germans were taken completely by sur¬
prise. But the positions attacked had been selected
by the besiegers from the natural difficulties which
they presented to the enemy, and every accident
of the ground had been turned to profitable account.
There were a series of intrenchments and crenel¬
lated walls and barricades, in addition to a most
formidable abattis created by the felling of the
woods. The trees had been all made to fall with
their branches towards Paris, and the base of each
trunk served as a cover for a marksman to fire over
as his opponent was struggling to get at him.
Daybreak found each division of the French
troops under arms, but considerable delay occurred
through difficulties encountered by the right, under
General Ducrot. About ten a.m. General Vinoy
advanced against Montretout, defended by a single
company, before any general alarm had been raised
in the German camp. This division pushed on
from behind Mont Valérien by the road parallel to
the Seine, hidden for a space by the hillock of La
Fouilleuse. The column of assault consisted of
the zouaves, the 106th of the line, and several
battalions of the national guard. The French
rapidly swept into the village, and thence envelop¬
ing the earthwork rushed upon the little garrison.
The Germans fought stubbornly, and a bloody hand-
to-hand struggle ensued ; but they were speedily
overpowered by numbers. Those who were not
killed were taken prisoners. Following up their
success, Vinoy's army descended upon the village
of St. Cloud, which they quickly took, together
with many prisoners. The Germans then began
to fall back upon the woods, followed by a host of
skirmishers, who kept up a brisk fire, which made
much noise but did little damage, as the Prussians
took advantage of every object that offered cover.
Meantime General Bellemare, who commanded
the French centre, attacked the chateau of Busan¬
val and the height of La Bergerie. These posi¬
tions were held by a force far superior to that
•with which the French left had to contend. The
first obstacle met with was the farm of La Fouil¬
leuse, whence a withering fire of small-arms was
poured in upon'the French advance. Twice were
they driven back, but still persisting and trusting
to a rapid advance, they, at a third effort, carried
the farm with a rush and cheer. Still pressing
onwards with undaunted courage, another spirited
charge rendered them masters of that portion of
the German position which lies between La Fouil¬
leuse and St. Cloud. Having thus effected a junc¬
tion with the right of Vinoy's corps, and the right
of Bellemare's corps having captured the château
of Busanval and the heights of La Bergerie, they
were insensibly broken up into detached masses,
and the fight subsided into a number of isolated
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
261
combats, in which the French wasted much am¬
munition, and in return were shot down by the
Germans, who fired steadily and securely from the
cover of trenches and stone walls. The heavy
force thrown into the park of Busanval was per¬
mitted by the Prussians to approach within less
than 200 yards of a loopholed wall which they
held at the top of a slope, when presently a terrible
discharge of musketry from their infantry within
an incredibly short space of time covered the
ground with dead and wounded Frenchmen. As
the French troops were struggling in the forest,
General Yinoy had massed some regiments of
mobilized national guards to act as reserves, and
to support the attacking forces. The only Prus¬
sian shells thrown at this point during the day fell
among these guards ; and although some of them
had fought splendidly in the earlier part of the
engagement, these terrible missiles so scared them
that they broke and ran amidst the wildest con¬
fusion. In the garrison at La Bergerie were two
companies of the garde landwehr, who, when the
French advanced, lined the park walls of that
place, and held the whole column in check by
a murderous fire, which piled the front with dead.
Again and again the French tried to carry the
position, but failed. The Prussians fought till
mid-day, when a detachment of the fifth corps
came to their help, at the sight of whom the men
who were left gave a tremendous cheer ; but at
eleven o'clock the French, coming on in force
against Garches, once more occupied the heights
and carried the village.
The weak point of the attack, however, was the
French right under General Ducrot. This division
had received orders to march from St. Denis, a
distance of ten miles, during the night. The
route lay along a defective line of rail, and on a
road encumbered by a column of artillery which
had lost its way in the dark. The district, besides,
was swept by a Prussian battery at the Carrières
de St. Denis, which took the advancing troops in
flank. From these causes the march of the French
was greatly delayed, and their passage secured
only by a cuirassed locomotive mounting a couple
of guns, which General Trochu sent along the St.
Germains Railway to their assistance. Eventually
the troops under General Ducrot formed into line
of battle; but at the very outset his right, estab¬
lished at Rueil, was fiercely cannonaded by for¬
midable German batteries from the other side of
the Seine. His late arrival proved disastrous.
The Germans had taken the alarm; and although
the right rushed bravely on and stormed and
took Busanval, when they reached La Jonchere
and the Porte de Longboyau they encountered,
equally with the left and centre, a deadly
fire from behind loopholed walls and crenellated
houses, so that here too the bodies of the slain
were literally piled in heaps. Again and again
General Ducrot led his troops to the attack, and
at a fearful cost succeeded in taking La Jonchere;
but their utmost efforts failed to obtain the desired
object of forcing a way to Celle St. Cloud and
joining hands with General Bellemare to the south
of La Bergerie.
The tactics of the besiegers on the 19th January
were identical with those previously pursued; and
although, as has been stated, the Germans were
taken by surprise, the probability of attack had
been foreseen. A rumour to that effect, indeed,
had nearly a fortnight before reached General von
Blum en thai, who then made dispositions which
were nearly identical with those of the 19 th.
When the sortie was developed General Kirchbach
sent word to the emperor "not to be uneasy; he
could promise his Majesty the enemy should never
pass his lines." He kept his word ; but it proved
a hard task. A hotter fire was never perhaps
maintained than during part of the day.
The rush of the French at first carried the fore¬
most positions of the Germans; but the supports
were coming quickly from every quarter, and the
artillery poured in a fire of great precision, which
caused much havoc. The seventh grenadiers and
the forty-seventh battalion marched to Vaucresson,
formed for attack, and at twelve o'clock came down
on Garches with great impetuosity, driving out
the French, who still, however, hung about the
position till two o'clock. The fusilier battalion of
the seventh being ordered to attack and take the
place, made a grand advance, sustained by the
jagers and the rest of the fifty-ninth. Reserving
their fire till they were within 200 feet of the
French, they then literally destroyed them.
When the full force of the Prussian attack was
brought to bear, the effect was deadly. The Ger¬
mans made a fierce onslaught on the centre and
left of the French position, which caused them to fall
back ; but a little later they moved forward again,
and the summit of the plateau was once more recap¬
tured. As night set in, however, it was impossible
262
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
to bring up artillery to secure the position; and
tlie French troops, fatigued by twelve hours'
fighting, and by the marching on the preceding
nights, were ordered to retreat. Montretout,
however, the first position captured in the morn¬
ing, was the last to be retaken by the Germans,
who at half-past ten p.m. drove out the enemy by
a splendid dash ; but a French regiment of mobiles,
notwithstanding, actually held out in St. Cloud
until the following day. Even then they per¬
sistently refused to surrender; but at length such
a force of artillery was brought to bear on the
village from the heights above, that further resist¬
ance was seen to be useless. Of this regiment
only 300 remained to lay down their arms. The
Germans, profiting by this incident, at once com¬
pleted the destruction of the village of St. Cloud,
so that it could offer no further shelter to the
troops of the besieged.
During the progress of the sortie great anxiety
was felt in the French capital. Every available
point of observation was eagerly seized, and the
people waited in hope of favourable news. About
six o'clock in the evening a cheering bulletin was
issued by General Trocliu. But the arrival of
ambulances filled with wounded men told of ter¬
rible slaughter at the front ; and the truth became
partially known at half-past nine, when another
bulletin from General Trochu was issued, stating
that the enterprise so happily commenced had not
resulted so favourably as might have been hoped,
as the enemy, who had been surprised in the
morning, brought up towards the latter part of
the day immense masses of artillery, with infantry
of reserve.
On the morning of the 20th the presentiment
of coming evil was fully verified. The army had
retired within the line of forts, every house in
Neuilly and Courbevoie was full of troops, and
regiments were camping out in the fields, where
they had passed the night without tents. Many
of the men were so tired that they threw them¬
selves down with their muskets at their sides,
and fell asleep in the mud, which was almost
knee-deep. Bitter were the complaints of the com¬
missariat. Bread and eau de vie were at a high
premium. During the fight many of the men
had thrown away their knapsacks, with their
loaves strapped to them, which now became the
property of the Prussians. Some of the regiments,
chiefly those which had not been in the action,
kept well together; but a vast number of stragglers
were wandering about looking for their battalions
and their companies. About twelve o'clock it
became known that the troops were to re-enter
Paris, and that the battle was not to be renewed.
About one the march through the gate of Neuilly
commenced. Most of the onlookers appeared to
be in blank despair, so fully had they been im¬
pressed with the conviction that the great sortie
must end in a decisive victory. Their loss was
estimated at between 6000 and 7000 in killed and
wounded. General Trochu requested of the Ger¬
man commanders an armistice of a couple of days,
in which to collect the wounded and bury the
dead. The request was refused; but an interval
of a couple of hours was granted, during which
the artillery ceased, and the work of mercy was
heartily engaged in, while a large portion of the
dead which had been left within the Prussian lines
were buried by the German krankentragers.
On reviewing the results of the sortie, it would
seem that the concentration of a large army between
the forts and the enceinte of Paris demanded too
much time ; that the French troops were not
sufficiently organized for extensive manœuvres ;
and that the object of the action was not suffi¬
ciently important to warrant the sacrifices made.
The details of the affair and of the minor sallies
that preceded it show beyond doubt, that Trochu's
troops had attained just so much discipline as
enabled him to bring them out from cover under
fire, but that neither he nor his lieutenants could
get them to advance when the fire was fairly
opened on them. The strength of the German
intrenchments and the excellence of the German
batteries was indeed great; but no one can suppose
that, had the besiegers and besieged been com¬
pelled to change places for forty-eight hours, the
former, with their accumulated moral fighting
power to back them, would not have found a way
through the miles of circuit round their army.
Nor can it fail to be observed that on this occasion
the energy shown for a brief space, in the at¬
tempts of General Ducrot to seize the loops of the
Marne seven weeks before, was almost wholly
absent. The causes of this depression were the
ruin of the French. General Trochu, though
obeyed, did not lead to victory; and as he thus
failed to inspire his troops with confidence in his
generalship, Paris was doomed to the heavy fate
before her.
CHAPTER XXX.
Irritation against General Trochu—He is compelled to retire and is sncceeded by General Vinoy—Bad News from the Provinces—The
Government compelled to ration Bread—Revolutionary Rising on January 21—Liberation of Gustave Flourens from Prison—An Attack
on the Hotel de Ville completely frustrated, and several Insurgents killed and wounded in the Streets—Opening of new Siege Batteries
and Continuation of the Bombardment—Error as to the Amount of Food in the City—Interview between M. Jules Favre and Count von
Bismarck—Feeling in the City—The Capitulation and its Terms—Occupation of the Forts by the Germans—The Return of the French
Soldiers and Sailors into the City—Revictualling of Paris—Munificence of England—The Effect of the Capitulation at Bordeaux—
Magnificent Proclamation of M. Gambetta—He forbids the Election of Adherents of the Empire—Despatch from Count von Bismarck
on the Matter, and Reply of M. Gambetta—Action of the Paris Government and Resignation of M. Gambetta—Election of the National
Assembly and its Meeting at Bordeaux—Resignation of their Powers by the Government of National Defence—M. Thiers chosen as Chief
of the Executive Power—Declaration from the Departments to be annexed to Germany declaring their Unalterable Attachment to France
—Action of the Assembly thereupon—Negotiations for Peace at Versailles—The Great Struggle with regard to the Cession of Metz—
Peace at Last—Important Telegram to the Emperor of Russia announcing the Fact—The German Plan of Operations in case Peace had
not been concluded—Scenes in the National Assembly when the Terms were discussed—Large Majority in Favour of their Adoption—
Action of England with regard to the Reduction of the Indemnity—Letter from the King of Italy against the Hard Terms imposed on the
French—Occupation of Paris by the Germans—Last Telegram from the Emperor King—Reception of the News of the Conclusion of
Peace at Berlin.
The failure of the sortie of the 19th January-
produced a greater effect on Paris than any other
incident had caused since the beginning of the
siege, and excited violent public irritation against
General Trochu. Several members of the govern¬
ment resolved on appointing another military com¬
mander, and the mayors of Paris also called on
him to give in his resignation. His position had,
in fact, become untenable; but, according to his
own statement in his " Defence Speech" before
the National Assembly at Versailles, he deter¬
mined not to resign, believing that to do so would
be an act of cowardice ; and not until he was
actually compelled to do so by the government did
he retire. He, however, retained his post as presi¬
dent. His successor as commander-in-chief was
the old comrade of Lord Clyde, General Vinoy,
who had specially distinguished himself in the
Crimean War. He was very popular in the city
for having saved his division from the catastrophe
of Sedan, and brought it back to Paris.
But Paris had by this time two other great
causes of alarm. The utter defeat of Chanzy had
become known, and although fabulous reports of
the success of Bourbaki were current, he was a
very long way off; and then bread was getting
short. Some time previously the government
promised that it should not be rationed; but it
had been rationed, and the ration consisted of a
piece the size of a penny roll, made of rye, bran,
hay, and a very little wheat. Even this miserable
pittance was not always to be had, so that many
who went for rations had to return without any.
The thoughts of the Parisian populace, however,
pointed not to capitulation, but to revolution.
The wild spirits of Belleville thought the sure
way to save the capital was to turn out the gov¬
ernment, instal the Commune, and place all the
forces under some unknown young officer, whose
military aptitude might be doubtful, but who
could be trusted to show himself the reddest
of red republicans. Accordingly on Saturday,
January 21, a number of these agitators combin¬
ing went to the prison of Mazas, where M. Gustave
Flourens, a leader of the ultra-democratic faction,
had been confined since the former attempt, early
in November, to upset the government at the
Hotel de Ville. Five or six hundred men, armed
with Chassepots, among whom were many of the
mutinous battalion of national guards that M.
Flourens had commanded, arrived at the prison
about midnight, and, through the vacillation of
the superintendent, they were enabled to rush in
and liberate M. Flourens and five of his political
friends, whom they at once conducted in triumph,
with drums beating, to Belleville. Next day a party
of 200 or 300 insurgents, mostly wearing the
uniform of the national guard, proceeded to the
Hotel de Ville, shouting "Vive la Commune!"
and in the true spirit of cowards shot at two
officers who came out to speak to them. Upon
this the gardes mobiles in the building fired
steadily and deliberately from the windows at
the most active and forward of the assailants, who,
264
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
returning the fire as they fled, made oflf, some
taking refuge behind the lamp-posts, some crouch¬
ing or lying down behind the heaps of earth in
the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, others entering the
nearest houses and continuing to fire out of the
windows, or from their roofs and balconies. The
conflict lasted half an hour, when the insurgents,
who had collected in the Avenue Victoria, hoisted
a white handkerchief in token of submission.
About thirty of them were overtaken and arrested.
Nearly a hundred persons lay prostrate on the
ground; but when the firing ceased, many of them
who had escaped scatheless at once got up and
sneaked away. A dozen were severely wounded,
and five or six killed. On the following day the
clubs were extinguished in which certain ranters
had nightly spouted sedition; and the Combat and
the Reveil, the two newspapers which—the one
in the morning, the other in the evening—had
daily stirred up the people to rebellion, were
suppressed.
While these lamentable occurrences were taking
place inside the city, and Frenchmen were shed¬
ding the blood of their brethren, the bombard¬
ment was vigorously pressed by the Germans
outside. The siege batteries on the north, in the
construction of which little opposition had been
encountered, and which were armed with the
heavy artillery which had reduced Mézières, opened
fire on Saturday the 21st, after a summons to St.
Denis to surrender had been refused. They con¬
tinued to ply as vigorously as their companions
on the east, during the few remaining days of the
siege. The forts of La Briche, La Double Cour¬
onne, and De l'Est were, however, very strong,
and responded vigorously to the German attack.
The bombardment of the capital during the last
week of the siege presented, however, few points
of interest. The shells which fell within the
enceinte caused little loss of life, and still less
alarm. The citizens made up parties to watch
their descent on Auteuil and Vaugirard, and the
gamins applauded when an " obus" ever "and anon
splashed in the ice of the still half-frozen Seine.
General Vinoy's appointment as commander-in-
chief had been hailed as giving promise of renewed
efforts; but on Tuesday, January 24, it began to
be whispered about that an error of several days
had been made in the calculation of the period
that provisions would last, and that, between Paris
and actual starvation, there remained barely suffi¬
cient time to collect and bring in supplies of food.
That the government must therefore, and at once,
treat for terms of capitulation, was evident to all
who knew the facts of the case. The newspapers
had up to this time been silent on the subject, but
by degrees the truth percolated through the well
informed, and by the evening half Paris knew
that Jules Favre had actually left that morning
for Versailles to ask for terms. The news came
first as a great surprise, then as a great disappoint¬
ment, and lastly, as a considerable relief—except
in the tumultuous district of Belleville, where
some serious signs of insubordination were shown,
which were, however, instantly suppressed ; General
Vinoy having guaranteed to maintain order there at
all costs during the negotiations. Not only had
Chanzy's collapse become generally known in the
city, but also that Bourbaki had been defeated;
and as the last chances of Paris were thus ex¬
hausted, there was no reason for any longer holding
out. The government was, indeed, very much
blamed for allowing itself to be driven into a
corner by not having discovered sooner the actual
state of the provisions, and above all, for not
having replaced Trochu by Vinoy three months
earlier. But these censures apart, the idea of
capitulation was accepted as a melancholy necessity,
relieved greatly by the reflection that Paris had,
at least, made a splendid defence, and that it had
yielded, not to arms, but to hunger.
The negotiations between M. Favre and Count
von Bismarck were continued daily till the 28th,
when a general armistice for twenty-one days was
agreed on, and the bombardment of the city ceased
and was not afterwards renewed. The war may
thus be said to have lasted exactly half a year; for
on the very day six months that the Emperor
Napoleon left St. Cloud for Metz, the capitulation
was signed. With one exception, the terms of the
capitulation were comparatively light. The excep¬
tion was a fine of £8,000,000, which was levied
on the Parisians. The city itself was not to be
occupied, and even its name did not occur in the
articles of capitulation, which professed to treat
only of the surrender of the forts. The troops in
these were to be disarmed and confined in Paris;
but the national guard and one division of the
line, deputed to keep order in the city, were to
receive tabatières and muzzle-loaders in exchange
for Chassepots. No public property was - to be
removed, but all munitions of war were to come
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
265
into the possession of the captors. Tho general
armistice included the revictualling of the city,
and the convocation of a freely-elected Assembly
which should authorize either the conditions of
peace or the continuance of the war.
Thus the prize for which the German army had
watched and waited for more than four weary
months (the siege having lasted 131 days and the
bombardment twenty-three), was at length within
their grasp, and, as may be naturally supposed,
they lost no time in entering upon the possession
of the forts they had so hardly won. That of
Yalérien was the first occupied, and was visited by
the king of Prussia—now emperor of Germany—
on January 29. Altogether 602 field-pieces belong¬
ing to the army of Paris were handed over to the
Germans, and 1357 guns in perfect condition were
found in the forts.
In striking contrast to the exultation of the
Germans was the state of affairs in the city. On
the same day that Valérien was occupied, the
French troops who _had been camped outside
during the siege—mobiles, sailors, linesmen, and
franc-tireurs—came within the walls. They were
without their arms, dirty, tired, many of them so
ill that they could scarcely walk, and with that
dead, despairing look which the beaten soldier
always wears.
The most pressing matter after the capitula¬
tion was, of course, the revictualling of the city,
which was indeed within not many hours of
actual famine when the armistice was agreed to,
and neither any government nor any charitable
societies could, by the most strenuous efforts,
have prevented thousands of human beings dying
of hunger, had the siege continued another week.
On February 4 the supplies included a very
large quantity of provisions from England, under
the care of Colonel Stuart Wortley and Mr.
George Moore, which had been purchased with
subscriptions received by the Mansion Plouse
Committee, and consisted chiefly of concentrated
milk, cheese, bacon, biscuits, flour, Liebig's extract
of meat, and preserved soup. These supplies were
distributed among the twenty arrondissements of
the city, according to their respective population.
On the arrival of Colonel Stuart Wortley and Mr.
Moore, they were received by M. Jules Favre,
who, in the name of the people of Paris, expressed
his heartfelt thanks to them for the efforts made
in England to relieve the distress in the capital.
vol. n.
The English cabinet, on February 1, had also
placed all the stores of the administration at the
joint service of the French and German govern¬
ments for the purpose of revictualling the city;
and when the fact was announced in the House
of Commons, the general cheering which it elicited
showed the warm and universal approbation with
which it was received by thè representatives of
the people. Food to the value of £50,000 was
forwarded in the first government despatch. The
energy and zeal thus shown on all hands pre¬
vented any deaths occurring from actual starvation,
and in a few days there were supplies of every¬
thing in abundance.
The intelligence of the capitulation of Paris fell
upon Bordeaux like a peal of thunder. Tidings
of the negotiations arrived in the city from Eng¬
land, before M. Jules Favre's despatch could reach
the Delegate Government. M. Gambetta at first
refused to credit the report; and when the official
news was received, he published a magnificent
proclamation, which was really worthy of the
occasion. He assumed, indeed, with more of
French vanity than truth, that though, over¬
powered by famine, she had been compelled to
surrender her forts, " Paris remained still intact,
as a last homage which had been wrested by the
power of moral grandeur from the barbarians."
To the determination of Paris, and the value of
the delay her resistance had caused, he did ample
justice, but insisted eloquently on the misfortune
entailed on the eastern armies by the armistice
which M. Favre had negotiated without taking
counsel of the Bordeaux government, and with¬
out really understanding its drift. He, however,
accepted the armistice, and urged the duty of
turning it to account as a war measure. "Instead
of a reactionary and cowardly Assembly, of which
the foreigner dreams, let us summon a really
national and republican one, which desires peace,
if peace secures honour, rank, and integrity to
our country, but would also, be determined to
wage war and be ready for everything rather
than assist at the assassination of France. French¬
men ! let us think of our fathers who bequeathed
to us France, compact and indivisible. Let us
not alienate our inheritance into the hands of
barbarians. Who would sign it? Not you, Legiti¬
mists, who have so boldly fought beneath the
banners of the republic to defend the territory
of the ancient kingdom of France. Nor vou,
2 l
266
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
descendants of the citizens of 1789, whose master¬
piece it was to seal the old provinces into an indis¬
soluble union ; and it is not we, the working men
of the towns, whose intelligence and generous
patriotism have always been the representatives
of France in her strength and unity, as a people
initiating modern liberties; nor you, labouring
men of the country, who have never withheld
your blood in defence of the revolution to
which you owe your property in land and the
dignity of citizens. No ! not one Frenchman will
be found to sign this infamous pact. The foreigner
will be deceived. He will be compelled to relin¬
quish the idea of mutilating France, because we
are all inspired by the same love for our mother
country, and we are unmoved by defeats. We
shall again become strong, and we shall expel the
foreigner. To achieve this sacred object we must
devote our hearts, our wills, and our lives. We
must all rally round the republic, and above all
prove our calmness and firmness of soul. Let us
have neither passions nor weaknesses. Let us
simply swear, as free men, to defend before and
against everybody, France and the republic. To
arms! To arms! Long live France! Long live
the republic, one and indivisible!
« LEON GAMBETTA."
On the same day M. Gambetta issued a decree
forbidding the election to the Constituent As¬
sembly of any who had been councillors of state,
ministers, senators, members of departmental coun¬
cils-general, or government candidates for the Corps
Législatif under the empire.
A great meeting of the republican party was
held at Bordeaux in the evening, when resolu¬
tions were passed declaring that the capitulation
of Paris was not binding on the provinces, and
requesting M. Gambetta to become president of a
committee of public safety, to act independently
of the Paris government. This step he hesitated
to take; having received from the diplomatic
representatives of Austria, Spain, and Italy, who
were sojourning at Bordeaux, a communication
stating that they were accredited to the Paris
government, and that if he separated himself from
it they would leave. But fresh cause of irritation
was furnished by a telegraphic despatch to him
from Count von Bismarck, protesting against his
decree concerning the elections, as irreconcilable
with the freedom of choice stipulated by the
armistice. The decree was stigmatized as an
"arbitrary and oppressive" act of M. Gambetta
himself. This despatch he immediately published,
with an indignant comment, exposing the " inso¬
lent pretension " of Prussia to interfere with the
constitution of a French Assembly; and declaring
that its object was to obtain the support of " ac¬
complices and flatterers of the fallen dynasty and
allies of Count von Bismarck." The Paris govern¬
ment, however, met the remonstrance in a very
différent spirit. M. Jules Favre, in replying to it,
assured Count von Bismarck that, as the country
wished free election, there should be no restriction
upon the right of voting, and promised that the
decree of M. Gambetta should be rescinded ; though,
with the ingrained intolerance of French politicians,
this was afterwards qualified by withholding from
members of the families who had reigned over
France the right to a seat in the Assembly.
To prevent any confusion which might arise
from M. Gambetta's decree, the elections were ad¬
journed from Sunday to Wednesday; and M. Jules
Simon, a member of the Paris government, was sent
to Bordeaux with instructions for their manage¬
ment. These were rejected by M. Gambetta and
his colleagues, who published a note in the Moni¬
teur, stating that they felt it their duty to maintain
their own decree, for the sake of the national
interest and honour, despite " the interference of
Bismarck in the internal affairs of France." The
Paris government then resolved to put an end to
the authority of the delegation government in the
provinces; but to avoid further complication M.
Gambetta resigned on the 8th of February, and
along with his resignation sent to the prefects a
despatch characterized by extreme moderation and
good sense, recommending them not to resign,
but to carry out the elections of February 8, a
course by which they would " render to the
republic a supreme service."
The elections, considering the state of the
country, were conducted with facility and good
order not a little remarkable, and an Assembly
was returned which was Conservative, Orleanist,
Legitimist, Republican, or anything but Imperialist.
In Paris the extreme Radicals, to the surprise of
every one, gained the day ; but this was partly
explained by the fact that the more moderate
Parisians had abstained from voting, and by the
exodus of 140,000 whose means had allowed
them to quit the city. The candidate chosen
'
« ' ;
T m BEI
*f • ; Al V! f . 10*00», f 3-lliBUP&»« »
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
267
by the largest number of constituencies was M.
Thiers, who was elected in no fewer than eighteen
departments.
The National Assembly met at Bordeaux for
a preliminary sitting on the 12th of February,
and immediately constituted itself, although its
members were not nearly all present. On the
following day it held its first public sitting, when
M. Jules Favre, in the name of his colleagues
both at Bordeaux and Paris, resigned their powers
as the government for National Defence into the
hands of the representatives. He said—" We
have borne the burden of government, but we
have no other desire, under existing circum¬
stances, than to be able to place our temporary
plans in the hands of the National Assembly.
Thanks to your patriotism and reunion, we hope
that the country, having been taught by mis¬
fortune, will know how to heal her wounds and
to reconstitute the national existence. We no
longer hold any power. We depend entirely
upon your decision. We confidently expect the
constitution of the new and legitimate powers."
M. Favre then announced that he and his col¬
leagues would remain at their post, to maintain
respect for the laws, until the establishment of the
new government.
On the 16th the Assembly, by an immense
majority, elected as its president M. Grèvy, a
moderate republican of long experience in public
life. Next day it proceeded to the most im¬
portant duty which it had to perform prior to
the negotiations for peace, and chose M. Thiers
chief of the executive power, who the same even¬
ing received the congratulations of the ministers
of England, Austria, and Italy, and was immedi¬
ately called to enter upon the duties of his office.
At the sitting of the Assembly the next day
(February 18), M. Keller, a deputy, laid on the
table a declaration, signed by the deputies of the
Lower and Upper Rhine, Meurthe, and Moselle
departments, in which lay the territories under¬
stood to be required by Germany. The declaration
expressed in the strongest terms the unalterable
attachment of these departments to France, and
earnestly entreated the Assembly not to abandon
them to the enemy. The document was very well
framed, and the pathetic spirit which it breathed
must have gone to the hearts of many who heard
it. In reality, however, it virtually called on the
Assembly to abide by the famous declaration that
" France would never cede an inch of her soil or
a stone of her fortresses and that, of course, was
now impossible. There was immense republican
applause when the declaration was read, and M.
Rochefort demanded that it should be immediately
referred to the bureaux, so that the Assembly
might give to the negotiators of peace either im¬
perative orders not to agree to the cession, or full
freedom. M. Thiers, instead of proposing delay,
boldly and unexpectedly supported the motion, as
he evidently saw that its presentation furnished
an opportunity of making the Assembly itself a
party to the retraction of the vow that no terri¬
tory should be ceded. He said, from the bottom
of his heart he fully shared M. Keller's feelings,
and urged that, after so affecting and grave a
document had been read, the Assembly, without
loss of a moment, must in honour deal with it,
and order its bureaux to report instantly on the
proper answer to give to it. In two hours the
Assembly received and adopted a report to the
effect, that the petition of Alsace and Lorraine
must be referred to the negotiators to deal with
as they thought best. Thus quietly and unmis¬
takably, though indirectly, the negotiators were
empowered to make a cession of territory the basis
of negotiation. In times of sudden and rapid
change a whole, line of policy is often abandoned,
simply because at a particular moment it ceases
to be insisted on. The policy of carrying on
the war à outrance was tested and abandoned, with¬
out one word being said about it when the report
of the bureaux was received by the Assembly.
No voice was lifted up to propose that Alsace
and Lorraine must remain French at all hazards.
At the same sitting M. Jules Favre astutely
proposed that the government should be supported
in its negotiation by a committee of fifteen mem¬
bers of the Assembly, who should be in constant
communication with the actual negotiators, and
would, of course, be pledged to support the treaty
of peace when finally referred to the Assembly for
ratification. The precaution was not unnecessary,
as it was possible that very severe terms of peace
might cause in the Bordeaux Assembly some
sudden revulsion of feeling against the negotia¬
tors. But twenty men of great influence, all sup¬
porting each other, would be more than likely to
prevent such a turn of the tide.
M. Thiers arrived at Versailles early on Tuesday,
February 21, and spent the whole day in conference
268
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
with Count von Bismarck. He fought gallantly to
the last, but could not, of course, either by argu¬
ment or entreaty shake the fixed resolution of the
Germans, which imposed conditions more onerous
than France had been prepared to expect. The
indemnity which the Germans demanded was
resisted as one without precedent in history, the
very attempt to comply with which would derange
the finances of the entire world. France had been
weighed down with German requisitions for seven
months ; Paris had just paid a war contribution
of £8,000,000 sterling, and had, besides, her own
war debt to provide for. The interest of the loan
that would be necessary to provide such an in¬
demnity as that demanded would utterly crush the
great body of the tax-payers of the country, make
their position intolerable, and lead them to prefer
war at any risk to life under such burdens. The
imperial chancellor was, however, inexorable.
France had caused the expenditure incurred by
the Germans, and she must defray it. In the end,
M. Thiers consented that France should bind her¬
self to furnish the sum named.
The territorial surrender gave more trouble. It
was known that Alsace, with Strassburg, must be
sacrificed, but it was hoped, even against hope,
that Metz might be saved to France; and M.
Thiers exerted his utmost efforts to retain it, even
though it should be without fortifications if neces¬
sary. Count von Bismarck urged that the Germans
must have Metz as a security against invasion. M.
Thiers pleaded the nationality of the inhabitants;
but he was reminded that those among them who
did not like to become Germans had been promised
ample time in which to wind up their affairs, sell
their property, and retire to France. So strongly
did M. Thiers feel on this point, that at one time
he seemed determined to withdraw rather than incur
the responsibility of ceding it; and he personally
waited on the emperor and the imperial prince of
Germany to lay his appeal with regard to it before
them. Those august personages received him with
politeness, but finally remitted him again to Count
von Bismarck. At last, after eight hours and a
half of discussion on Friday, five hours and a half
on Saturday, and five hours on Sunday, the name
of M. Thiers was affixed to the treaty of peace on
February 26. All that time had to be added to the
hours spent in previous conversation, negotiation,
and exposition, which, as we have said, M. Thiers
managed with consummate ability and address, but
without material result. At the close of the last
day's interview there was a stormy scene. Count
von Bismarck, who was not very well at this time,
became impatient of delay, and insisted on the
signature of the treaty on the close of the discus¬
sion, which would be the signal for the German
troops recommencing the war. M. Thiers was
consequently obliged to sign. When all was over
the emperor sent for the Crown Prince, and the
father and son, tenderly embracing, wept for joy
and thankfulness. The gratifying news was imme¬
diately telegraphed to the empress, at Berlin; to
the emperor of Russia, and to the king of Bavaria.
The telegram to the emperor of Russia concluded
as follows, and excited considerable interest at
the time:—"We have thus arrived at the end of
the glorious and bloody war which has been forced
upon us by the frivolity of the French. Prussia
will never forget that she owes it to you that the
war did not enter upon extreme dimensions. May
God bless you for it!—Yours till death,
" WILLIAM."
The threat of Count von Bismarck, that the
German armies would immediately resume offen¬
sive operations in case the treaty was not agreed
to, was not a mere formal one, for during the
whole period of the armistice the Germans were
as active as if war was inevitable; and those mili¬
tary men who were in the secret spoke with the
utmost enthusiasm of the grand plan of attack on
all the French positions which General von Moltke
had prepared for the opening of hostilities, if
necessary. In two days the Germans would have
been engaged in sweeping away the levies which
had been collected to oppose them at every point
where they stood in force; and an advance on five
great fronts, converging at certain points, would
have led to the most complete discomfiture yet
seen of the armies of France. The country would,
in fact, have been overrun from the Mediterranean
to the Pyrenees, and the disasters of January
repeated on a larger scale.
M. Thiers arrived at Bordeaux on February 28,
when a sitting of the Assembly was at once held,
at which, in the midst of the most profound
silence, he rose and said: "We have accepted a
painful mission; and after having used all possible
endeavours we come with regret to submit for your
approval a bill for which we ask urgency. ' Art.
1. The National Assembly, forced by necessity,
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
2G9
and not being therefore responsible, adopts the
preliminaries of peace signed at Versailles on the
26th February.' "
At this point M. Thiers, overpowered by his
feelings, was obliged to leave the hall. His old
friend, M. Barthélémy St. Hilaire, therefore con¬
tinued to read the preliminaries :—
" 1. France renounces in favour of the German
empire the following rights:—The fifth part of
Lorraine, including Metz and Thionville ; and
Alsace, less Belfort.
"2. France will pay the sum of five milliards
of francs, of which one milliard is to be paid in
1871, and the remaining four milliards by instal¬
ments extending over three years.
"3. The German troops will begin to evacuate
the French territory so soon as the treaty is rati¬
fied. They will then evacuate the interior of Paris,
and some departments lying in the western region.
The evacuation of the other departments will take
place gradually, after payment of the first milliard,
and proportionally to the payment of the other
four milliards. Interest at the rate of 5 per cent,
will be paid on the amount remaining due from
the date of the ratification of the treaty.
"4. The German troops will not levy any
requisitions in the departments occupied by them,
but will be maintained at the cost of France.
"5. A delay will be granted to the inhabitants
of the territories annexed to choose between the
two nationalities.
" 6. Prisoners of war will be immediately set at
liberty.
" 7. Negotiations for a definitive treaty of peace
will be opened at Brussels after the ratification of
the treaty.
" 8. The administration of the departments
occupied by the German troops will be intrusted
to French officials, but under the control of the
chiefs of the German corps of occupation.
" 9. The present treaty confers upon the Ger¬
mans no rights whatever in the portion of territory
not occupied.
" 10. The treaty will have to be ratified by the
National Assembly of France."
The government asked the Assembly to declare
the urgency of the discussion of the treaty, and
M. Thiers made a touching and passionate appeal
to its patriotism, in the painful situation in which
the country was placed.
Several deputies for Paris, supported by M.
Gambetta, proposed motions in favour of delay, on
which M. Thiers said: "We, like you, are the
victims of a state of things which we have not
created, but must submit to. We entreat you not
to lose a moment. I implore you to lose no time.
In doing so you may perhaps spare Paris a great
grief. I have engaged my responsibility, my col¬
leagues have engaged theirs, you must engage
yours. There must be no abstention from voting.
We must all take our share in the responsibility."
M. Thiers concluded by expressing the wish that
the committee would meet that evening at nine
o'clock, and that a public sitting of the Assembly
would be held next day at noon, which accord¬
ingly took place. At this sitting M. Victor
Lefranc read the report of the committee on the
preliminaries of peace, which recommended their
immediate acceptance by the Assembly, as their
refusal would involve the occupation of Paris, the
invasion of the whole of France, and occasion
terrible calamities. The committee earnestly urged
the meeting not to take a step fraught with such
consequences, and expressed confidence that no
member would, in the circumstances, fail of his
duty. The Assembly was much agitated. M.
Edgar Quinet protested strongly against the accep¬
tance of the preliminaries, which would, he said,
destroy the present and future of France. M.
Bamberger, a deputy from the department of the
Moselle, followed in the same course; and con¬
cluded by condemning Napoleon III., saying he
was the person who ought to be compelled to sign
the treaty. When M. Conti, the late chief of the
emperor's cabinet, rose and attempted to justify the
empire, the Assembly almost unanimously (there
being only five dissentients) voted by acclama¬
tion a resolution confirming the fall of the empire,
and stigmatizing Napoleon III. as responsible for
the heavy misfortunes of France. M. Louis Blanc
spoke against ratifying the preliminaries of peace,
believing it possible to continue the struggle by
substituting partizan warfare for hostilities on a
large scale. He also made an appeal to Europe,
declaring that if she did not arrest the arms of
Prussia, she would sign her own death-warrant.
M. Victor Hugo made a most impressive speech
on the same side; but the bill for ratifying the
preliminaries was carried by 546 against 107—a
majority of fully five to one.
After the vote, M. Keller, in name of the
deputies for Alsace, the Meuse, and the Moselle,
270
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
renewed the protest proclaiming the cession of
territory to be null and void, and declaring that,
one and all, they reserved to themselves the right
of claiming to be united with France, which would
always keep a place in their hearts. M. Keller
further stated that, in the circumstances created by
the vote, they could no longer retain their seats
in the Assembly, as they could not represent a
country ceded to the enemy.
Thus peace came at last, and France, burning
with shame and heartbroken by sufferings, showed
by the votes of her representatives that she was
glad to have got it on any terms. In fact, her
only choice lay between the acceptance of peace
on the terms offered and ruin. However dearly
the purchase had been made, it would buy the
invaders out of the country. To Frenchmen the
terms must, of course, have seemed oppressive, and
what a pang must have shot through the hearts
of all the deputies when, after the vote of ratifica¬
tion, the representatives of Alsace and German
Lorraine bade their brethren farewell, on the
ground that, the departments from which they
came having ceased to be French, they could no
longer sit in the Assembly !
The negotiations for peace were throughout
carried on entirely between the principals, and the
intervention of neutrals was avowedly discarded.
The only approach to it was on the part of Eng¬
land. M. Thiers had seen fit to communicate the
most important article of the conditions, that
relating to the cession of territory, to no one,
not even to M. Jules Favre. He took the entire
responsibility of dealing with Count von Bismarck
on that head, and England had therefore no room
to say a word in the matter. But M. Thiers
having informed the new French ambassador to
England (the duke of Broglie) that the indemnity
was fixed at six milliards, and that this was more
than France could pay, he called on Lord Granville
on the morning of February 24, and asked him
to interfere in order to obtain a reduction. Lord
Granville immediately presented him to the queen,
a cabinet council was held, and in the evening his
lordship telegraphed to Mr. Odo Russell, stating
that England advocated a reduction of the amount
demanded. By the time that Mr. Russell received
the telegram the demand had been reduced by
£40,000,000 sterling, and to this final arrange¬
ment M. Thiers agreed. Lord Granville had,
however, sent early in the day through Count
Bernstorff to Count von Bismarck a telegram of
O
the same import as that which had been forwarded
to Mr. Odo Russell; and Mr. Russell, in his reply,
expressed a hope that this telegram might have had
something to do with the reduction in the amount
of the indemnity. Lord Granville stated to the
French ambassador, that he thought the confining
of the negotiation to the representatives of the
belligerents was the wisest and best course, and
the most likely to be beneficial to France; and the
French ambassador had nothing to do but to assent
to it, as it had been adopted by the head of his
government. The king of Italy wrote to the
German emperor, expressing his surprise and
disappointment at the hard terms exacted from
the French, especially with regard to the cession
of territory; but hard as they were, there is no
reason to suppose that the active intervention of
neutrals would have led to their modification,
while it would almost certainly have issued in a
rupture of the negotiations, and in a renewal of
the war.
One of the conditions on which the armistice
was renewed at Versailles was, that 30,000 Ger¬
man troops should enter Paris and occupy the
Champs Elysées and the Place de la Concorde.
Such triumphs have been the reward of victory
ever since war began, and will probably be
claimed so long as it exists. In the present in¬
stance the feeling amongst the Germans on the
subject, officers as well as men, was so strong, that
even Count von Bismarck would scarcely have
dared to refuse them the gratification, and such
a refusal on the part of the new emperor would
have made him unpopular where he most desired
to be venerated. The feeling was also unquestion¬
ably strengthened by the arrogant tone in which
the Parisian press spoke of the victorious army
while under the walls of the city. " The German
hordes," they said, " had not ventured to pollute
Paris with their presence, so imposing was the
Holy City even in her great distress." Such
sayings were pleasing to the Parisian public, and,
not without success, they tried to believe them. It
was pleasant to think that the " barbarians," like
that awe-stricken slave who dared not slay Caius
Marius, seized with respect on the threshold of
Paris, would not presume to enter. It was pleasant
to read and to write to that effect, but certainly
not very prudent as regarded the conquerors, by
whom it was felt that the actual occupation of the
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
271
city would be the most effectual means of putting
an end to these vain and boastful exaggerations.
It was a curious proof of the ascendancy which
Paris exercised over French feeling, as well as
imagination, that all Frenchmen seemed to regard
this occupation in the light of an inexpiable insult
—though they have entered every capital in
Europe except London. The Prussian Moniteur
Officiel at Versailles sarcastically published the
description of Napoleon's triumphal entry into
Berlin in 1806, after the battle of Jena, from the
" History of the Consulate and the Empire," by
M. Thiers. Yet M. Thiers himself was on the
present occasion very much affected by the occu¬
pation; and General Trochu, a moderate man if
ever one existed, was driven by grief and irritation
into writing a silly letter, advising the Parisians
to close their gates and let them be blown open
by German cannon—in other words, to risk an
absolutely purposeless massacre.
When the determination of the Germans became
positively known on Monday, February 27, the
agitation in the city was indescribable. Groups
of excited civilians assembled on the boulevards,
vociferating for guerre à outrance, and several
companies of the national guard declared their
intention of opposing the Prussian entrance. A
proclamation issued by MM. Thiers, Favre, and
Picard, stating that they had done all in their
power to secure good terms, somewhat calmed the
excitement, and the more moderate admitted that
it was absolutely necessary to conclude peace.
Even the temperate Journal des Débats, however,
said, " Our conquerors have used their victory
cruelly; their demands, financial and territorial,
have been such that in the conferences with M.
Bismarck our negotiators, M. Thiers and M. Jules
Favre, have several times been on the point of
breaking off, even at the risk of seeing the war
recommence. The commission of the National
Assembly partook of the emotion of the negotiators
when the conditions were communicated to them.
It is death at heart and the having nothing more
to hope, except in the justice of God, that have
forced them to submit to the frightful yoke of
necessity." Patience and abstention from all
attempt at disorder were, however, advocated on
all hands, and even the radical journals exhorted
the people to be calm. On Tuesday, General
Vinoy issued an order of the day condemning the
disorderly conduct of the national guard, who had
beaten the rappel the previous evening. M. Picard
also published a manifesto declaring that Belfort
had been saved by giving way to the entry,
reminding the population that the safety of Paris,
and indeed the whole of France, was now in their
hands, and imploring them to remain calm, united,
and dignified in their misfortune. Still consider¬
able agitation prevailed. Many of the Belleville
and La Yillette Reds loudly proclaimed their
dissatisfaction at the treaty, and vented their
indignation by tearing down the ministerial procla¬
mations. A large meeting of national guards was
also held, at which it was decided that the entry
of the Germans should be energetically resisted,
and that the Hotel de Ville should be attacked.
Accordingly, on Tuesday morning an attempt was
made to seize that building; but the government
was prepared, and the rioters had to beat a retreat.
They then went to the Place de la Bastille, and
established a formidable park of artillery. The
enceinte at Belleville and Montmartre had also
been refortified, and sentries were placed on the
ramparts. The Vengeur, however, a journal of
the most ultra opinions, published an article
strongly protesting against any resistance being
offered to the entrance of the enemy.
The " occupation" commenced on Wednesday,
March 1, when the German legions made their
entry along the broad Avenue de la Grande
Armée; and skirted or passed beneath the lofty
Arc de Triomphe, inscribed from summit to base
with the names of victories gained by the French
over their present conquerors and others. For
two days the Champs Elysées and the Place de la
Concorde were German military parade-grounds
and camps. Martial music resounded from morn
till night, generals caroused in the palaces of the
Elysée and of Queen Christine of Spain, hussars
stalled their horses in the Palais de l'Industrie,
artillery kindled their bivouac fires around the
Arc de l'Etoile, cavalry paraded the Cours la
Reine, infantry manoeuvred in the side walks of
the Champs Elysées, and uhlans slept by moon¬
light beside their horses under the trees. On
Wednesday, when the troops entered, the Parisians
looked angry and reserved, and the Prussian
quarter, as it was styled, was far from thronged;
but by the afternoon of the following day the
Champs Elysées presented the aspect of a fair.
The assemblage, of course, consisted chiefly of the
lowest classes, but amongst them were also some
272
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
well dressed persons, who had come out to listen
to the music and to take a look at those " Goths
and Vandals" of whom they had heard so much.
Owing to the quarter where the German troops
were installed being inclosed by barricades at all
its principal entrances, and to the subordinate
thoroughfares being strictly guarded by both
French and German sentinels, the most complete
order was observed. Neither French soldier nor
national guard was permitted there in uniform;
sections of the mob were at times unruly and
more or less insulting towards their conquerors,
whose admirable forbearance, however, prevented
any outbreak. The greatest humiliation they
inflicted on the Parisians was performing martial
airs, long after sunset on the Thursday, under the
Arc de Triomphe, that cherished souvenir of
French military renown. All the shops in the
city were closed, as were all the cafés and restaur¬
ants; no papers were published; every blind was
drawn down; the city was sad and solemn, even
in those remote districts where no Prussians were;
so that this seclusion was no parade of tribulation
before the enemy, but was the real expression of
the national sorrow. Nothing, in fact, could be
more dignified or becoming than the bearing of
the people in general. There can, however, be
no doubt that the main reason why the occupa¬
tion passed off so quietly was, that two days had
been allowed to elapse between the time when it
was known that it was to take place, and that of
its actual occurrence. In those two days the
excited population had time to calm down, and
to calculate all the consequences of offering
violence to an enemy within the gates, and while
every gun of the forts pointed towards the city.
Throughout the whole of the occupation the
Germans behaved in a manner worthy of them¬
selves and of their country. The Bavarians, who
had suffered so severely and fought so gallantly
in the war, were assigned a place of especial
honour ; and portions of the Prussian corps
who had done most hard work were allowed
the honour of entering the city. But there
was no air of triumph or parade. It was looked
on as a mere military operation which had to
be got through in a business-like, unpretending
way. Neither the Emperor William nor his son
entered the city. Count von Bismarck rode
up to witness the scene as the Prussian regi¬
ments passed in; but he turned his horse's head
and did not enter. The soldiers were good-
humoured and grave, and impassive to the petty
insults of the mob that stared at them ; and
nowhere did the army of occupation or its leaders
exhibit any of that flaunting arrogance with which
the first Napoleon and his marshals and soldiers
used to ride through the cities they had captured.
As early as six o'clock on Thursday morning
M. Jules Favre went to Versailles with the news
of the vote at Bordeaux, ratifying the treaty of
peace, and demanding the immediate evacuation of
Paris. This was refused until the French foreign
minister could show official documents. This
difficulty, however, had been foreseen, and a
special messenger was despatched from Bordeaux
with an official account of the sitting in the
chamber as soon as the vote had taken place. At
eleven a.m. the courier reached Paris, and at once
started for Versailles. Arrangements were then
entered into between the French and Prussian
generals for the immediate evacuation of the city,
which was commenced on Friday at an early hour,
and terminated about noon. The exit of the
Germans was even more imposing than their
entry. The road under the Arc de Triomphe,
which had been purposely blocked up by the
Parisians before the entry, was carefully levelled,
and regiment after regiment passed through,
cheering as they marked the names of the vari¬
ous German towns once conquered by that great
enemy of their ancestors, Napoleon I.
On the previous day (Thursday, March 2), the
emperor king sent the following characteristic
telegram to his queen at Berlin :—" I have just
ratified the conclusion of peace, it having been
accepted yesterday by the National Assembly in
Bordeaux. Thus far is the great work complete,
which through seven months' victorious battles
has been achieved, thanks to the valour, devotion,
and endurance of our incomparable army in all
its parts, and the willing sacrifices of the whole
Fatherland. The Lord of Hosts has everywhere
visibly blessed our enterprizes, and therefore, by
his mercy, has permitted this honourable peace
to be achieved. To him be the honour ; to the
army and the Fatherland I render thanks from a
heart deeply moved."
This telegram was publicly read at Berlin on
Friday amid salvos of artillery and peals from the
church bells, and the city was brilliantly illu¬
minated at night in honour of the peace.
CHAPTER XXXI.
Naval Operations—Projected Sea and Land Attack on Germany—Danish Feeling in favour of France—Total want of Preparation in the French
Navy as well as in the Army—Part of the intended Fleet only despatched—Conflicting and Absurd Orders to the Admiral—Precautions
taken by the Germans to prevent a Landing on their Coast—The Blockade of their Ports more Nominal than Heal—Discouragement in the
French Fleet and Return Home—Final Résumé of the Events of the War—Contrast in the Preparation for War in France and Germany—
The Reports of Baron Stoffel to the French Government on the German Military System—The hopelessness of the Struggle in France after
the Collapse of her Regular Army—Military Opinion of the Siege of Paris and its Bombardment—Conduct of the Germans in France—
Chronological List of the German Victories—The Spoils of the War and the Extraordinary Number of French Prisoners—Total Losses on
both Sides—Territorial Alterations made by the War—Prince Bismarck's Reasons for Annexation—The Military Positions of France and
Germany entirely reversed—Official Publications issued after the War—The True History of the Secret Treaty contemplating the Annexa¬
tion of Belgium by France—The Mission of M. Thiers and the Influence of M. Gambetta—English Benevolent Operations during the War.
naval operations of the war.
From a statement on the subject in Chapters IY.
and Y., it will be seen that the naval strength of
Prussia was in power and extent only about one-
third of that of France, which had, in fact, a mari¬
time armament only second to that of England.
With such a preponderance of ships and guns, it
was natural that France should at the outset count
upon achievements at sea even more completely
triumphant than the victories anticipated with such
certainty on land. Unfortunately for her, what¬
ever has been said of want of preparation and of
blundering with respect to the army, applies equally
to the navy, though in the case of the latter it
was not attended with such disastrous results. The
plan of attack meditated by France when war was
declared included a joint advance by the army
into Germany, by both its western and northern
frontier. The main advance was of course entirely
by land; but a large force was at the same time
to be conveyed by ships of war to the Baltic coasts,
and by an invasion of Hanover and Holstein to
embarrass the Germans with an attack in rear. An
air of feasibility was given to the scheme by the
popular feeling in Denmark, which was at first so
extremely warlike and anti-German, that it was
thought probable the Danes would seize the oppor¬
tunity of rising, and, by joining the French side,
endeavour to pay off the scores of 1864. A sub¬
scription for the French wounded was set on foot
in Denmark, and speedily reached the sum of
80,000 francs, while one opened for the Germans
only amounted to 1800 francs in the same time.
The Danish press vehemently advocated war and
revenge on the Germans, and stated that the ap¬
pearance of a French fleet in the Baltic would
VOL. II.
command a ready ally. As Denmark could have
at once assembled 40,000 men, to co-operate with
the proposed 30,000 from France, Prussia would
have been menaced in the north by an army of
70,000, which would have compelled her to con¬
centrate 200,000 men in that part alone, besides
the garrisons of the different towns, which could
not be withdrawn with an enemy threatening her
coasts.
After war was declared several days of uncer¬
tainty passed respecting the appointment to the
command of the important Baltic expedition, when
on the 22nd of July Vice-admiral Count Bouet-
Villaumez was suddenly informed of his nomina¬
tion to this duty by the emperor. The fleet was
to consist of fourteen ironclads, a large number of
corvettes, and other vessels necessary for the expe¬
dition. A second fleet, commanded by Vice-ad¬
miral La Roncière le Noury, was to follow shortly,
made up of gunboats, floating batteries, and large
transport steamers, with the 30,000 troops on
board, under General Bourbaki. Cherbourg, how¬
ever, had been stripped to foster Brest and
Toulon, till there were neither fire-arms, victuals,
nor sailors, and the fleet at last consisted of only
seven ironclads and one corvette. Especially was
it without the American ram the Rocliambeau, the
only vessel capable of encountering the King Wil¬
liam, but so disliked by the French builders as an
American vessel, that they had hidden her up under
pretence of repairs. The admiral, however, con¬
sidered he could at least neutralize the great Prus¬
sian ship, by smashing in its iron sides with the
ram of his flagship the Surveillante; and thus elate
with hope, and determined to make the best of the
first instalment of his promised fleet, Villaumcz set
sail on the 24th July, all his fears allayed by a
2 M
274
THE FRAN CO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
ministerial despatch promising that more vessels
should speedily follow in his wake.
The admiral's orders were to direct his first
operations against Jahde, near which he hoped to
surprise the Prussian admiral, Prince Adalbert, in
the open sea and compel him to fight. The
prince, however, was not to be found; and find¬
ing his fleet was insufficiently supplied with coal,
Villaumez was obliged to make for a port in
Denmark. Here he received a verbal order from
the French minister to sail for the Baltic. As
this, however, was at variance with his first and
more definite instructions, a telegram was sent for
fresh orders, which had scarcely gone when a
despatch from Paris arrived advising him to choose
" some point of observation," whence, while re¬
specting Danish neutrality, he could still watch
the enemy's shores and supply his ships with
everything they needed. The necessity was at
the same time impressed strongly upon him, of
leaving a powerful force at Jahde to take note
of the enemy's movements.
Here was a fair specimen of orders, counter
orders, and messages without aim or purpose.
Where should this point of observation be? In
the North Sea or the Baltic? But how was it
possible to watch the Hanoverian coast from the
Baltic, or to exert any influence at the North Sea
upon what was going on along the Pomeranian
shores? Could this double task be accomplished
with seven ships? A German philosopher long
since reproached the French with total ignorance
of geography; and whether the taunt was just or
not, it is certain that a more insane contempt was
never shown for it than when Admiral Villaumez'
fleet was sent, entirely unprovided with maps, to
cruise about the Danish coast. The intricate straits
through which the Baltic is reached are difficult
enough to navigate in fair weather; but for ships
of the heavy draught of French ironclads, with
stormy seas, and no maps, it would be a miracle if
they escaped the fate of the armada. It would
seem as if the ministry of Marine at Paris had been
equally ignorant of geography, for on no other
supposition can the despatches to the admiral be
explained. A glance at the map would have shown
that from Jahde to Kiel was a distance of 900 miles,
and as it was difficult to see how seven ships could
prove an effectual patrol over this extent of coast,
Admiral Bouet determined to wait for the answer
to his telegram. An order to proceed to the Baltic
soon arrived, and, indefinite as it was, the com¬
mander hesitated no longer. Skilful Danish pilots
were procured, by whose help the Great Belt was
passed, and after reconnoitring Kiel and Femern,
the admiral pursued his route for the purpose of
discovering a suitable landing-place for the pro¬
mised and long-expected troops. This enterprise
was one of no little difficulty, for all the light¬
house lights and beacons along the coast had been
purposely extinguished, the buoys taken up, and
an abundance of torpedoes laid near any place
favourable for observation. If any spot or harbour
was pitched upon as fit for attack and effecting a
landing, it was generally the case as with Kiel.
A large ship would be lying athwart the harbour
mouth ready to be sunk at a moment's notice, with
three rows of stakes, several rows of torpedoes, and
a regular hedge of fishing nets ranged behind her.
To commence operations against any such place
gunboats, floating batteries, and troops to secure
the ground gained were indispensable; and with
all these the fleet was totally unprovided. The
admiral sent off to apprise the minister of his
difficulties, and on the same day received three
despatches, the first dated 6th August, command¬
ing his instant return to France; another, dated a
day later, bade him remain where he was. Another,
later still, but written on the same day, informed
him that the army had suffered reverses, and re¬
minded him that it was the duty of the fleet to
strain every nerve and lose no opportunity to do
the enemy an injury. Distracted with contradic¬
tory orders and bad news, the admiral determined
to form a committee, consisting of the six principal
officers of the squadron, who should report upon
the most attackable part of the sea-board. The
committee came to the conclusion that of all points
on the Prussian coast Colberg and Dantzic alone
could be attacked, but the slight impression likely
to be made would only weaken the prestige of the
French fleet. To do any good, ships of a peculiar
construction would be required, and, above all, a
respectable force for landing. Just as this rather
despairing report was presented Admiral Villaumez
heard that the Prussian fleet had left Jahde Bay,
and was making for the Baltic. Delighted with
the prospect of at least doing something, he hastily
collected his ships and made for the Great Belt,
there to dispute the passage of the enemy's vessels
and offer battle. But the Prussian fleet had not
left Jahde at all. On the contrary, it was closely
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
275
blockaded there by Admiral Fourichon. Finding
little chance of accomplishing anything else, Ad¬
miral Bouet now declared the Prussian harbours
of Kiel, Lubeck, Neustadt, Stettin, Stralsund, and
Bugen, to be in a state of blockade, and caused
official notices to be issued accordingly. Having
only large ships, however, the blockade was more
nominal than real ; for the light German craft could
always creep along the coast and elude the utmost
vigilance of the French. More than this, when¬
ever an opportunity offered, in thick weather or on
dark nights, the small, fast-sailing Prussian cor¬
vettes would steal out, and gliding quietly along
the coast, would take the huge French frigates by
surprise, fire at them, thrust torpedoes under their
keels, and make off, without the possibility of pur¬
suing them. It is easy to imagine the discourage¬
ment of both officers and crews when they plainly
perceived that, notwithstanding their patriotic
efforts, they must give up all hope of being re¬
warded by victory. All the intelligence from
France told only of fresh misfortune, while they
themselves were condemned to a fatal and humili¬
ating inactivity.
While Yice-admiral Bouet made the best of a
bad matter in the Baltic, Vice-admiral Fourichon
entered the North Sea upon an even more useless
cruise along the shores of Schleswig and Hanover.
An ordinary map will show the reader why
cuirassed vessels can effect nothing in these waters.
Having been ordered to watch the mouths of the
Weser, Elbe, and Jahde, Admiral Fourichon
found himself, about the middle of August, in a
boisterous sea washing a shallow coast, without
a harbour of refuge for many leagues around.
The English island of Heligoland was closed
against him, and all other harbours being distant,
he had to take in coals and provisions when out
on the high seas. With storms almost constantly
blowing from the south-west—that is, away from
the land—as is usual in those latitudes, he was
expected to blockade one of the most dangerous
and inaccessible coasts known to navigators. Thus
circumstanced, the chief thing he had to guard
against was injury to mast and engine. If seri¬
ously damaged in either of these particulars,
any frigate would be hopelessly lost on the
Hanoverian shores.
Unfortunately, the weather soon became ex¬
tremely bad, and storm following storm, the
provisioning on the high seas was very difficult.
Though the frigates themselves might hold out
against the weather, the ships that brought them
coals and victuals had to tack about for days before
they could come alongside. Not a few were lost.
As the season advanced, the more dangerous became
the equinoctial gales, and the fuel diminishing, the
situation of the squadron began to be critical.
In this extremity, on September 12, Admiral
Fourichon determined to return to Cherbourg,
where he was met by the yacht Hirondelle, which
had been looking out for him for several days.
The Hirondelle was charged with despatches in¬
forming him of the overthrow of the Imperial
government and his appointment to the ministry
of Marine. Leaving his squadron under the com¬
mand of the rear-admirals, and informing Admiral
Bouet that he had quitted the North Sea, Admiral
Fourichon left for Paris, and for him and his
second in command, Admiral Jaureguiberry, a
more distinguished part in the war now remained.
As minister of Marine, Fourichon was colleague
and companion of M. Gambetta after his balloon
exit from Paris, and was as conspicuous for his
wisdom and moderation as was the minister of
Wag for his impetuosity. Jaureguiberry was ap¬
pointed to high command in the army of the Loire,
and fought with extraordinary talent and bravery
in the various engagements with which General
Chanzy was connected, from December 2 to the
final dispersion of the Loire army at Le Mans
about the middle of January, 1871. The whole
French fleet was subsequently ordered again to
the Baltic, but returned to the North Sea, and
ultimately to France. It had driven the Prussian
fleet into harbour, where, if it gained nothing,
it suffered as little. During a blockade of four
months, maintained along 700 miles of coast, twenty
small German merchant craft were captured; but
beyond these trifling items the French navy
achieved literally nothing.
At home a more remarkable use was found for
the fleet, and a more curious phase of war is not
to be found. The Germans had invaded France
from the Rhine to the Channel, and fearing lest
Dieppe, Bouen, and Havre should be made by
them bases of operations or of supplies, the French
government stationed several vessels of war off
each of these places; and the singular spectacle was
presented of a French fleet blockading its own
ports, a task it performed far more effectually than
it had been able to do with those of the enemy.
276
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
A large number of the sailors and men of the
marine were drafted into land corps, and at Paris,
Orleans, Le Mans, in the north under General
Faidherbe, and in many other parts of France, did
excellent service in manning the artillery, and not
unfrequently bore a part in the thickest of the
numerous sanguinary actions of the campaign.
FINAL RESUME OF THE EVENTS OF THE WAR, AND
MILITARY OPINION OF THE SIEGE OF PARIS.
In Chapters 1Y. and V. of this work we des¬
cribed in detail the various features of the military
systems of France and Germany respectively. A
number of books and pamphlets published after
the war threw additional light upon these character¬
istics, and their influence upon the singular course
of the events of the campaign. Any one con¬
versant with the systems of the two nations would
naturally suppose, from the readiness with which
Napoleon III. plunged into the struggle, either
that he was ignorant of the immense superiority
of the German organization, or that he believed
the war would bring into relief in the French mili¬
tary machine decisive reforms, which Marshal Niel
was supposed to have carried out into law. The
reforms, however, proved to have been only upon
paper, and the writings of the emperor himself
show that he was quite familiar with the nume¬
rical and other disadvantages of his army as com¬
pared with that of Germany ; but his dependence
was upon a somewhat desperate and rapidly exe¬
cuted strategy, which proved to be utterly imprac¬
ticable. What the war, even within a week or two
from the time when it was declared, did bring into
prominent and terrible relief, was a monstrous im¬
perfection in the French organization, of which the
War office was grossly and unpardonably ignorant;
and this ignorance forms the key to the overwhelm¬
ing misfortunes we have narrated.
Considerable indignation was at first vented
against Colonel Stoffel, the French military attaché
at Berlin, for not having more fully apprised his
government of the immense resources and prepara¬
tions for hostilities throughout Germany. Im¬
mediately after the war, however, Baron Stoffel
published the reports on these subjects which he
had made from 1866 to 1870, many of which it
transpired had never so much as been opened. These
reports not only described most fully the formidable
nature of the German organization, but pointed
out in contrast the feebleness and inefficiency of
the French system ; and had the Imperial govern¬
ment studied them, it would have been more fully
alive to the madness of the enterprise entered upon
on the dark and calamitous 15th July, 1870.
According to a calculation of Baron Stoffel
made some months before hostilities broke out,
and essentially corresponding with that of the
Emperor Napoleon in January, 1871,* the stand¬
ing army of France consisted of 372,558 men
and 72,600 horses, whereas that of Northern
and Southern Germany, when united, amounted
to about 429,000 men, and from 80,000 to
90,000 horses. Thus, even in the single parti¬
cular in which it was generally believed in Europe
that she would possess a decided advantage—a
regular army ready for the field—France was
considerably overmatched; but this disproportion
gives no idea of her immense inferiority in mili¬
tary power to her enemy. Apart from an unknown
number of discharged soldiers and worn-out veter¬
ans, and from the practically worthless national
guard, the whole reserves of France were com¬
posed of about 320,000 men, the residue of seven
contingents of conscripts who had never actually
joined the colours, and of the garde mobile, who
on paper numbered rather more than half a million
of men, but who had not yet been even embodied.
The numerically imposing reserves of France,
therefore, were simply a collection of " men with
muskets;" and, good as might be their natural
qualities, this circumstance was decisive against
her in the contest in which she was engaged. On
the other hand, the reserves of Germany, compris¬
ing the landwehr and the reserve proper, formed,
in round numbers, about 800,000 men, all practised
soldiers, in the flower of their age, and though
separated for a time from their colours, all dis¬
ciplined by long military service, and maintained
in their martial bearing and spirit by frequent
exercises even during peace.
After the events of the war, it would be useless
to comment on the worth of this colossal force;
but we may observe that, although its real qualities
were never understood in France, Baron Stoffel
had furnished the emperor with the fullest infor¬
mation respecting it. A report presented in 1869,
after showing with remarkable clearness the homo¬
geneous character of the German regular army and
reserves, declared that a war even with Prussia
* Note sur l'Organization Militaire de la Confédération de l'Allemagne
duNord. Wilhelmshohe, January, 1871. By the Emperor Napoleon III.
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR,
277
alone could, humanly speaking, have no chance of
success:—" Prussia, or more accurately, the North
German Confederation, can dispose of a million of
soldiers, well trained, well disciplined, and admir¬
ably organized, whereas France possesses only
between 300,000 and 400,000."
Yet even these figures do not furnish anything
like the real measure of the strength of the belli¬
gerent powers for military operations. The prin¬
ciple of local preparation for war was utterly
disregarded in France; the elements required to
form her armies were scattered over all parts of
the country. In one place there was an immense
material, in another a vast aggregation of soldiers ;
and a disunited regimental system was the most
striking feature of her military organization. More¬
over, even in her regimental units, local association
was never the rule; each regiment was composed
of men collected indifferently throughout the
empire; and owing to a singular regulation, which
required recruits under all circumstances to pro¬
ceed to their depots in the first instance, the
increasing the force of any given regiment always
consumed no little time. This system obviously
threw great difficulties in the way of rapidly com¬
bining troops and forming them into well-appointed
armies—a vital point in modern warfare. When
the reserves of regiments were separated from each
other by great and irregular distances, and when,
in order to take the field, it was necessary to draw
from remote points the materials of each corps
d'armée and to fashion into organic masses men,
horses, guns, and other impedimenta, delay and
confusion were the inevitable result, and the array¬
ing the armies of France was a tedious, uncertain,
and cumbrous process. On the other hand, in
Prussia and throughout Germany the principle of
military organization was local; the empire was
parcelled out into districts, each of which could
furnish a separate army, complete in every appli¬
ance of war ; and these distinct units of the mighty
array which made up the collective national force
were locally recruited, administered, and com¬
manded. In a corrupt, an unwarlike, or a divided
state, such a system might be very dangerous; but
in the actual condition of Germany it enabled her
to put forth her strength with extraordinary facility
and despatch ; it being obviously comparatively easy
to combine troops collected from no great distances
and already organized, and to expand them into
even the largest armies. The result was that the
" mobilization" of the forces of Germany, immense
as they were, was swiftly, surely, and thoroughly
accomplished, and under the conditions of modern
warfare this feature of her military organization
augmented her power in a wonderful degree, and
largely multiplied the advantages she possessed
already over her weaker antagonist.
Nor in this vital point of preparation for war
did the difference end here. In France power over
the military machine was centralized in the highest
degree; the minister of War had complete control
over every department of the service; hardly any
arrangements could be made without his orders
and supervision, and local subordinates were de¬
prived of almost all direct authority. This system
had its good side; but it threw an undue and
intolerable burden at the outbreak of war on a
single person. It thus caused responsibility to be
ill divided, and tended to complication, to delay,
and to irreparable mistakes. In Germany, on the
contrary, power is localized in the army to the
widest extent; the commanders of the different
corps d'armée have an ample range of control, and
the central authority seldom interferes. A system
like this, in certain conceivable cases, might lead
to great and dangerous abuses; but it worked well
in the last campaign, and contributed to the pre¬
cision and swiftness which characterized the Ger¬
man operations. The contrast between the two
systems is thus presented in one of the numerous
publications by actors in the war:—*
" It became necessary to form into brigades,
divisions, and corps d'armée the scattered elements
of our military power. This important duty, which
requires calm reflection and a profound knowledge
of the means within reach, devolved, owing to our
vicious system of centralization, upon the minister
of War and his office, and had to be accomplished
in a few days. In Prussia, on the other hand, the
central authority does not pretend to do everything ;
it imposes on the commander of each coips d'armée
the task of completing all needful preparations."
These opposite modes of setting in motion the
antagonist armies led to moral results not unim¬
portant. The hastily-collected French corps had
little of the unity or cohesion which long and
intimate association had given to the arrays of
Germany. We should not, of course, lay too much
stress on a mere circumstance of organization,
* La Campagne de 1870. Par tin Officier de l'Armée du Rhin
Bruxelles, 1870.
278
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
but the "Officer of the Army of the Rhine"
is probably correct in saying :—" Confusion and
slowness in the earlier operations were not the
only unfortunate results of this system of mob¬
ilization; it produced even more decisive effects
throughout the entire campaign. By throwing
together elements not previously united, by giv¬
ing the troops commanders whom they did not
know, and the commanders forces and means not
familiar to them, the unity and mutual confidence
which ought to connect the soldier with his supe¬
riors of every grade were seriously diminished in
the French army."
The general result of the utter inferiority of
France in force and military organization was
that, though the first to draw the sword, she had
not, probably, set in motion more than 220,000
men when the battles of Woertli and Forbach
were fought, and that less than 120,000 were
added during the crisis which ended in the cap¬
ture of Sedan, when her fate may be said to have
been virtually sealed. On the other hand, though
the German commanders were taken somewhat by
surprise—a point on which Baron Stoffel insisted
in the preface to his reports—they were, never¬
theless, able to bring into the field, within three
weeks after war was declared, armies of which the
aggregate numbers were over 500,000 men, and to
add enormous reserves to these.
Independently, too, of inherent defects, the French
army had felt the pernicious influence of the polit¬
ical and social state of the country. Too much
is not to be made of this; for it must be remem¬
bered that French armies have marched to victory
under an order of things essentially similar to that
which existed in France in 1870. Nor can it be
fairly asserted that the institutions of Germany
must necessarily produce an excellent military
instrument: one has only to read the remarkable
preface to the "Military Memorial" of Prince
Frederick Charles, and the observations of the
gifted author of the " Prussian Infantry in 1869,"
to see that German officers of a high order of
mind regard the autocratic system of Prussia as
having a bad effect on the German soldier, and
believe that the natural dash of the French is
largely due to the usages of the country. But
the evils at the root of society in France had in
1870 a peculiar tendency to injure and demoralize
the army, whereas those which existed in Germany
were not felt in her military service. The French
generals were, in too many instances, the mere
favourites of a sovereign who was, from the nature
of his position, compelled to consider devotion to
himself before merit. The venal corruption of an
age of revolutions had found its way into the
ranks of the French officers, and had made them
dissolute, ambitious, and selfish; and the fortune
which had long smiled on their arms had filled
them with self-conceit and vanity. Above all,
the constant agitation and changes of society
in France had spread insubordination throughout
the army and seriously impaired its discipline; and
the dangers had been much aggravated which seem
inseparable from its democratic organization. On
the other hand, the energies of the Prussian govern¬
ment had been concentrated for years upon the
creation of a formidable army; the discernment of
the king and the skill and integrity of Yon Moltke
and Yon Boon had neutralized the ordinary evils
of an aristocratic military system, by making pro¬
motion depend upon merit; and the national move¬
ment which was stirring Germany had given her
soldiers the energy and impulse which the insti¬
tutions under which they live are not in themselves
calculated to encourage. The subordination, the
discipline, the order which naturally belong to the
German army were seconded in 1870 by science,
ability in command, and fervent patriotic enthusi¬
asm, and this rare combination proved irresistible.
Such, then, or nearly so, were the forces of
France and Germany at the beginning of the
campaign. Overmatched in numbers, and very
inferior in organization, in efficiency, and in mili¬
tary qualities, the French army was directed against
an enemy in overwhelming strength and in a state
of complete preparation for war. France, humanly
speaking, could not have triumphed; but this is no
reason why her army should have suffered disasters
almost unparalleled, or why the country should
have been overrun and conquered. Errors in
command which have never been surpassed, and a
fatal sacrifice of military considerations to the exi¬
gencies of a political situation, were the causes why
the ruin was so overwhelming; for, notwithstand¬
ing all that has been written to the contrary, the
French army in this calamitous struggle was not
devoid of the high qualities which had justly
gained for it glory and renown.
Our brief retrospective remarks have thus far
had special reference to the war as carried on
between the regular armies of the two nations.
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
279
As to that great phase of the campaign subse¬
quent to Sedan, which closed in the overthrow of
Chanzy, Faidhcrbe, and Bourbaki, if the lesson is
not to be taken home, that trained soldiers cannot
be met with untrained levies, however gallant and
patriotic, then are the lessons of history written to no
purpose. Well would it have been if, in September,
1870, the French had consented to put an end to
the war. The terms they would have had to accept
then might have been onerous, but they were sure
to be aggravated by the continuance of a struggle
to which he must have been sanguine indeed who
should have predicted a happy issue. Still, "France
was bound to fight on for honour's sake," it was
said. It is doubtful, however, if there is any honour
to be reaped in enterprises absolutely hopeless ; and
suicide, in either nations or individuals, is a very
questionable proof of courage. The struggle, as
we have shown, was unequal from the outset, and
subsequently, when the French army was so utterly
prostrated in the field as no other within historical
record had ever been, the condition of France
became infinitely worse; because it was impossible
that she should supply a second army equal in
efficiency to that which had been lost, and no less
impossible that, had the second even been as good,
it would have proved itself equal to the exigency.
For a better one the elements were nowhere to be
found. The men, however, into whose hands
power had fallen could not be made to see the true
position of the case, or brought to acknowledge it.
France in their hands apparently had ceased to be
capable of acting rationally, and her measures were
as those of a man in a dream or delirium. Orators
appealing to frenzied mobs, and substituting for
political facts the impressions of an assembly, a
market place, and a single hour, collected crowds
of men and boys, called them armies, gave them
officers like themselves, and then dashed them in
the face of a foe who was, in fact, what they could
only pretend to be. On the one side it was his¬
tory; on the other, a theatrical performance re¬
deemed from ridicule only by the sacrifice of the
miserable actors. The contrast was greatest where
it was most dangerous. Men who could only talk
of war as of a thousand other subjects waged it
against those who lived for it alone, and who were
warriors, if nothing else. On the one side were
trading politicians, republican préfets, jealous of
military command, and soldiers who had served,
if at all, only against half savages; on the other
side, men who lived, thought, and felt by act and
rule of war, deeply imbued with its subtle skill,
its hard sway, its cruel logic, add its fell liberties,
enforcing its rights to the letter. The result was
almost always and everywhere the same, and it is
hard to say whether the incapacity of the com¬
manders, the inadequacy of the preparations, or
the unsoldierlike quality of the men, most con¬
tributed to it. The French troops, as might have
been expected with raw and untrained levies, were
invariably found incapable of holding positions,
maintaining advances, supporting one another, or
converting into a reality some momentary semb¬
lance of success. The enormous disasters with
which the campaign opened were repeated, with
variations of circumstances, over a third of France,
and for half a year. Crowds of fighting men were
surrounded and caught like shoals of fish. The
only result of their courage was that after heaps
fell under the fire of batteries never reached, and
often not even seen, they surrendered or fled. The
Great Napoleon long since told the French in the
plainest terms, that it was one of their national
delusions to believe that the revolutionary levies
of 1793 saved France from the Allies; and the
wisdom of his views has been recently even more
strikingly illustrated. It is vain to think that
collecting mobs of armed men in uniform, whether
under the name of mobiles, sedentary guards, or
volunteers, or county militia, will avail to defend
a country that is seriously attacked. Massed to¬
gether by the hundred thousand, as before Orleans,
such a body becomes too unwieldy to move with
effect, and a panic ruins it at once. Divided, as
before Le Mans, it is simply exposed to be cut up
in detail. Scattered out by a march over a long
distance, as near Belfort, it is at the mercy of any
small regular force that manœuvres boldly against it.
With regard to the siege of Paris, that a popu¬
lation so vast should have held out for such a
lengthened period, and have willingly endured
such hardships and privations, said much for the
government arrangements, and did infinite credit
to the patriotism of the people themselves; but,
looked at from a purely military point of view,
the general opinion amongst those best qualified
to judge—and which was well expressed by a
very able military critic in the Saturday Review
—is, that the defence of the city was tame and
passive ; and that, had different weapons been
adopted, the world could not have beheld the
280
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
singular spectacle of 500,000 men compelled to lay
down their arms and surrender their scarcely in¬
jured forts to an army less than half their number,
which had, in the open field, hemmed them in till
their resources failed. Had General Trochu had
as much constructive power as he undoubtedly
had critical genius, the result might have been
very different. From the first he seemed to have
overlooked those engineering resources at his
command, which might have sufficed to render
the siege impracticable to the moderate number
of Germans which finally triumphed over him.
Supposing there really was not sufficient time,
before the Prussians came up from Sedan, to destroy
thoroughly the huge belt of shelter which after¬
wards saved their army from being paralyzed by
the frost, it would certainly have been quite
possible to remove wholly the timber which they
used so freely during the siege. As to the vil¬
lages and detached buildings, there will probably
be different opinions, and many will think that the
cheapest and safest defence in the end would have
been such wholesale demolition as would have
deprived the Prussian corps allotted to the invest¬
ment, of any ready made means of covering the
continuous lines which they held throughout it in
comfort. But the difficulties in the way of adopt¬
ing this course were no doubt appalling ; and we
therefore pass from this part of the question to look
at the investment completed, as it was in September,
with but trifling opposition, and the outlying
villages in the enemy's hands. Let us then sup¬
pose that Trochu's plans had been guided by a
general of such constructive genius as Todleben,
who, in view of the manifest uncertainty of relief,
was prepared from the first to use all the resources
at his command in an active and vigorous defence,
instead of maintaining the passive attitude which
was actually assumed.
Early in the siege there was at the governor's
command such a supply of labour as no com¬
mander had ever before collected on one spot;
nor were the other means wanting, both for
strengthening the existing defences and for carry¬
ing on outside them a system of intrenchments,
which would have mightily enhanced the diffi¬
culties of the problem placed before the German
staff. Tools there must have been in abundance,
since the resources of that vast metropolis were
at the command of a firm and decided governor.
There was a good supply of brushwood for fascine
works in the Bois de Boulogne, and the stocks
might have been largely supplemented by rough
and ready expedients. Timber was plentiful,
stacked in the builders' yards; and, above all, the
sandbags, for rapid construction of shelter the
handiest of all means, might have been made to
any extent required. In short, it would have been
easier to organize vast bodies of improvized pioneers
with their tools, than to create out of the chaos
inclosed that active army which promised so much
and did so little. And in methodically fighting
from the first under cover, the most irregular
troops that Ducrot or Yinoy could put in line
would have been almost as formidable—in a finished
work certainly—as the best soldiers France had
sent into the field to be slaughtered under Mac-
Mahon or entrapped with Bazaine. Such a system
would have gone far to put the ill-matched forces
upon an equality, even if it had not restored to
the defenders the natural advantage of superior
numbers.
If it be asked how the hundred thousand armed
workmen, that might have been at once organized,
could have been employed more profitably than the
large parties which actually laboured in the later
stages of the siege, we turn to the facts recorded,
and point, as a single example, to what happened
with regard to Mont Avron. The work thrown
up on this hill was the only serious attempt made,
from first to last, to extend the limits of the
defence. Its mere occupation caused the Germans
to erect against it a dozen batteries in a semicircle
five miles long, protected by a parallel, covered by
strong guards, and giving work to a whole corps.
But Mont Avron was occupied by a redoubt quite
detached, left destitute of bombproof shelter, and,
above all, placed there nearly three months too
late, when the enemy's siege train had arrived.
Had Trochu been fortunate enough to have had
for chief engineer an officer of such intelligence and
energy as Todleben, or he to whom Belgium owes
the strength of Antwerp, what could have hin¬
dered a number of such redoubts appearing early in
the siege, their works pushed gradually forward,
connected by cover with the place, supplied with
rough bombproofs that would have made them
safe from distant bombardment, and well manned
by guards regularly relieved every twenty-four
hours ? Of course the Germans would have at¬
tacked them ; the nature of the circumstances would
have impelled them to do so, since otherwise
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
281
their lines would have had to recede bit by bit,
and must have grown longer and weaker in reced¬
ing. Let any one who wishes to understand
the necessities of the supposed case remember what
anxieties the first occupation of Le Bourget gave
Count von Moltke, the hasty order which came to
Prince Augustus, that the guards must retake it at
all costs, and the heavy lists of killed and wounded
to which the execution of the order led. Yet
Le Bourget was merely an ordinary walled village,
taken by a young brigadier, and occupied without
even the care to loophole it properly before it was
re-attacked. A strong work thrown out there
early in the siege would have cost the Germans
ten times as many men to take it as the village did
at the end of October; and as their heavy guns
were not then up, a similar front of offence might
have been pushed forward in half-a-dozen different
places simultaneously. To erect such works would
have been slow and toilsome ; but to prevent their
advance altogether would have overtaxed the
siege materials of the Germans, and by forcing
them to assault would have caused a constant drain
on their limited supplies of men, even in case of
success; whilst one or two serious failures would
have stimulated the zeal and energy of the defen¬
ders to put forth redoubled exertions, to the pro¬
portional cost of the enemy.
Had a Todleben or a Brialmont been present to
advise Trochu, such a series of defences could, no
doubt, have been started before the end of Sep¬
tember ; and if conducted with the vigour and
skill which either of those renowned engineers
would have infused, would soon have driven the
Germans so far off, at more than one point, as
practically to cut their circle into isolated seg¬
ments ; or, had the Germans effectually restrained
them, it must have been at such an expense of life
as of itself would have raised the siege, or at the
least drawn in their detachments from all other
quarters, and left their rear and communications
dangerously weak. Their headquarters at Ver¬
sailles might have been threatened, their depots on
the railroad driven further off, and, above all, the
first decided advantage gained in this manner
would have given that moral impulse to the
defenders which from first to last no step taken
by their chiefs ever evoked among them. The
effect of the most rousing proclamation, or of the
most carefully coloured intelligence, is but tran¬
sient ; but to have held a mile or two of ground
vol. n.
fairly won from their foes would have stimulated
every soldier in the garrison to new efforts by a
definite and tangible object. The battalions that
wasted their time in purposeless drilling for a field
they never entered would here have found useful
scope for their services; and their officers, raw to
their duties at first, would with practice have
come to display the well-known ingenuity of their
nation, so often exhibited in defences on a smaller
scale.
In consequence of the tactics adopted by the
French, the Germans had time to so strongly
entrench their positions, and so dispose their
numerous field artillery, as to enable them to
hold securely any point suddenly attacked, even
against very superior numbers. Yet their own
forces at any given point were of necessity com¬
paratively weak. The extent of their inner line
of investment was fifty miles ; that of the outer
circle, occupied by the headquarters of the two
besieging armies, was at least sixty-six miles.
Taking fifty miles as the basis, and estimating the
German force at 200,000, the average strength at
any given point was only in the proportion of
4000 men to one mile. Under these circum¬
stances, good soldiers, led by well-instructed offi¬
cers, could not have been held in so long; but
Trochu's army did not consist of good soldiers,
and it may reasonably be doubted whether he
would at any time have been justified in attempt¬
ing to break clean through the German lines of
investment, having no promise of assistance from
without. To have done so for the mere purpose
of carrying into the field beyond an army of raw
soldiers of the strength just mentioned, short of
provisions, short of horses, would have been to
weaken the defence without gaining any corre¬
sponding advantage, save that of diminishing the
number of mouths which remained inclosed. With¬
out the requisite accessories such an army could
not have sustained a campaign; and in order to
subsist it would have had, even if not pressed by
the Germans, to break up into separate fragments
and hasten from the district near the capital. A
number of recruits might possibly thus have been
gained for Bourbaki and D'Aurelles ; but they
could have no effect upon the investment, unless
the Germans had given it up for a time, and
changed it into such an unremitting pursuit of
their new enemy as, under the conditions sup¬
posed, would have insured his destruction. No
2 n
282
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
real attempt was, in fact, ever made to carry the
army through the lines, except on the one occa¬
sion when Trochu's information led him to suppose
that D'Aurelles was approaching Fontainebleau in
November, with the vast train of supplies known
to have been gathered behind his intrenched camp
at Orleans. A junction with him thus provided
would have put matters on altogether a different
footing from the mere escape of 100,000 or 150,000
men out of the lines with three days' rations in
their haversacks; and the position assigned for the
meeting would have planted the French so threat¬
eningly on the flank of the German-communications,
as to have caused the instant and complete aban¬
donment of the investment. This was the only
practical attempt at strategic combination shown
during the four months' siege; but it was foiled
doubly in its execution, by the superiority in
tactical power of Prince Frederick Charles' army
to that of the army of the Loire, and by the failure
of Ducrot to win sufficient ground beyond the
loops of the Marne to enable him to develop his
masses of men on a broad front, and so make some
decisive use of his superiority of numbers.
Yet admitting that Trochu was probably right
in determining not to risk bodies of his troops in
the open field without supplies and unsupported,
even supposing they could force a passage by sur¬
prise, his plan of waiting for relief from without,
and holding his defences passively until it came,
stands self-condemned by the results. The inter¬
mediate course of an active and vigorous resist¬
ance, so active and vigorous as to have placed the
besiegers, with their inferior numbers, practically
on the defensive, was, as we have said, hardly
thought of, and rejected as too difficult and labo¬
rious. At least, no systematic effort was made to
carry it out.
With regard to the bombardment of the city by
the Germans, that is also now admitted to have been
a mistake and failure. In the words of the able and
very impartial military correspondent of the Times,
" There was nothing gained by it; not a single day
sooner did Paris yield. No practicable breach was
formed except one, very small, in the rear of Fort
Montrouge. There was, in fact, no military effect
whatever from the bombardment of Paris."
The final German triumph at Paris was undoubt¬
edly somewhat marred by the thought, that another
month of the same patience which they had shown
till the new year opened would have given them
uninjured the prize they sought. The very works
surrendered into their hands to save the lives of
the starving multitude within, must have seemed
to reproach silently the hasty counsels of those
who led the emperor-king from his original plan
to adopt sharper measures, which proved abortive
and fruitless. The conquest so won was stained
by what was then plainly seen to have been a
superfluous use of the resources of war. For more
than three months the German staff held to the
resolve to reduce Paris by starvation, and there is
no reason to doubt that they could have main¬
tained their lines throughout intact for that
purpose. After suddenly changing their minds
and beginning a direct double attack by bombard¬
ment and approach, the capital fell, before either
of these methods had in any way affected its
powers of resistance, under the inevitable pres¬
sure of coming famine. In using the other modes
the Germans were not, of course, going beyond
their rights. A capital which, for strategic ends,
has been deliberately turned into a fortress, is
beyond dispute liable to be treated as a fortress.
A great deal of angry recrimination passed be¬
tween Count von Bismarck and M. de Chandordy,
delegate of the French Foreign minister, respecting
the general conduct of the war by the respective
belligerents. The Frenchman accused the Ger¬
mans of committing needless and unjustifiable
atrocities while overrunning his country; and the
Count retorted by counter-charges of using explo¬
sive bullets, barbarities committed by Turcos,
burning and scuttling of German merchantmen,
and systematic disregard of the Geneva conven¬
tion. None of the despatches, however, drawn up
under the influence inspired by war, can be looked
upon as impartial or altogether reliable. They all
naturally took their tone from exaggerated state¬
ments, and from reports and testimony distorted
by passion or by suffering.
The concurrent testimony of all observers was
that, at the opening of the campaign, the conduct
of the German troops was excellent; they were not
more remarkable for courage and discipline than
for honourable treatment of the invaded country.
The picture was subsequently darkened ; complaints
were made that the German leaders acted like Tilly
and Wallenstein; and dreadful stories were told of
murdered free-shooters, of villages burnt by way
of reprisals, of barbarous executions, of innocent
citizens made hostages, of devastation carried out
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
283
on system, as if by the savage hordes of Attila.
According to the remark of the old Greek, that
human nature in the same circumstances is usually
pretty nearly the same, we can easily account for
these things, without imputing any peculiar guilt,
or even ferocity, to the German armies. In the
first place—and this unhappily is attested through¬
out the history of our race—prolonged war makes
men indifferent to the sight of suffering; the sol¬
dier who knows he may die to-morrow becomes
reckless of the miseries of others ; and we cannot
doubt that a change like this passed over the
character of the invaders of France as the contest
went on and deepened. In the second place, the
system of requisitions pursued by the German
commanders—a system, it must be said with
regret, perhaps necessary in a campaign con¬
ducted on such an enormous scale—has invari¬
ably been attended with the consequences before
mentioned. Forced contributions generate resist¬
ance among the non-combatant population; this
leads to a guerilla warfare, which compels the
generals of the invading army to exercise severi¬
ties of all kinds, unhappily often without discrimi¬
nation; for no officer will allow his men to be
destroyed, and his army perhaps endangered, by
irregular bands of armed peasants.
In the course of a letter addressed to his daughter
by an officer of high rank at the German head¬
quarters, the following passages occurred:—"I
have now been for four months in the thick
of the war. You know that I am just to friend
and foe, and have a feeling heart for any suffer¬
ing on whatever side. This much premised, I
can assert with a good conscience that so great
and sanguinary a war has never been conducted
with so little suffering or hardship. That in
isolated cases things happen on both sides which,
without exact information and inquiry, might be
denounced as barbarities, is quite conceivable in
a struggle in which unchained passions are so
powerfully excited. Never before, however, have
three-fourths of all wanted by the troops been
supplied from the victor's country, or bought for
ready money from the enemy, in order to spare
the country visited by the war. It has never come
to my ears or those of my many acquaintances that
a German soldier has ill-treated a French woman.
The entire contributions hitherto (December, 1870)
levied by our armies, do not reach the sum exacted
by the French under Napoleon from many a large
town in Germany, although money was worth much
more then than now. As evidence of the discip¬
line of our troops, I may mention that while in
France, with the exception of a single case at
Nancy, I have not seen a drunken German sol¬
dier. In numberless cases our troops have, at the
request of officials or communities, protected priv¬
ate property against attacks by Frenchmen—e.g.,
the champagne vineyards."
We give these extracts as only fair statements,
especially in regard to the treatment of French
women; and we may remark that many alleged
atrocities, the subject of comment all over Europe
at the time—such, for instance, as the reported
roasting alive of a franc-tireur near Dijon—ap¬
peared in quite a different light upon closer
inquiry. Whatever wrongs may have been com¬
mitted under the excitement of the war, the
authorities of both sides willingly rendered
homage to the leading international principles
of civilization, and in their despatches earnestly
endeavoured to justify themselves in the eyes of
Europe for any violation of the sacred duties of
humanity.
LIST OF THE GERMAN VICTORIES ; THE TOTAL LOSSES
ON BOTH SIDES ; AND THE TERRITORIAL ALTERATIONS
MADE BY THE WAR.
In a previous part of this chapter we have
pointed out the disastrous consequences to France
of her unpreparedness for the war, and we will
here present a summary of the results accruing to
Germany through her superior mobility, organiza¬
tion, and numbers. War was declared on July
15, 1870, and terminated February 16, 1871, after
lasting 210 days. In the first week after the declara¬
tion of war the German troops were mobilized, their
despatch to the west and disposition along the
Trèves-Landau line requiring nearly a fortnight.
The troops sent to the frontier amounted to over
500,000 men, and to bring the whole mass up in
a fortnight about 42,000 had to be conveyed by
rail per day. The transport was effected on five
lines, two of which, however, were but little used.
Besides the men, there were horses, guns, car¬
riages, ammunition, and provisions to be sent.
Four Prussian corps d'armée, to get to the French
frontier, had to travel a distance of from 400 to
600 miles, and had to be fed on the way. As in
the first few days of the campaign, and during the
last period, there were no engagements, the war
284
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
was practically reduced to 180 days. In the
course of these there were considerably more than
100 engagements, besides twenty-one great battles,
the chronological order of the latter being—Wis-
sembourg, Woerth, Spicheren, Courcelles, Vion-
ville, Gravelotte, Beaumont, Sedan, Noisseville
(before Metz), Beaune-la-Rollande, the three battles
round Orleans, Amiens, Champigny and Brie
(before Paris), Beaugency, Bapaume, Vendôme,
Le Mans, Belfort, St. Quentin, and the great sortie
against St. Cloud. Twenty-six fortresses were
taken, namely, Lutzelstein, Lichtenberg, Marsal,
Vitry, Sedan, Laon, Toul, Strassburg, Soissons,
Schlestadt, Metz, Verdun, Montbeliard, Neu-
Breisach, Ham, Thionville, La Fére, the citadel of
Amiens, Phalsbourg, Montmèdy, Mézières, Rocroi,
Péronne, Longwy, Paris, and Belfort. Reckoning
only those actually transported to German fort¬
resses and towns, 11,650 officers and 363,000
rank and file were made prisoners. The prisoners
at the capitulation of Paris amounted to nearly
500,000, that being the number actually engaged
in the defence of the city. Had not the war
closed with the fall of the capital, these also would
most likely have been transferred to Germany.
Of the ill-fated army under Bourbaki 84,900 were
driven across the frontier and compelled to lay
down their arms in Switzerland, and fully 20,000
fled into Belgium after the battles of Metz and
Sedan. The total number of prisoners and of
fugitives interned in neighbouring states thus
amounts to the extraordinary total of nearly one
million. The quantity of arms and other warlike
material captured was equally remarkable, and
altogether unprecedented in any former war.
Thus at the Alma the Allies took two colours and
two guns, at Inkermann they lost three guns, and
at the storming of the Malakoff one standard and
thirty-one guns were captured. The number of
prisoners in the campaign did not exceed 6000.
The entire spoils of the French in 1859 consisted
of three colours, twenty-six guns, and 16,000
prisoners. The Prussians, on the other hand, took
at Duppel nineteen colours, 119 guns, and 3400
prisoners ; at Alsen, thirteen colours, ninety-nine
guns, and 2494 prisoners ; at Kôniggratz, seven
colours, 161 guns, and 19,800 prisoners ; altogether
in 1866, thirteen colours, 208 guns, and 49,000
prisoners. The more formidable total of 1870-71
consisted of 6700 guns (including mitrailleuses),
120 eagles and colours, and sufficient chassepots to
equip the entire German army. Such large stores
of cloth were captured at Metz and Le Mans as
sufficed to renew the whole of the uniforms re¬
quired; and notwithstanding the great number of
horses which perished, the end of the war found
Germany richer than before in this description of
live stock—Sedan and other battlefields having
yielded far more than the number lost.
The losses of both combatants were in propor¬
tion to the magnitude and fierceness of the opera¬
tions of the campaign. Considering the hasty and
confused manner in which the French forces were
collected after Sedan, it is doubtful if accurate
returns of their loss can ever be forthcoming.
Some months after the campaign closed the num¬
bers were returned as 89,000 " killed ; " and if
this is to be taken as including wounded and
missing, the German loss far exceeded it, for
the entire loss of Germany has been ascertained
to have been about 180,000—rather more than
half of whom are invalided.
The most costly fight to the Germans was that
of Vionville, on August 16, 1870, when, in order
to prevent the escape of Marshal Bazaine's army,
more than 17,000 men were sacrificed. There
was a great disparity of numbers in the battle, as
45,000 Prussians fought from 8 a.m. till 4 p.m., at
first against 160,000 and by noon against nearly
200,000 French. Another instance of similar
disparity was at Belfort, where about 36,000 Prus¬
sians and Badeners maintained a three days' battle
against Bourbaki's army of nearly 130,000. There
were instances, on the other hand, in which the
disparity was reversed—notably at Wissembourg
and Woerth, where, although the fortune of the
day was in the end against them, the French
undoubtedly made a most gallant and heroic stand.
Gravelotte, also, was a most costly and hardly-won
victory, although full 270,000 Germans confronted
less than 210,000 French—including, however,
the élite of the army.
Losses in men and warlike material to a certain
extent were what France must have laid her ac¬
count with in entering upon the campaign. That
the loss should have been far beyond all precedent
was what she might in time have become recon¬
ciled to, had even a small measure of success
attended her arms. Unfortunately, the terms of
peace which she was eventually obliged to accept
involved sacrifices inflicting a rankling wound,
which it is to be feared time alone will never
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
285
heal. Alison observes that, " The policy of the
Allies, when dictating terms to Franco in 1814,
was founded on a noble spirit—it rested on the
principle of eradicating hostility by generosity,
and avenging injury by forgiveness. The result
proved that, in doing so, they proceeded on too
exalted an estimate of human nature." The Ger¬
mans of 1871 comfort themselves by reflecting,
that they profited by the teachings of history and
avoided the errors of their forefathers. Without
seeking to eradicate hostility by generosity, they
calculated on France nursing the spirit of ven¬
geance and retaliation; and their one aim in dic¬
tating the terms of peace was to make her enter
on any future war with Germany with the odds
heavily against her. The population of Alsace and
Lorraine had so conclusively shown their wish to
be united to France, as to satisfy their conquerors
that, in spite of their common language, they would
have to treat them as vanquished aliens. There
was therefore no pretence of moderation, nor any
further talk of uniting to Germany the lands torn
from her in past ages. By a turn of events as
surprising to the conquerors as to the rest of the
world, France had in a few months been so utterly
crushed that Germany could ask of her what she
liked. That which she asked was safety, as abso¬
lute and complete as possible. She might perhaps
have had more, but she obtained all she wanted;
and the maximum of military defence with the
minimum of disaffected population, sufficiently
explains why the demand was made for only a
fifth of Lorraine with Metz, and the other four-
fifths were allowed to remain French.
Had no loss of territory been involved, peace
might doubtless have been arranged after the col¬
lapse of the empire and army at Sedan ; and many
deeply sympathized with France in the agony of
dismemberment she had struggled so heroically
but vainly to resist. The Germans, however, lis¬
tened neither to the counsels of neutrals in the
matter, nor to pleadings urged in the name of
the civilization of the nineteenth century. One
idea filled their minds, that France would seize
the earliest opportunity of making war upon them
again. The Allies, they said, in 1814 were very
moderate towards France, and Prussia especially
failed in her desire to obtain a good military
frontier on the French side, because, it was said,
the way to keep France quiet was to treat her
generously. Since then one generation of her
people after another, almost every statesman, and
every political chief, had been hungering for the
Rhenish provinces and threatening Germany with
war. Government after government had arisen
in the country, some of them upholding social
order, some singing the paeans of humanity and
rushing into the arms of universal brotherhood;
but all alike, royalist, imperial, or republican,
good or bad, liberal or illiberal, thirsting for the
left bank of the Rhine. In a moment of profound
peace war had been made upon Germany, on a
pretext so frivolous that the warmest partizans of
France were scandalized. There was now a chance
of making the French see that war with Germany
would henceforth be a very serious thing, and the
opportunity was used to the full. The Germans
were told that to cripple and humiliate France
unduly could not be for the good of Europe.
They replied that they had first to think of them¬
selves; and that in July, 1870, a strong military
frontier would have been of much more use to
them than any preservation of the balance of
power. They were taunted with forcing men into
citizenship with them by tearing them from France,
and with thus violating the unwritten laws of ad¬
vancing civilization. But they closed their ears,
like deaf adders, to all this, and listened only to
the voice that bade them think of their own safety.
Of course there were many who thought that the
policy of Germany was due simply to a greedy and
relentless extortion, which had always been one
of her principal characteristics—a view on which
we here pronounce no judgment. We have merely
endeavoured to give as faithfully as possible the
reasons in support of the territorial claim advanced
by the government and by the principal organs of
public opinion throughout Germany.
Were the terms of peace to be judged apart from
any political or national aspect, and solely in the
highest interests of mankind, it could perhaps be
wished that Germany had displayed a magnanimity
unparalleled in history, by declining to take any
French territory, and resolving to abide the con¬
sequences. She might have suffered for her
magnanimity, but a magnanimity that counts the
risk it runs is the highest and most ennobling of
virtues. The world would have been a better
world had Germany, relying on her own strength,
refused additional guarantees for her security. The
Germans, however, in their intense horror of the
miseries of war, and under the irritation caused
286
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
by the constant restlessness and aggressiveness of
France, could not bring themselves to set before
mankind so elevating a spectacle. They were
bent upon security ; and so far as that is possible,
to all human views they attained their object.
The territory conceded is 5580 square miles
in area, or about equal in extent to that of the
three departments of the Haut Rhin, Bas Rhin,
and Moselle. It is inhabited by 1,597,219
people, 200,000 of whom are French, the rest
German, or mixed, in race and language, but
all strongly French in feeling. The new fron¬
tier line begins at Cattenom, near Longwy, on
the borders of the duchy of Luxemburg, and
takes a southern course, having Thionville, Metz,
Château-Salins, on the east (all of which there¬
fore now belong to Germany) ; and Verdun,
Toul, Nancy, and Luneville, on the west.
After cutting a corner off the department of the
Vosges, the line then coincides with the western
boundary of the department of the Haut Rhin as
far as the canton of Belfort, which it leaves to
France by striking off to the canton of Delle,
between which town and Joncherey it terminates
on the Swiss frontier. Germany is thus advanced
about 100 miles nearer Paris, and comes into
possession of a long line of forts invaluable for
defensive purposes. The principal are Metz la
Pucelle, Thionville, Strassburg, Schlestadt, Bitsche,
Marsal, Neu Breisach, Phalsbourg, and Hagenau ;
while amongst the towns are Colmar, Mulhausen,
Guebwiller, Molsheim, Saverne, Château-Salins,
Sarreguemines, and Forbach. Thus the whole
department of the Bas Rhin, the greater portion of
the Moselle, the Meurthe, and the Haut Rhin, and
a small corner of the Vosges, are comprised in the
concession, which may be more briefly described
as the whole of Alsace (minus Belfort) and about
a fifth of Lorraine.
The annexation of this strip of land, narrow as
it looks upon the map, entirely reverses the relative
military positions of France and Germany. Up to
July, 1870, France had the aggressive position.
Metz, with its recently built forts, was her sally¬
port towards the German left bank of the Rhine,
as Strassburg was towards South Germany. Either
of these places was important enough to serve as a
base of operations for a large field army ; while on
the German side the nearest base opposed to Metz
was Mayence, opposed to Strassburg, Ulm—both
places a long way to the rear. By its geographical
configuration, the ground on the German side does
not furnish any nearer positions of sufficient stra¬
tegical importance to make it worth while turning
them into large fortresses, and thus the whole of the
German left bank of the Rhine, and a large portion
of Southern Germany, including all Baden and
Wiirtemburg, were always open to French invasion.
There was only one way to meet this danger—the
way made use of in this war—that the Germans,
ready before the French, should concentrate the
whole of their force on the border line between
the Moselle and the Rhine, and invade France in
their turn. In that case, however, a lost battle
would have driven them back to Mayence and
across the Rhine, and laid open all Baden and
Wiirtemburg.
Thus the German Rhine fortresses, Germersheim,
Mayence, Coblenz, and Cologne, though forming
a strong line in themselves, were a protection only
to the country behind them—that is to say, to the
country east of the Rhine and north of the Main.
The fortresses situated in advance of the Rhine,
Landau, Saarlouis, and even Luxemburg, were
of no great importance ; at most, they closed fines
of railway, but none of them could arrest the march
of an army.
In his speech on the government of the newly-
acquired territory in the German Parliament in
May, 1872, Prince Bismarck said that Germany
could not permit the state of things we have
described to continue, and it would have been
suicidal on her part not to have availed herself of
the opportunity offered by the war to amend it.
He regretted to say that some other powers had
not been of that opinion. These powers had not
been particularly gratified by the determination
of Germany to recover her lost provinces ; and
when they found her firm had proposed that the
affair should be compromised either by a dis¬
mantling of the Alsace and Lorraine fortresses, or
by the formation of Alsace and Lorraine into an
independent and neutralized state, protected by a
European guarantee. For Germany it had been
quite impossible to entertain either of these sug¬
gestions. A joint guarantee might be valuable
enough, had not some states been latterly in the
habit of explaining it away the moment after
acceding to it. Besides, even if honestly enforced,
no guarantee could have prevented France from
attacking the German shores, while Germany,
with a small fleet and cut off from France by an
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
287
intermediate barrier of neutralized states, would
have been powerless to reciprocate. As to the
idea of razing the fortresses, this would have in¬
flicted upon France a more severe humiliation
than the mere loss of territory. It would have
deprived France of the right to exercise her sove¬
reignty in a portion of her own territory—a
penalty which no great state is likely to submit
to long. Add to this that the Alsatians would
not have been very good neutrals, and it was clear
that there remained nothing but to solve the
difficulty by downright annexation.
The treaty of peace completely reversed the
military position of the two countries. By the
possession of Strassburg and all Alsace, the whole
line of the Rhine, up to Basel, became German
property; and Strassburg, flanked to the south
by Schlestadt and Neu Breisach, from a sally¬
port against South Germany, becomes its chief
and central bulwark, the Vosges range forming
the first line of defence. North of Strassburg,
even the western slopes of these hills belong to
Germany, and with them the small places of Phals-
bourg, Petite Pierre, Lichtenberg, and Bitsche,
which more or less effectively command the passes.
Thus South Germany received not only a powerful
barrier against French aggression, but also a strong
basis of operation, with the roads prepared and
secured, for attack against France.
But this is only the least important point. The
transfer of Metz gave the Germans a power of at¬
tacking France such as she would obtain against
Germany by the possession of the whole left bank
of the Rhine, with all its fortresses and their
bridge-heads on the right bank. If the French
had Coblenz with Ehrenbreitstein and Mayence
with Castel, then Germany would be in the same
weak strategical position relatively to France that
she is now in with regard to Germany. The pos¬
session of Metz advanced the German base of attack
against France by fully 120 miles. It gave them
a stronghold superior in natural position, engineer¬
ing strength, and extent, to any one they had
before, situated exactly where they must wish such
a powerful outpost of their Rhenish system of
fortification to be—flanked, moreover, to the north
by Thionville and by Luxemburg. And, just as
beyond the Rhine, in the interior of Germany,
there are scarcely any points naturally adapted for
large fortresses to bar the road to Berlin, so there
is, west of the Moselle, the same dearth of strate¬
gical positions capable of being turned to account
in keeping the enemy at a distance from Parisi
With the Germans in Metz, the road to Paris is
open to them, as soon as the French army in the
field shall have lost one great battle. Verdun and
Toul, with Frouard or Nancy, might hereafter be
formed into a system of fortifications, but they
could never counterbalance or replace Metz ; and
between the Meuse and Paris there appears to be
no position, were it ever so much fortified, where
a defeated army could arrest the conquerors.
On the other hand, were the German army to
be beaten before Metz, the garrison of that fortress
(unless the whole army blundered into it, as was
done in August, 1870) would hold in check more
than twice its numbers, and the whole territory
between the Moselle and the Rhine would remain
disputed ground until Metz were again reduced by
the French. No army will like to undertake the
reduction of two such places as Metz and Mayence
at one and the same time, unless the enemy repeat
the Bonapartist campaign of 1870, which is not to
be expected. Thus the possession of Metz enables
the Germans, in case of defeat, to carry on the
campaign for at least a couple of months on the
left bank of the Rhine, and to weaken a successful
enemy to a serious extent before he arrives on that
river, their main line of defence.
In the same spirit in which the Germans claimed
Metz and the line of the Vosges, they further in¬
sisted on making France pay the largest indemnity
it could afford. The terms as to money, no less
than as to territory, appeared merciless. Eminent
financiers were solemnly summoned to consider
how much could be squeezed out of France ; and
the sum of two hundred millions was by them
scientifically ascertained to be the extremest bur¬
den the camel could bear without breaking its
back. The Germans, of course, liked the money
for its own sake, and no nation on earth was more
likely to prize a windfall of £'200,000,000 sterling.
But perhaps their main idea was not the mere
pocketing of this magnificent prize, but to obtain
a guarantee of safety. A very heavily taxed nation
shrinks from war, and France for the next quarter
of a century will be most severely taxed in propor¬
tion to her resources and population. Altogether
she will be fortunate if, in 1874, when the indemnity
is paid, she has a debt of less than £1,200,000,000
sterling, and a mortgage of less than £40,000,000
a year upon her industry. For many years she
288
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
will thus be exposed to all the disorders which
heavy taxes, constant deficits, and revolutionary
finance experiments bring in their train. It is
true that in course of time peace and industry
may make the augmented debt felt as little as
that of 1870. This, however, must be a slow pro¬
cess, and meanwhile France, under the penalty of
risking national bankruptcy, will be bound over
to keep the peace towards Germany ; while the
latter, with £200,000,000 to make good its losses,
and enriched by the industry and commerce of
Alsace, may count on keeping ahead in the race,
and entering on a future war with a sounder fin¬
ancial system and a more solid credit than France
can hope for.
OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS ISSUED AFTER THE WAR.
After the conclusion of the war most of the
leading actors on the French side published de¬
fences or explanations of the various parts they
had taken in it. In fact, so great was the flood of
publications on the subject, that such a profusion
of information, instead of enlightening the reader,
only bewildered him. It seems necessary, however,
in dealing with the consequences and results of
the war, to notice a few of the works which bear
very specially on some of the chief events narrated,
and which, in one or two instances, throw a little
additional light upon them, without, however, on
any material point affecting the truth of our ori¬
ginal statements with regard to them.
Perhaps the most historically important and
remarkable work of all was that of Count Bene-
detti, explaining the relations between France and
Prussia from 1864 to 1871, and especially with
regard to the celebrated secret treaty, as to the
annexation of Belgium by France, which caused
so much consternation in England, and which
is fully described in Chapter III. Soon after
the secret treaty was divulged, Count Benedetti
took occasion to publish a letter to the effect that,
although the treaty was in his handwriting, it
was written by him purely at the suggestion and
dictation of Prince Bismarck. This statement
might possibly have been allowed to stand un¬
challenged, had not Count Benedetti, at the close
of the war, become infected with the prevailing
mania of rushing into print in further justification
of his conduct. In his work, " Ma Mission en
Prusse," he stated that when the negotiation as to
Belgium was going on, he communicated solely
with M. Rouher, and as his correspondence was
not official, he could not refer his readers to any
official record of it; but so extremely scrupulous
was he, that he would not write a line the accuracy
of which could not be verified. Thus all that passed
between him and the French government, while
the negotiations were in progress, was necessarily
buried in darkness. Still he could give his readers
the general tenor of this buried correspondence,
and he particularly requested them to treasure in
their minds two great truths—that the proposal
for the annexation of Belgium to France was, in
his words, a purely Prussian conception, as he
merely embodied in the famous draught treaty the
suggestions of Count von Bismarck ; and secondly,
that the emperor would have nothing to do with the
annexation of Belgium, and would only take Luxem¬
burg, whereas Count von Bismarck offered, in return
for Prussia being allowed to consolidate its power
from the Baltic to the Alps, that France should
first get Luxemburg and then Belgium.
The luckless diplomatist was not aware that the
French government, to aggravate the humiliation
they had brought upon themselves, had left the
most important state papers to be seized by the
invader at St. Cloud. The fact, however, was
that while, in honour of himself and the imperial
government, M. Benedetti was printing the above
version of what had happened, his enemies were in
possession of the documents which he supposed
were for ever safe in the custody of M. Rouher,
and of which they availed themselves as soon as
M. Benedetti's work appeared. According to these
documents, what really happened in the latter half
of August, 1866, with regard to Belgium, seems
to have been as follows :—On the 12 th the
emperor wrote to M. Benedetti to say that he
finally abandoned all claim to Mayence and to the
left bank of the Rhine. It is acknowledged by
both parties, that the emperor's reasons for doing
so were, that Count von Bismarck had plainly
told M. Benedetti a week before that to persist in
such a demand meant instant war. On August 16
a diplomatic messenger was sent from Paris with
a letter of instructions to M. Benedetti to make
new demands; and these instructions Count von
Bismarck used as the weapon to annihilate the
pretensions of M. Benedetti after the publication
of his volume. After a caution as to the strictly
confidential character of the negotiations, the letter
proceeded, " In proportion to the chance of
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
289
success our demands will have to be graduated
as follows:—In the first place, you will have to
combine into one proposition the recovery of the
frontiers of 1814 and the annexation of Belgium.
You have, therefore, to ask for the extradition,
by formal treaty, of Landau, Saarlouis, Saarbriick,
and the duchy of Luxemburg; and you have to
aim at the annexation of Belgium, by the con¬
clusion of an offensive and defensive treaty which
is to be kept secret. Secondly, should this basis
appear to promise no result, you will resign Saar¬
louis, Saarbriick, and even Landau, which, after
all, is but a dilapidated nest of a place, the occu¬
pation of which might excite German national
feeling against us. In this eventuality your public
agreement will be confined to the duchy of Lux¬
emburg, and your secret treaty to the reunion of
Belgium with France. Thirdly, supposing a clear
and unmistakable reference to the incorporation
of Belgium is found unpalatable, you are author¬
ized to assent to a clause in which, to obviate
the intervention of England, Antwerp is declared
a free city. In no case, however, are you to
permit the reunion of Antwerp with Holland, or
the incorporation of Maestricht with Prussia.
" Should Herr von Bismarck put the question,
what advantage would accrue to him from such a
treaty, the simple reply would be, that he would
thereby secure a powerful ally; that he would
consolidate his recent acquisitions; that he was
only desired to consent to the cession of what does
not belong to him ; and that he makes no sacrifice
at all to be compared to his gains. To sum up,
the minimum we require is an ostensible treaty
which gives us Luxemburg, and a secret treaty,
which, stipulating for an offensive and defensive
alliance, leaves us the chance of annexing Belgium
at the right moment, Prussia engaging to assist us,
if necessary, by force of arms, in carrying out this
purpose."
These instructions of August 16 were answered
by Count Benedetti in a letter dated Berlin,
August 23, and commenting upon it, in replying
to his book, published in 1871, Prince Bismarck
drily observed that " this letter, which is en¬
tirely in his own hand, like so many other inter¬
esting documents of the same kind, is at this
moment in the possession of the German Foreign
Office." In the letter Count Benedetti told his
correspondent that he had received his communi¬
cation, and would conform as closely as possible
VOI. II.
to the principles laid down in it. He inclosed a
draught treaty, explaining that he preferred one
treaty to two; that he found Landau and Saar¬
briick unattainable, and that he had accordingly
kept to Luxemburg and Belgium. The Germans
had also got hold of the reply to Count Benedetti's
letter from the French government. A general
approval was given to his draught; but whereas
the fourth article contemplated the extension of
Prussian supremacy south of the Main, and the
fifth provided for the annexation of Belgium, the
French government wished it to be made clear
that the latter article was not to be regarded as
only binding if the former had been carried out.
" It is obvious that the extension of the supremacy
of Prussia across the Main will, as a matter of
course, compel us to seize Belgium. But the
same necessity may be brought on by other events,
on which subject we must reserve to ourselves
exclusively the right to judge."
Amendments to carry out the views of the
French government were added on the margin of
M. Benedetti's draught treaty, and as thus amended,
it also fell into the hands of the German govern¬
ment. On the receipt of his revised draught, Count
Benedetti presented to Count von Bismarck a
draught treaty incorporating the amendments with
his original handiwork, and this was the treaty
which Count von Bismarck published to the world
in 1870. When, however, M. Benedetti came to
discuss the project he was disappointed at the
reception he met with; and he wrote home on
the 29th of August, expressing for the first time
a doubt whether France could count on the sin¬
cerity of Prussia, which, according to his belief,
had succeeded in establishing an alliance with
Russia, that might lead to the co-operation of
France being refused. The whole matter, for
the time at least, thus dropped, and secret nego¬
tiations were suspended for several months.
These documents entirely disposed of M. Bene¬
detti's case, which was that the suggestion for the
annexation of Belgium came solely from Count
von Bismarck, at whose dictation the draught
treaty had been written; and that the treaty was
at once rejected by the French government, which
would have nothing to do with the annexation of
Belgium. In short, Count Benedetti's story was
shown by the documents of his own government
to be entirely untrue.
In so far as regards France, there is the clearest
20
290
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
evidence of lier determined design upon Belgium,
and the French government had actually conde¬
scended to calculate what it might be necessary to
provide as a sop to appease England. It is more
difficult to say what was the true history of the
part played by Count von Bismarck and Prussia
in the matter. A part of M. Benedetti's book is
proved to have been utterly false, but other parts
the Prussian minister by no means explained. All
that is really proved by the emperor's instructions
of August 16 to Count Benedetti is, that the French
government was plotting to seize Belgium, while
he—anxious to put his government forth as a
paragon of virtue—endeavoured to make the world
believe that France would not have Belgium, even
if offered. Prince Bismarck's revelations would have
us infer that the proposal to lay hands on Belgium
originated with her, but this by no means follows.
Louis Napoleon had manifested considerable un¬
easiness at the growing power of Prussia, and could
not but see that it was quite possible for him to pre¬
vent the easy subjugation of Austria in the war of
1866. He thought it reasonable, therefore, to inquire
of Count von Bismarck, what compensation he might
expect in return for allowing Prussia unmolested
to absorb German territory on all hands. The
idea of French interference evidently caused great
uneasiness in Prussia; and on the 6th of June
(more than two months prior to the letter of in¬
structions above quoted) M. Benedetti wrote to
his government that Count von Bismarck had
told him that the compensation France might
require in consideration of any future territorial
aggrandizement of Prussia must be sought in a
French-speaking district. This, it appears to us,
was the first intimation of the secret treaty busi¬
ness. Count von Bismarck wished to disarm the
hostility of Napoleon III., and in order to this he
chose to keep dangling before him the prospect of
an accession of territory to France at no risk or
cost to himself. By this device he was completely
taken in, and confirmed in his intention of main¬
taining an absolute neutrality between Prussia and
Austria. On the 16th of July M. Benedetti wrote
that Count von Bismarck had pressed on him the
advantages of an alliance between the two coun¬
tries. On his objection that to take the compensa¬
tion offered would involve a breach of international
treaties, Bismarck replied that if France and Prussia
were united they need not fear armed resistance
either from Russia or England. On the 26th of
July M. Benedetti wrote again, that he should be
telling the French Foreign minister nothing new
in saying that Count von Bismarck " is of opinion
that we ought to seek compensation in Belgium,
and has offered to come to an understanding with
France on this head." All these letters, written
from time to time by M. Benedetti, in the ordi¬
nary course of his business, for the exclusive and
private information of his own government, were
published in his book, and their accuracy was
certainly not impugned by anything Prince Bis¬
marck afterwards published.
Putting all the accounts together, therefore, we
think it is not very difficult to guess what really
happened. Prince Bismarck was, in June and
July, 1866, very much afraid of France helping
Austria, and thought it expedient to agree that
the former should have some makeweight to coun¬
terpoise the increased power of Prussia. As he
did not wish to give up German soil, he suggested
that France should take Belgium. France did not
at all approve of this. She did not wish to get
into a great international quarrel, and held that,
as it was Prussia that was winning, she it was
that ought to pay. France demanded Mayence
and the left bank of the Rhine. Count von Bis¬
marck rejoined that, rather than agree, he would
prefer war. France backed out of the demand,
but immediately caught at his suggestion for the
annexation of Belgium, with, however, a demand
for Luxemburg and a slice of Germany. Count
von Bismarck would consent to no infraction of
German territory, but was quite open to discuss
what compensation he was to receive for Luxem¬
burg and Belgium. During all this time that he
was keeping France and M. Benedetti in play,
he was arranging a Russian alliance; and no
sooner had that point been gained than he threw
M. Benedetti and his draught treaty to the winds,
and vowed that he could never' have the heart to
do anything distasteful to England.
Under the title of "A Ministry of War for
Twenty-four Days," Count de Palikao endeavoured
to shuffle all the responsibility of the march to
Sedan off his shoulders, and to justify the other
acts of his administration. He admitted having
been the author of the plan which proved so dis¬
astrous to MacMahon, but endeavoured to show
that it was founded upon military considerations
suggested by a former well-known campaign of
Dumouriez in the Argonne. Dumouriez marched
THE FRANOO-PRtJSSIAN WAR.
291
from Sedan southwards and won the decisive battle
of Yalmy ; therefore Count de Palikao thought if
MacMahon marched northward towards Sedan he
too would win a great battle over the sons of those
who were defeated at Yalmy. "When I con¬
ceived the march of the army of Chalons on Metz,
in order to operate its junction with that of Marshal
Bazaine," says the War minister of twenty-four
days, " I understood that Dumouriez's plan could
be executed in an inverse sense, that is to say, by
a rapid march from the valley of the Marne to the
valley of the Meuse." In Chapter X. of this work
we have expressed our opinion that the sending of
MacMahon northwards in the attempt to relieve
Bazaine was one of the most striking examples
in all history in which military were sacrificed to
political considerations ; and notwithstanding Count
Palikao's explanations, to that opinion we still
adhere.
From M. J. Yalfrey's " History of French
Diplomacy since the 6th September," and the
official documents published by M. Jules Favre,
we obtain a clear insight into the extraordinary
part played by M. Gambetta in the misfortunes of
France, and some very interesting details respecting
the mission of M. Thiers to this and other countries
in September, 1871. The mission intrusted to M.
Thiers was the opening of a series of illusions
destined to be dispelled by a terribly painful ex¬
perience ; and the manoeuvres of M. Gambetta to
paralyze the small results of the mission inaugurated
what may be called the " era of patriotic false¬
hoods." It was an understood thing that, with
M. Gambetta, " country " was synonymous with
"republic ; " if no republic there was no country;
to save the country, therefore, it was necessary to
save the republic. But if the republic signed a
disastrous peace it was lost. This was the reason
why, after the 4th of September, M. Gambetta was
ever found impeding all attempts at a peace, or
even an armistice. Before leaving Paris by balloon
he was hostile to the pacific projects of M. Jules
Favre, and he found a powerful auxiliary in the
famous " plan " of General Trochu ; at the end of
October he resisted in his despatches the attempts
at an armistice made by M. Thiers ; in February,
at Bordeaux, he voted against peace. His conduct
was consistent, and from his own point of view
irreproachable.
M. Thiers had been charged by the government
of the 4th September with a mission to all the
great powers, the main object of which was, if
possible, to draw them into alliances with France,
so as to continue the war and expel the Germans
from French territory. Where, however, the
Emperor Napoleon in the fulness of his power,
and his cousin Prince Napoleon, had, after a first
disaster, been unsuccessful, there could be little
chance for the representative of a country without
an army and without a government. Besides,
these projects, of coalition " against the common
enemy " were little likely to be favourably enter¬
tained by cabinets accustomed to look upon France
as " the common enemy." In case of the failure
of these projects M. Thiers was to induce the vari¬
ous powers to remonstrate strongly with Germany
upon the exorbitancy of her demands. But to
extort from Germany better terms than she deemed
equitable was a task which would have required
the combined efforts of Europe—a task, withal, in
which it was doubtful whether Russia would, or
Austria could, co-operate. It would be hard to
say what England alone, or even England with
Italy, could have done for France after Sedan ;
and M. Thiers should have considered how little
influenced France herself would have been by the
mere remonstrances of Europe, had the Prussian
armies been overpowered in two pitched battles,
Mayence and Coblenz besieged, and the French
van-guard in sight of Berlin.
In spite of his quick intelligence, M. Thiers
did not at once perceive how difficult it would be
to turn the opinion of Europe in favour of France,
or instead of listening to his fears, he obeyed only
the promptings of his devotion to his country. He
went to London, and there proved in lengthy
conversations, to his own satisfaction at least,
how necessary France was to the equilibrium of
Europe and to the happiness of mankind. He
was listened to, as he always had been, with defer¬
ence, with sympathy, and even with pleasure ; but
Lord Granville answered that England " did not
mean to go to war ; that by interfering in behalf
of the neutral powers she might run a risk of
offending Prussia, who would not put up with her
intervention ; and that such an intervention might
do more harm than good." He added, that Eng¬
land had already paid the penalty sure to fall on
all neutrality ; that she had given offence to both
belligerents, and the Germans complained of her
too great partiality to France. M. Thiers insisted
that the course England had followed, and was
292
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
bent on following, would cause lier to fall from
her rank among nations, and that her inaction,
under present circumstances, amounted to conniv¬
ance with Prussia, as it would necessarily turn to
her advantage.
The English minister had, however, made up his
mind not to compromise his country on any account.
Her Majesty's government were fully aware of the
futility of offering mediation between two belliger¬
ents who could not agree upon a basis of negotia¬
tion. They had brought the two plenipotentiaries
face to face at Ferrières, and there left them to do
the best they could together.
M. Thiers next went to Vienna, charmed Count
Beust, thought that he had won him over, and
went on to St. Petersburg. There all was cordi¬
ality and goodwill; the Emperor Alexander was
understood to renew his promise that the French
territory should be spared; this was much. Re¬
turning to Vienna, M. Thiers was received with
good words, but it was necessary to make sure
of Italy. King Victor Emmanuel was frankness
itself; he acceded to everything asked by him,
provided that his cabinet consented, but the cab¬
inet did not consent. These great armies, this
general rising announced by M. Gambetta, were
they indeed real? M. Thiers, speaking officially,
had no doubt about them, but when he spoke in
his own name he was full of anxieties. His sad
pilgrimage over, he returned to tb# government of
the Delegation, bringing with him, besides the
fair words which he everywhere received, a tele¬
gram from the Emperor Alexander to the king of
Prussia, the object of which was to arrange for
the entrance of M. Thiers into Paris, and to facili¬
tate overtures for an armistice. If the Delegation
approved, the telegram would be sent. At Tours
the proposal was met by a similar proposal from
the British cabinet. The combination decided
their acceptance; for fear of showing unreason¬
able stubbornness, M. Gambetta yielded. While
apparently joining in the opinion of his colleagues,
however, he drew up privately for the government
of Defence a long despatch, intended to precede
M. Thiers and to destroy beforehand the effect of
his speeches and his advice. This despatch may
be said to throw a full light upon the character
of M. Gambetta, as well as upon this episode of a
very dark story. Overpowered by the authority
of M. Thiers, M. Gambetta gave his vote for peace,
but by underhand means he endeavoured to make
it impossible. He put the government of Paris on
its guard against the very objectionable views of
the negotiator; the country was not so exhausted
as he thought, men abounded, the staff of officers
was being reformed. There existed in reality an
army of the Loire of 110,000 men, well armed and
equipped. The general who commanded them
was not a great captain, but he was fully com¬
petent for his task. Another army was forming
in the east ; the west was getting ready ; the north
would stand firm ; the franc-tireurs were the terror
of the enemy; with Keratry and Garibaldi to com¬
mand them they formed important resources. In
a word, the military position was excellent, and as
Paris would hold out long enough for all these
forces to come into action, the state of affairs, from
being critical, would become favourable ; the flight
of time, the rigours of winter, were so many auxil¬
iaries which might be counted on.
This picture was drawn with the view of ren¬
dering the government remaining in Paris more
exacting with regard to the conditions and even
the acceptance of the armistice. To give addi¬
tional effect to the picture, M. Gambetta furnished
a highly coloured description of the state of people's
minds in France. According to him elections
were demanded only by a minority in the country.
All the towns were " passionately republican and
warlike;" even the provinces began to show their
teeth. The Legitimists and the Orleanists alone,
enemies to the supremacy of the capital, demanded
new elections. There were no disturbances in the
large towns. Lyons and Marseilles recognized the
authority of the central government; leagues had
been formed, but a little firmness and plain dealing
sufficed to disperse them. Besides the republican
party, " with the exception of two or three ultra-
moderate individuals, are unanimous in consider¬
ing the elections as a perilous diversion from the
necessities of the war." If an armistice was to be
concluded, it must serve to reinforce the defence
and not to weaken it. There must, therefore, be
laid down as absolute conditions the revictualling
of besieged places.
" Far from weakening the spirit of resistance,"
says he, " we ought to excite it still more; we ought
only to accept the truce proposed to us if it is advan¬
tageous from a military point of view, and only to
make use of it from a political point of view if we
are resolved to hold really republican elections."
The eloquence of Gambetta had the most disastrous
THE FRANCO PRUSSIAN WAR.
293
influence upon those who read his fatal dospntcli ;
it persuaded them that the armies from the outside
were hastening towards them, that the enemy was
about to raise the siege, was imploring quarter,
and must be made to pay for it. The armistice,
as we know, was rejected, because the Germans
would not consent to the re-victualling of Paris,
and ultimately France had to pay three milliards
more than would probably then have satisfied her
enemy, and to lose, besides Strassburg and Metz,
the whole of Alsace and a portion of Lorraine.
A singular feature of the war publications was
the complaisance with which all the French gen¬
erals sang their own praises. General Faidherbe
was always victorious, and General Chanzy would
have ultimately triumphed had the war continued.
In our account of the operations in the north of-
France we have already alluded to M. Faidherbe's
work, "Campagnede l'Armée du Nord en 1870—71,"
and see no reason to modify the opinions then
expressed. The object of successful war is not to
fight battles, or win them, for their own sakes,
but as means to certain desired ends ; and the
whole question of a general's alleged victories
turns on the degree in which he approached to
or attained his object. Now, if Faidherbe in
December wished merely to fight a defensive
action and then move off", or in January to fight
a defensive action and then move off, he certainly
succeeded. But if the battle of Pont-à-Noyelles
came out of an attempt to recover Amiens, as is
generally supposed,, or that of Bapaume of the
desire to save Péronne, as Faidherbe himself tells
us, then it is certain that he failed on each occasion,
and can claim no success merely because he was
not re-attacked or pursued.
ENGLISH BENEVOLENT OPERATIONS DURING THE WAR.
We have more than once, in the course of this
history, alluded to the difficult part which Eng¬
land, as a neutral nation, had to play during the
war. We were regarded by the belligerents as
cold-blooded and lukewarm, for not taking an
active share in a contest which stirred up the
fiercest passions of both countries, and which each
worked itself up to consider could only be right¬
fully regarded from its own point of view. Many
Frenchmen felt more disposed to forgive Germany
the invasion of their country than to forgive Eng¬
land for "permitting" it; while on the other hand,
many German newspapers demanded a " bloody
reckoning" of us for allowing the export of arms;
forgetful that Prussia supplied Kussia with them
in the Crimean war, and that her jurists maintained
that it was then both legal and expedient.
There is, however, one field where the much-
maligned neutral is allowed fair play—the hospital
and the ambulance. Here, at least, the United
Kingdom showed that its neutrality was owing to
no indifference, and that it is possible for outsiders
to feel that there is a certain amount of truth and
right on both sides, which the eager combatants
overlook in the heat of the fearful strife—
" Where furious Frank and fiery Hun
Charge 'neath their sulph'rous canopy."
In these days of close intercourse and free trade
among nations, England must suffer by all the
misfortunes of its neighbours; a truth which, it
may be hoped, will in time bring about a more
charitable spirit towards us. Commerce is a sen¬
sitive plant, which shrivels up immediately under
any cold chill, and our commerce, as the greatest
in the world, is the most quickly affected. Yet
the British contributions on behalf of the sufferers
by the war exceeded those for any former object,
and were larger by far than for our own Patriotic
Fund, in the Crimean distress, in the same time.
Such aid by neutral nations is regarded by some
as an indirect subsidy for the carrying on of war ;
but a little reflection as to the circumstances of
the recent contest will show that such was not the
case in 1870—71. Under ordinary circumstances
it is an admitted fact that any provision which a
government can maintain for the service of the
sick and wounded in time of peace, is invariably
inadequate to meet the enormously increased
demands which instantly spring up at the com¬
mencement of war. While the French arrange¬
ments in this respect were found on almost every
occasion to be very greatly defective, the abundant
provision made by Germany often seemed equally
shortcoming. For the reason of this we have not
far to seek. The campaign was one of unprece¬
dented mutilation and slaughter; but in addition
to this, and as a natural result of the extraordinary
success of the Germans, a battle invariably threw
upon their hands the sick and wounded of both
sides; and the enormous strain under which they
laboured may be gathered from the fact that the
three first battles, Wissembourg, Woerth, and For-
bach, left with them no less than 20,000 wounded.
294
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
Vast as were the efforts made, the utmost that
one side could do proved a very inadequate pro¬
vision for such an excessive mass of suffering ; and
the object of the British National Society for aid
to the sick and wounded in war was to supplement
the overtaxed exertions of the military surgeons,
and provide some few comforts for the sufferers
beyond those allowed by the somewhat Spartan
practice of military hospitals.
Subscriptions were opened in August, 1870. In
six weeks a sum of £145,000 had been raised,
vast stores of every description were being judi¬
ciously distributed, and fifty thoroughly qualified
surgeons had been despatched to the scene of con¬
flict. The total sum ultimately received by the
society in voluntary, and even unsolicited, sub¬
scriptions was £296,928—sent by 899 auxiliary
committees, 317 bankers, 30 masonic lodges, 139
managers of concerts, lectures, &c.; the employés
of 100 firms, 65 servants' halls, 257 schools, 172
regiments, including militia and volunteers ; 30
ships of war, 5824 congregations and parishes,
and 11,832 individuals. The value of the stores,
no less important than the money, contributed by
the public was estimated at £45,000 ; and a
classification of the donors showed that stores of
various kinds had been received from 224 branch
committees, 252 parochial, congregational, and
other collections, 69 schools and asylums, and
4354 individual contributions, of whom 380 sent
their gifts anonymously. The stores embraced
every conceivable article of hospital utility—
bedding, clothing, medicines and surgeons' stores,
food, and surgical instruments. As the war
progressed the supplies of the last-named were
especially acceptable, none being procurable in
either of the belligerent countries, as German
makers were in the army, and Paris, the regular
source of French supply, was besieged. Large
supplies of chloroform were also sent, and in
addition to its use in the ambulance hospitals,
permission was given by the king of Prussia for
its conveyance into Metz, Strassburg, and Phals-
bourg, some time before their surrender—the first
instance of such mitigation of the horrors of a
siege. The final report of the society showed that
£20,000 waà given to the German military at
Versailles, and £20,000 to General Trochu in
Paris, under a promise in both cases that it should
be used purely for extra comforts, additional to
the usual hospital allowance of each army ; that
£27,472 was spent in food, wines, spirits, and
medical comforts for the disabled soldiers ; that
£28,971 was devoted to the purchase of clothing
and bedding, £8090 to the purchase of surgical
instruments, and £7866 to that of medical stores,
disinfectants, &c. Besides these amounts we find
an entry of £2111 expended in buildings for
hospitals and stores, £21,705 on the transport
service, including the purchase and hire of horses,
vehicles, and forage, stable expenses, repairs, and
packing and carriage of stores ; and £23,845 on
staff allowances and expenses abroad, including the
pay of surgeons, dressers, nurses, lay-agents, in¬
firmiers, drivers, grooms, porters, messengers, &c.
Different other aid societies and ambulances, whose
members by their local knowledge proved the best
almoners that the committee could employ, were
subsidized by the British society to the extent of
£89,898.
At the close of the war the large sum of about
£70,000 was still in the hands of the bankers, and
it was resolved to apply for a charter of incorpora¬
tion for the society, so as to insure permanence to
its operations ; the money being invested in the
joint names of Prince Arthur, Lord Shaftesbury,
and Colonel Lloyd Lindsay, as trustees, in order
to form the nucleus of a fund for future use should
occasion arise. One of the greatest difficulties of
the committee was to allay the jealousies of the
different military and medical authorities of both
armies, who, though the system of distribution
was rigidly impartial,* were always complaining
that they did not get their share of good things.
In the course of their report the committee ob¬
served:—"We know that we have saved lives,
mitigated the sufferings, and carried assistance
and comfort, which could not otherwise have
reached them, to thousands of sick and wounded
in every stage and degree of their misery." "We
simply administer the funds which the public
intrusts to us, never having solicited subscriptions,
remembering that our legitimate function is only
to assist the government and people of Germany
and France to do their own work, and is only of a
supplementary nature."
Some agreeable proofs were received that, in
spite of small misunderstandings, our efforts to
mitigate the sufferings of the wounded on both
* " You are very impartial, indeed," said the king of Prussia, with
a how, when thanking the chairman of the committee for the large
supplies sent from England.
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
295
sides were received by tbe two belligerents in the
same spirit with which the help was offered. The
Crown Prince of Germany, whose wife, our princess,
conducted an admirable war hospital at Homburg,
wrote to Colonel Lloyd Lindsay :—
" Headquarters, Versailles,
"November 2, 1870.
" The noble contributions brought by Colonel
Lloyd Lindsay, for the use of the sick and
wounded, from the English society of which he
is the director, deserves somewhat more than a
simple acknowledgment.
" On this, as on other occasions of distress, the
help of the English public has been poured out
with a liberal and impartial hand.
" The gifts which have been offered, in a truly
Christian spirit, have excited a feeling of heart-felt
gratitude amongst those in whose name I speak.
In doing so, I am repeating the feelings of the
whole of my country people, in this instance
represented by those for whose special benefit
these gifts are destined."
"(Signed), FREDERICK WILLIAM."
The queen of Prussia also sent word to the com¬
mittee, that she had observed with sincere admira¬
tion the generous manner in which the English
nation endeavoured to alleviate the fearful sufferings
of the present war, and to participate in the care
of the numerous wounded, by supporting the exist¬
ing societies and hospitals, by the erection of their
own hospitals, establishment of dépôts, and the
distribution of gifts. " In my relations with the
German societies, I feel it an urgent obligation to
express this to the English committee for aid to
wounded and sick soldiers which directs this bene¬
volent activity, and in their name, as well as in
the name of my countrymen far and near whom
this assistance has benefited, to offer the most
sincere and deep-felt thanks. By such proofs of
true humanity the nation does honour to itself,
and preserves its old reputation of maintaining the
interests of humanity as everywhere the first con¬
sideration. It may likewise rest assured that with
us m Germany what we owe to it in this respect
is most warmly acknowledged and felt.
" AUGUSTA.
" Homburg, Nov. 8, 1870."
The minister of War in France, General Le
Flô, in acknowledging the gift of half a million
of francs (£20,000), said that he understood the
wish of the English subscribers to be, that the sum
should be specially devoted to procuring for our
sick and wounded, such additions to the regular
hospital allowances as may enable them to feel
that a friendly hand has been extended for the
relief of their sufferings. " Allow me to express,
in the name of the army and of our whole country,
the sentiment of profound gratitude with which
this brilliant manifestation of the sympathy of
your generous nation inspires me. In happier
and still recent times, it was granted to the sol¬
diers of our two countries to fight side by side
for a common cause, and the deed which you
this day perform is a proof of the esteem with
which you still regard us. I am deeply touched
by it, as the interpreter of the grateful feelings
of my nation."
Large, however, as was the sum received by the
British National Society, it by no means represented
the whole amount subscribed for the same or similar
objects in Great Britain and its colonies. The
Society of Friends raised a sum of no less than
£75,681, known as the " War Victims' Fund,"
which was disbursed by members of the worthy
community, who at their own expense visited the
scenes of the war, and distributed help in the most
judicious manner among the French civilian popu¬
lation suffering from its consequences. A large
portion of the money was devoted to providing
seed corn and vegetables for the impoverished
inhabitants, who were thus relieved from the
fearful contingency of a severe famine in addition
to the other horrors of the war.
To carry out more fully the view of the Society
of Friends in providing seed corn, a special sub¬
scription was commenced among the farmers and
agricultural interest generally of England and
Scotland. The " French Peasant Farmers' Seed
Fund" which was thus raised, amounted to £51,582,
and was distributed, without almost any cost to
the fund, by gentlemen whose practical experience
insured the certainty of the money being expended
to the greatest possible advantage.
The Daily News' Fund, a subscription received
entirely through the office of the popular news¬
paper of that name, amounted to £21,679, and was
gratuitously distributed by several gentlemen—
principally by Mr. W. H. Bullock, who for six
296
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
months devoted the whole of his time, and not a
little severe labour, to the task.
When the siege of Paris was evidently drawing
to the only end to which it could come, it occurred
to Mr. Knowles and some other gentlemen in Lon¬
don, that if the French capital stood out until the
food within the city was exhausted, there would be
the terrible likelihood of 2,000,000 of their fellow-
creatures starving within twelve hours of our own
shores. The sympathies of the great British capi¬
tal for its sister city were aroused by such a pros¬
pect. A meeting was held at the Mansion House
without delay, a committee was formed of repre¬
sentative men of all creeds and classes, and with
the view of accumulating large supplies of food,
to be sent into Paris as soon as the gates should
be opened, the sum of £130,000 was subscribed
in an incredibly short space of time. The British
government also came handsomely to the help of
the committee, and supplied it with the means of
transport, and with large donations of provisions
from the Admiralty victualling yards. The work
of distribution was confided to Lieutenant-colonel
Stuart Wortley and Mr. George Moore, two gen¬
tlemen enjoying universal esteem and confidence,
and both well acquainted with Paris and with the
means best suited to the pressing emergency. To
food, fuel, garden seeds, and to setting free from
pledge tools and implements, to enable the popu¬
lation of Paris to resume its industry, £70,000 was
devoted by the committee ; and the immediate
relief of the city being effected, attention was
turned to the suffering districts outside its walls.
Large sums were distributed to relieve the dis¬
tressed inhabitants of the circle of investment;
and considerable grants were made to committees
appointed to inquire into the cases of those who,
in the various departments around Paris, had been
entirely deprived of their homes and means of
livelihood. To the Peasant Farmers' Seed Fund
a sum of £13,000 was granted; and many of our
fellow-countrymen in Paris, impoverished by the
continuance of the siege, were assisted in leaving the
city, or received temporary aid within it. During
the siege the English residents had been supported
mainly by the munificence of Richard Wallace,
Esq., whose liberality was also amply extended to
the poor of the city generally. Through Lord
Granville, Mr. Wallace received the thanks of the
British government, and he was shortly after
created a baronet. The French authorities also
showed their sense of his generosity by re-naming
one of the Paris streets the Rue de Wallace.
Whatever form of government ultimately pre¬
vails in France, among all sober minds and honest
hearts the memory of the proofs of generous friend¬
ship shown by England towards that country, and
more particularly towards the city of Paris, will
not be easily effaced. Those Frenchmen who,
during the war, sought an asylum across the
channel, the wives and daughters of those hus¬
bands and fathers in Paris who desired to save
them from the dangers and severe privations of
the siege, know what a kind, sometimes almost
enthusiastic, reception was given them; they wit¬
nessed the wide sympathetic movement which
sprang up on all sides ; they saw the solicitude
with which high and low in our great metropolis
went to the succour of their besieged city, to save
it from the horrors of famine. London was more
concerned with the care of revictualling exhausted
Paris than was the French government, and suc¬
ceeded better. The report of a commission of
inquiry upon markets, subsequently revealed the
extent of the services rendered by the English to
Paris; and judging by this, it is fearful to think
what would have become of a population of two
millions of souls had not the English waggons
arrived almost as soon as the gates were opened,
whilst the provisions bought by the French
government were waited for in vain for weeks.
When, after the new disasters caused to Paris
by the Commune, regular authority had resumed
its sway, and a legal municipality had been estab¬
lished, one of the first acts of the authorities was
to show to England that there still existed in
Paris grateful spirits, and that the recollection of
her bounty was not effaced. A medal was struck ;
a bronze model of the Hotel de Ville, the symbol
of the town itself, was added to the medal; the
insignia of the Legion of Honour were given by
the government, and a Parisian deputation, com¬
posed of the prefect of the Seine, M. Léon Say,
and the president of the Elective Municipal Council,
M. Vautrain, was commissioned to carry to London
these souvenirs, and to tell in that city what true
Parisians had been thinking and saying for months.
The mission was well fulfilled ; the reception given
to the French representatives was such as to enhance
the value of the services already rendered; and a
return visit by the lord mayor of London tended
to strengthen the ties between the two nations.
PART III.
THE RHINE VALLEY.
A thousand battles have assailed thy banks,
But these and half their fame have passed away,
And slaughter heaped on high his slaughtering ranks ;
Their very graves are gone, and what are they?
Thy tide washed down the blood of yesterday,
And all was stainless ; and on thy clear stream
Glanced with its dancing light the sunny ray ;
But o'er the blackened memory's blighting dream,
Thy waves would vainly roll, all sweeping as they seem.
Adieu to thee, fair Rhine. . . .
The negligently grand, the fruitful bloom
Of coming ripeness, the white city's sheen,
The rolling stream, the precipice's gloom,
The forest's growth, and Gothic walls between
The wild rocks shaped as they had turrets beeu,
In mockery of man's art ; and these withal,
A race of faces happy as the scene,
Whose fertile bounties here extend to all,
Still springing o'er thy banks, though empires near them fall.
Byron's Childe Harold.
CHAPTER I.-
from the sources of the rhine to strasburg.
With the exception of the Nile and the Jordan,
there is no river in the world which has exercised
so great an influence on the fortunes of nations, or
produced so powerful an impression on the minds
of men, as the Rhine. We know all that can he
said in favour of the mighty Mississippi, and its
turbid roll of waters ; of the Amazon, and its forest-
clad banks; of the "sacred Ganges," and its
traditions dating far back into the twilight of
human history; of the Indus, which marked at one
time the frontiers of Western civilization; of the
Thames, which, comparatively insignificant in its
course and volume, has nevertheless gathered to
its ample bosom the commercial navies of the
world: but of none of them can so much be
advanced to interest and astonish and attract the
thinker, as of the "exultant and abounding"
Rhine. The great German river possesses every
charm which can fix our attention; it is rich in
the graces of scenery, in historical associations, in
those songs and legends which naturally spring
from the fertility of the popular imagination. It
flows through a succession of landscapes which
vary from grave to gay, from the sublime to the
beautiful; it is haunted by memories of heroes, of
warriors, princes, and poets; by the shadows of
a
-Introductory.
terrible battles which have been fought upon
its banks ; by the immortal music of the Lorelei,
who, as old poets tell us, frequents its liquid
depths, and incessantly raises her sweet but
melancholy strains. It is the river of the grand
epic of the Nibelungen-lied ; it is the river of the
faithful Roland, of the two brothers of Lieben-
stein, of the white-bearded and imperial Charle¬
magne, of the mighty Barbarossa. From the
earliest ages it has borne that singularly impressive
character which is still its dower. Long before
the Teuton settled on the slopes of its fertile hills
it was called, as it is still called, the Rhine (Jiren,
rhenus) ; and the word thrilled in the ears of the
Celts of old, as it now thrills in the ears of Frank
and German. Two thousand years ago, as now,
it was " the river," the river of rivers, the king
of rivers, for the great German race; and mailed
warriors sang, as well-armed veterans sing to-day:—
" Am Rhein, am Rhein, du wacksen unsere Reben,
Gesegnet sie der Rhein ! "
The people prayed on its banks—for it was as
sacred to them as the Ganges to the Hindu—
and lighted their tapers, and offered their offerings
in honour of the noble river. And through the
course of succeeding generations, the popular
devotion has never failed, and you can stimulate
1
THE RHINE VALLEY.
the dullest brain and coldest heart into enthusiasm
by whispering—the Rhine.
There are rivers, says a German writer, whose
course is longer; there are rivers whose volume
of water is greater: but no other unites in the
same degree almost everything that can render
an earthly object magnificent and attractive. As
it descends from the remote ridges of the Alps,
through fertile regions into the open sea, so it
comes down from remote antiquity, associated in
every age with momentous events in the history
of the neighbouring nations. A river which
presents so many historical recollections of Roman
conquests and defeats, of the chivalrous exploits
of the feudal age, of the wars and negotiations of
modern times, of the coronations of emperors,
whose bones repose by its side ; on whose borders
stand the two grandest monuments of the noble
architecture of the mediaeval days ; * whose banks
exhibit every variety of wild romantic rocks, dense
forests, smiling plains, vineyards, sometimes gently
sloping, sometimes perched among lofty crags,
where industry has won a domain among the
fortresses of nature ; whose banks are ornamented
with populous cities, flourishing towns and
villages, castles and ruins, with which a thousand
legends are connected, with beautiful and pic¬
turesque highways, and salutary mineral springs;
a river whose waters offer choice fish, as its banks
produce the choicest wines ; which, in its course of
900 miles, affords 630 of uninterrupted navigation,
from Bale to the sea, and enables the inhabitants
of either side of its fertile valley to exchange its
rich and luxurious products ; whose cities, famous
for commercial enterprise, science, and military
strongholds which furnish protection to Germany,
are also famous as the seats of Roman colonies
and of ecclesiastical councils, and are associated
with many of the most important events recorded
in the history of mankind ;—such a river, says
our authority, it is not surprising that the Germans
should regard with a kind of reverence, and
frequently call it in poetry Father, or King Rhine.
GENEKAL STATISTICS.
The Rhine, in its earliest stage, consists of three
branches, the Front, the Middle, and the Back
Rhine, and in these branches absorbs nearly all
the drainage of the northern basin of the Alps.
* The cathedrals of Strasburg and Cologne.
2
Each branch has, of course, its own fountain-
head.
The Front Rhine ( Vorder Rhein) rises from the
Toma Lake, which is 7460 feet above the sea
level, and coated with ice for the greater part of
the year, in a region of dreary rocks and steel-blue
glaciers.
The Middle Rhine (Mittel Rhein) springs from
the Cadelrhin glacier, and descends abruptly into
the Medelsee valley.
The Back Rhine (Ilinter Rhein) issues from the
icy solitudes of the Rheinwald valley, at the base
of the Moschelhorn, Adula, and Piz Vol Rhein,
about six miles above the little village of Hinter
Rhein (4800 feet above the sea), where it is
crossed by a stone bridge with three arches ; and
thence traversing the Via Mala and Trou Perdu,
swollen by thirty torrents, it winds through the
fair valley of Domleschgv where it receives the
Nolla, the Albula, the Davos, and the Rhine of
Oberhalbstein.
The Front Rhine, near the pastoral hamlet of
Chiamont, is augmented by two streams, one com¬
ing down from Crispait and the other from the
Corvera Valley. At Dissentis, where the traveller
may see the remains of a fine old Benedictine
abbey, it receives the Middle Rhine, and the united
stream then proceeds to join the more important
current of the Back Rhine at Reichenau.
Such is the origin of the great German river.
Fed by the snows of the Swiss mountain glaciers,
it strikes eastward from Reichenau to Coire. Then
it takes a northerly direction, and flows through
the beautiful valley which bears its name, as far
as the Lake of Constanz. At Constanz it issues
from the lake, and proceeding westward traverses
a second lake, which it quits at Stein; then it
runs to Schaffhausen, to form the magnificent
cataract known as the Falls of the Rhine. From
Schaffhausen to Bale it keeps a westerly course.
Near Waldshut it receives the Aar, which, with the
Limmat and the Reuss, brings to it the waters of
the Swiss cantons of Friburg, Lucerne, Unter-
walden, Uri, Schwyz, Zug, and Glarus, and no
inconsiderable portion of those of Vaud, Neu-
châtel, Berne, Soleure, Argovie, Zurich, and Saint-
Gall ; for its basin extends, west to east, from the
Lake des Rousses to the frontier of the Grisons ;
and south to north, from the massive ridge of St.
Gothard to its own borders.
Beyond Bale, the Rhine, receding from rugged
THE TERRITORY
OF THE GRISONS.
Helvetia, takes a northerly direction, and forms as
far as Strasburg, one of the great fortresses in the
French outer line of defence, the boundary line
between the grand duchy of Baden (right bank)
and the empire of France (left bank).
From Strasburg our river flows northward, or
more correctly speaking north-eastward, to Mann¬
heim, where it receives the Neckar. At Mainz it
turns to the west, then to the north-west, and flows
past Cohlenz (where it is augmented by the Moselle),
Bonn, Koln, and Dusseldorf, to Arnhem, where
it strikes westward to Utrecht, and dividing into
two channels, the Waal and the Lek, which again
unite near Arnhem, sluggishly meanders through
a flat and deltoid country, to empty its waters,
amid shallows and mud banks, into the German
Ocean at Catwyck, below Leyden.
Its length of course may be thus estimated:
From its extreme source to the city of Constanz,
135 miles ; from Constanz to Basel (Bâle), 80 miles ;
from Basel to Lauterberg, 110 miles; from Lauter-
berg to Bingen, 90 miles; from Bingen to its
mouth, 270 miles: total, 685 miles. Its average
velocity is ninety-one mètres, or 99*5 yards, per
minute. Its basin includes an area of 82,000
square miles, inhabited probably by 18,000,000
inhabitants. Of this area a ninth part belongs to
Switzerland, an eighth to France, a seventh to
Belgium and Holland, and the remainder, with the
exception of a small Austrian territory, to Ger¬
many, as represented by Prussia, Bavaria, Baden,
and Wiirtemburg.
The breadth of the Rhine at the principal points
on its banks is as follows:—
English Feet.
Near Reichenau, . . .... 250
At Stein, . 280 to 330
Schaffhausen, . 380
The Falls of the Rhine, . . . . 330
Rheinfelden, .... . 660
Basel, 750
Near Strasburg, . . 1090
Mannheim, '. 1350
Mains, . 1350
Biberich . , 1650
Eltville, 1950
Near Bingen, 1020
Near Coblenz, . . .... 1380
Near Neuwied, . . . . . 1530
Bonn, .... ... 1360
Cologne (KBln), . . ... 1400
Hittorf, ... 1750
Dusseldorf, . . .... 1350
Kaiserswerth, . . .... 1510
Wesel, 1650
Below Wesel 1950
Near Emmerich, 2350
The Rhine is navigable from its mouth to
Schaffhausen, a distance of 500 miles. Its average
depth, from the sea to Koln (160 miles), is ten
to twelve feet; from Koln to Mainz, five to six
feet ; but the depth is affected by the character
of the seasons, being greatest when a very warm
and genial spring has largely melted the mountain
snows.
The Rhine, says Victor Hugo, combines the
characters of all other rivers. It is swift as the
Rhone, broad as the Loire, shut in like the Meuse,
tortuous as the Seine, green and lucent as the
Somme, historic as the Tiber, regal as the
Danube, mysterious as the Nile, gold-spangled
as a river of America, haunted with fables and
phantoms as a river of Asia.
TO REICHENAU.
Having furnished the reader with these general
particulars—with an itinerary, as it were, of the
district he has to traverse—we now proceed to a
detailed description of the course of the great
German river.
The fountains of the Back Rhine are roman¬
tically situated. They issue from the bosom of
the Rheinwald glacier—a torrent of ice fully
four and twenty miles in height—thirteen or
fourteen in number, and fall over the ridge of
the Moschelhorn into a dark blue pool at the base
of the glacier, which is fed by inexhaustible but
concealed streams. This pool is about four feet broad
by one and a half deep. Receiving tributes of melted
snow and ice on either hand, the infant river pours
through a chasm or crevasse, called the Gulf of
Hell ; passing the spot where a " Temple of the
Nymphs" once consecrated the silent mountain
solitudes ; and hurries onward to Reichenau, to
receive, as we have already said, the united stream
of the Front and Middle Rhine. The distance
is about forty-five miles, and in this distance
the river has a fall of nearly 4000 feet, a fact
which attests the impetuosity of its current, and
the steep rugged character of the valley, or suc¬
cession of valleys, through which its hurrying
waters swirl and foam.
The chief town in this wild and picturesque
region is Spliigen, lying in the shadow of the
densely wooded mountain of that name. It boasts of
a quaint little church and a grey old timber bridge,
of a decent inn, and of several houses of such
fantastic design, that they would delight the soul
of an artist. Its chief importance lies in its position
3
Rh
THE RHINE VALLEY
at the commencement of the great Spliigen Pass, one
of the main channels of communication between
Switzerland and Lombardy.
We are now in the territory of the Grisons;
a territory which comprehends within its limits
the elements both of the grand and beautiful, the
sublime and terrible. The Rhine traverses it from
end to end, and in so doing traverses a series of
landscapes wholly unequalled in Europe; land¬
scapes which combine the rock and the torrent, the
forest and the ravine, the pastoral meadow and the
sylvan glen. We can well believe that they kindle
an almost divine enthusiasm in the soul of the
poet. Certain we are that not even the dullest can
look upon them without an emotion of sympathy.
The territory of the Grisons, anciently forming the
Republic of the Three Leagues in Rlisetia Superior,
consists, in the main, of the upper valley of the
Rhine, and occupies an area of 130 German square
miles. It is the largest canton included in the
Swiss Confederacy ; but in point of population only
the eighth, its inhabitants not exceeding 100,000
in number. These are divided between the Lu¬
theran and Roman Catholic creeds in the proportion
of 60,000 to 40,000, and are of German, Romansh,
and Italian origin. The chief town is Chur, or
Coire.
The character of the country, and especially of
the Engadine, which is its most beautiful and
pastoral portion, has been described with singular
force and effect by Michelet, in his book on " The
Mountain." But on its icy plains and snowy
wastes, its broken masses of rock, its precipices,
its wild awful ravines, its foaming torrents, its
deep shadowy forests of murmurous pine, its bold
mountain terraces, and its occasional bursts of
Arcadian loveliness—where some crystal stream
winds through a quiet and leafy vale, sheltered,
tranquil, and genial, and enhanced in its still beauty
by the mystic horror of the frowning heights
beyond—we are forbidden to dwell. Nor can we
speak of the 180 ruined castles, which, planted on
their rocky eminences, form so curious an object
in the most attractive landscapes, and of each
of which some legend might be told, or some
historical fact narrated.
After leaving Spliigen, the Rhine increases in
width, and its waters assume a blue-green tint, as
they enter upon the dark and desolate ravine of
the Rofla—die Felsengallerie (or tunnel gallery),
durch die Rojfler—and plunge under arching crags,
4
and down steep descents, with a deafening din
and a ceaseless whirl and eddy. The rocks on
either hand are gaunt and precipitous, relieved
only by the brushwood growing from their fissures,
or the rows of tall spectral firs which stand like
wardens on their summits. The Rofla defile is
about half a league in length, and a road was
first formed through it in 1470, at the same time
that the Yia Mala was constructed.
Into the dark deep gulf the Rhine plunges with
a mighty bound. It is spanned by the Rofla
bridge, 4140 feet above the level of the sea. Here
it is joined from the south by the Averse water,
or the Avner Rhine, the two streams meeting
together with a wild clash and tumult, like two
warrior-foes, and hurtling from rock to rock, and
dashing from side to side, as if in the throes of a
mortal combat, while the echoes resound with the
din, and the living spray flashes far up the rugged
precipices which confine and limit their struggles.
He who gazes on the scene may understand the
full force of Byron's powerful expression, " a hell
of waters ;" for the deep shadows, and the boiling
currents, and the roar and crash that cease not
day nor night, seem, in very truth, infernal !
But swift as the change in a child's heart from
agony to joy, is the change which operates in the
character of our river as it passes from the Rofla
into the gentle valley of Schams, or Schons; so
named, it is said, from the six mountain streams
which here descend into the all-absorbing Rhine.
It is the central of the three terraced basins
through which the Back Rhine traces its course,
and forms the natural transition between the
snow-clad Rheinwald and the sunny Domleschg.
The transformation, says one authority, is magical;
all at once we find ourselves in quite a different
world. The blue sky is no longer hidden by lofty
menacing rocks; the mountains on either side
stretch down into the lowlands with a more gradual
slope; the Rhine winds more tranquilly and deli¬
berately through green meadows, studded with
farm-house and cottage; while, on the wooded
heights, the ancient ruins of many a deserted
stronghold stand like the monuments of a bygone
age.
The valley of Schams is nearly fourteen miles
in length, from Thusis to the borders of the
Rheinwald, that is, from north to south; but its
central and inhabited portion, the vale within the
valley, does not exceed a couple of leagues in
DEFILE OF THE VIA MALA.
length. Its form is oval, and there are geological
indications that it was once, like the other valleys
of this romantic district, the bed of a lake.
The principal village in the valley is Andur,
situated 3000 feet above the sea. Its inhabitants
speak the Romansh language, and profess the
Lutheran religion. They are chiefly employed
in the iron furnaces and smelting-houses which
fill this countryside at night with a score of
blazing fires.
We next come to the bridge of Pigneu, (Pigné,
or Pignel), a place whose chief reputation is founded
on its thermal springs, which have a temperature
of 50° R., and are described as alkaline chaly¬
beate waters.
The next village is Zillis or Ciraun, where there
stands a large church, the oldest in the valley.
In 540 it was bestowed by Otto I. on Bishop
Waldo of Chur, to compensate for the injury the
see had sustained by the invasion of the Saracens.
Two bridges are here thrown across the river,
and lead up a gentle and pleasant ascent to the
picturesquely situated villages of Donat, Pazen,
Fardiin, Casti, and Clugien. On the high ground
above Donat, to the right, moulder the ruins of
Fardiin.
The rocky strongholds of the barons, says a
judicious writer, were nearly all on the left bank
of the Rhine, near the old high road which wound
over the heights towards the Heinzenberg, before
the defile of the Via Mala was opened, and that
highway rendered available. Near the hamlet of
Casti, and almost opposite Andur, is the castle of
Castellatsch, from whose hoary height you can
enjoy a superb panorama of the entire landscape.
Both names indicate their derivation from the
Roman Castellum, or from Castel.
Not far from the hamlet of Mathon, which is
built on the table-land above Donat, one weather-
beaten ruinous tower of the old castle of Ober-
stein overlooks the valley. Near the adjoining
village of Bergenstein also stood a stronghold
bearing the same name. And thus, as the
eagles build their eyries among the rocks, so
did the old feudal barons erect their towers on
the difficult heights, prepared to swoop down on
wealthy burgher or opulent priest as he passed
unwarily beneath.
At Zillis a bold mountain-ridge, extending from
the Piz Beverin to the Mutnerhorn, cuts across the
fair meadow-valley of Schams, and separates it
from the luxuriant Domleschg. Ages ago it
undoubtedly blocked up the waters of the Rhine,
and confined them within the hollow, which they
converted into a silent lake ; but in the course
of generations these waters have broken through
the barrier, assisted, perhaps, by some violent sub¬
terranean convulsion, and excavated the grand
majestic defile of the Via Mala, or Evil Way.
The cliffs on either side of this defile rise from
400 to 500 feet in height, but approach so closely
together that, in several places, the distance
between them does not exceed thirty feet.
The lower part of the Via Mala is called the
" Lost Hole." Here the road skirts the margin
of an awful, brain-dizzying chasm, and enters a
gallery 216 feet long, ten to fourteen feet high,
and fifteen to eighteen wide, which it was found
necessary to cut through the projecting mass of
perpendicular rock.
The two banks of the river are here connected
by bridges of bold and airy span. The first at
which we arrive, 2622 feet above the sea, was
erected in 1731. The second, built in 1739,
lies 300 yards farther south. It is between
the two that the traveller gazes, with mingled
awe and admiration, on the most romantic and
impressive portion of the great Via Mala. Grandly
wild is the dark abyss, lying 400 feet deep in
shadow, where, at the second bridge, the mad tor¬
rent foams, and boils, and rushes over crag and
boulder. The rocky declivities start up so abrupt
and sheer, that the width of the cleft at the top
scarcely exceeds that at the bottom. So narrow is
the gap, that huge fragments of rock, or trunks of
venerable pines, hurled over the parapet of the
bridge, never reach the water, but lie wedged
between the sides. The mighty roar of the tor¬
rent; the ghastly white spray which mantles its
darkling waves ; and the rugged black acclivities,
with their numerous projections and pinnacles
rising far above the mist of the abyss, cannot
but produce a strong impression on the mind
which rightly appreciates the various features of
the scene.
Close to the mouth of the Via Mala stands the
gray old castle of Realt, on a precipitous rock 960
feet in height, and guarding the defile like some
veteran knight of the " brave days of old." It
occupies the site of the ancient Hohenrhaetien—
the Hoch-Royalt, or Rhaetia alta—whose erection
belongs to so remote an antiquity that the peasants
5
THE RHINE VALLEY.
are fain to connect it with one Rliaetus, the leader
of the Etruscans in their war against the Gauls,
587 b.c.
From the early days of the Frank supremacy to
the close of the eighth century, Realt belonged
to a powerful Rhaetian family, the counts of
Victorinz or Realt, who encouraged the diffusion
of Christianity in their territory, and founded the
convent of Katzis.
In the eleventh century the knights of Iloch-
realt again figure upon the scene, and one of them,
Sir Heinrieh, received the episcopal mitre in 1213.
The castle continued to be inhabited down to the
middle of the fifteenth century.
It must once have been of considerable size, to
judge from the extent of its ruins; and of great
strength, owing to its formidable and almost in¬
accessible position. The only pathway to the
summit climbs the northern side; elsewhere, the
cliff descends straight into the narrow gulf watered
by the Rhine.
Here, according to an old legend, the last gover¬
nor of Hohen-realt precipitated himself on horse¬
back into the chasm. The fort was surrounded by a
large body of malcontent peasantry; the servants
and men-at-arms of its captain had been slain or put
to death. Instead of surrendering, he set fire to the
castle, mounted his steed, rode to the loftiest peak,
and spurred the animal with a swift bound into
air—-and destruction; exclaiming, "Death, rather
than the people's tyranny ! "
The chivalrous spirit of the knight, mounted on
a phantom white horse, is believed still to gallop
to and fro among the mouldering ruins at "dark
midnight."
After passing Hohen-realt, we enter the valley
of the Domleschg, where the Rhine receives a
turbid rivulet called the Nolla. The valley (vallis
domestical is a broad and fertile district, lying at
an elevation of 2250 to 1870 feet above the sea,
and running due north and south for about ten
miles. The mountains on either side are from
7000 to 8000 feet high, and with their glittering
crests of snow, and bare sides and bold rugged
forms, present a striking contrast to the smiling
scene through which the Back Rhine carries its
emerald waters ; a panorama of meadow, orchard,
and vineyard, of green hills and rich deep forests,
of gray old castles and church-spires, with villa,
castle, and farm enlivening the whole. The vine
is here met with for the first time on the banks of
6
the Rhine, and the chestnut and mulberry thrive
in the open air.
The mountains on the east are of a very rugged
character, especially the Three League and the
Malix. Not less formidable are the Mutterhorn
and Piz Bcverin to the south. But the terraced
range of the Heinzenberg on the west bears a more
genial aspect, and its amphitheatre is studded with
numerous smiling villages.
The principal town in the Domleschg is Tosana,
or Thusis, which lies sequestered in a kind of rocky
hollow, overshadowed with walnut trees, chest¬
nuts, and fruit trees, and pleasantly distinguished
in the distance by its white church-steeple. Wolf¬
gang Musculus, a scholar of the sixteenth century,
was born here.
After crossing the limpid Albula, which empties
itself into the Rhine near a toll-bridge, at an eleva¬
tion of 2240 feet above the sea level, we come to
Katzis, a small Romansh and Roman Catholic town,
literally embowered in orchards. Its Dominican
nunnery was founded in the seventh century by
Paschalis, bishop of Chur.
On the opposite bank stands Fiirstenau, and its
Episcopal castle, built in 1270 by the bishop, Henry
of Chur, to protect the surrounding country from
the inroads of the robber knights. It is by no
inharmonious consequence that it is now used as
a prison.
The castles of the Domleschg are numerous.
Near that of Fiirstenau stands the fastness of the
barons Yon Planta. Close at hand may be seen
the ruins of Husensprung ; those of Campi remind
the spectator of the gallant race of Campobello, or
Campbell, to which belonged the historian and re¬
former Ulrich Campbell. On the opposite side of
the valley is Baldenstein ; Jagstein and Schauenstein
may also be mentioned ; and along the right bank
of the river we arrive, in due succession, at the
mouldering battlements of Paspelo, Alt-Sins, and
Neu-Zinsenberg, which were once associated with
many a hope and fear, many a proud ambition
and dark despair and tender love, but are now
desolate and silent, save for hooting owl and
whirring bat. The reflections which yonder gray
old walls awaken are necessarily trite, for what
is more commonplace than the mutability of
worldly things ? Yet in such scenes as these they
naturally rise to the mind, and demand expression;
and, at all events, the traveller will do no harm
if, sparing himself elaborate apostrophes and pro-
CASTLES IN THE DOMLESCHG.
found meditations, he chants the well-known lines
of Coleridge—
" The old knights are dust,
Their swords are rust,
Their souls are with the saints, I trust."
They had God's work to do in their time, and
nobly and loyally some of them did it.
The castle of Ortenstein is spoken of as in ex¬
cellent preservation. Its position is so picturesque
that whoever sees it once will remember it always ;
but it has no historical associations to seize upon
the memory, and endow it with a vital interest.
It is still inhabited by the descendants of its old
lords, the Travers, who formerly played a con¬
siderable part in the affairs of the Grisons, though
in no wise connected with European history. John
Travers was one of the earliest of the Lutherans.
The castle of Rhaziins, near the village of the
same name, is the finest in the Domleschg, perhaps
in the whole countryside of the Grisons. It lies
romantically in the turbulent stream, says Gaspey,
enthroned on a high rock, with its weather-beaten
towers, still firm and strong, overlooking the valley
whose entrance it commanded. According to a
local tradition, it was formerly a Roman fort. In
the earliest times a powerful family dwelt at
Rhaziins; when, in the fourteenth century, it be¬
came extinct, the castle and lordship passed to the
Baron of Brun, who was one of the earliest mem¬
bers of the Upper League.
In the year 1459 died Ulrich von Brun, the
last of his race. The castle and lordship were in¬
herited by the counts of Zollern, who sold them to
the archducal house of Austria. The Hapsburgs
bestowed them as a fief on the Von Marmels; next
on the Von Plantas ; and finally, on the Travers.
Early in the eighteenth century it was the residence
of the Austrian ambassadors in the Grisons, and of
the stewards of the estate, who were entitled to
a seat and vote in the conferences of the Upper
League. By the peace of Vienna, in 1805, it was
given to Bavaria; by that of Presburg, in 1805, to
France; and in 1815, at the Congress of Vienna,
Austria relinquished her claim on the castle in
favour of the Grisons, though she took care to
retain all the lands included in its seignory.
Traversing the rich corn-fields of Bonnaduz
(Ponnad'oz = Pan-a-toto, or "Bread for all"), a
Romansh village, built of stone, we reach at last
the confluence of the two arms of our great river
at Reichenau.
At the point of junction stood, six centuries ago,
a watch-tower, like the border peels of south¬
eastern Scotland, called La Punt ; which was
afterwards converted into a castle by one of the
bishop of Chur, and re-named Reichenau—in
compliment to the abbot of the island of Reichenau,
in the Lake of Constanz, with whom the good
bishop had frequently " crushed a cup of wine."
It suffered terribly at successive epochs, and losing
its castellated character, figured towards the close
of the last century as a school, where no less a
man than Heinrich Zschokke, the moralist, was
tutor, and Benjamin Constant, afterwards so eminent
a French savant, pupil.
With this educational establishment a curious
incident is connected, not without interest at a
time when the crown of imperial France has
suddenly fallen from the astute brow which for
so many years had worn it. We shall tell it
nearly in the language employed by the author of
»' The Upper Rhine."
It was growing dark one afternoon in October,
1793—an epoch like the present, when Europe
shook with the tread of armed men, and the spirit
of Revolutionary France was all aflame—it was
nearly dark when a young man, carrying a bundle
over his shoulder at the end of a stick, and who,
from his wayworn appearance, had evidently tra¬
velled far on foot, knocked at the door of the house.
In indifferent German he inquired for the director,
Herr von Jost, and on being ushered into his
presence handed him a letter of introduction from
General Montesquiou, which ran as follows :—
" Sir,—In the bearer of this note I bring you
acquainted with a young man who, pursued by the
French assassins, is anxious to obtain a secure
asylum in your quiet Reichenau. He resided for
awhile in Zug; afterwards with me in Bremgarten;
and hopes now to meet with shelter for a longer
period in the highlands of Rhastia. Plis great
acquirements in mathematics and in French render
him eligible for the situation as teacher, which, as
I perceive from the newspapers, is now vacant in
your establishment.
" Receive him, brave fellow-soldier, who have
valiantly fought in the Swiss guard, and in my
army in Savoy. You will do so with the greatest
satisfaction when I communicate the secret of his
rank. He is the young duke of Chartres, the son
of the duke of Orleans. As you are aware, he
served honourably in the army of the Republic,
7
THE RHINE VALLEY.
under tlie name of the younger Egalité, but was
forced to fly from the blood-thirsty Committee of
Public Safety, and now seeks shelter in neutral
Switzerland. I trust you will be able to afford it
t0 him- " MONTESQUIOU."
After consulting his partner, Herrvon Tscharner,
and his head-master, Professor Yesemann, the direc¬
tor willingly complied with General Montesquiou's
request, and under the assumed name of Chabaud*
the young duke of Chartres entered the establish¬
ment as an usher. For eight months he taught
mathematics with patience and success, boarding
at the common table with the pupils and other
teachers, none of whom suspected that a Bourbon
was among them.
Here the duke learned of the execution of his
father, who, instead of swimming with the fierce
current of the revolution, as he had hoped, was
overwhelmed by its violence. Here, too, he heard
of his mother's exile to Madagascar. At length he
ventured from his concealment to make a tour in
the north of Europe, and finally, in 1796, to sail
to America.
Years passed away. The star of the first Napo¬
leon rose above the horizon like a terrible meteor,
portending ruin to nations, and sunk in blood and
ruin on the well-remembered field of Waterloo.
The Bourbons regained the throne of their ances¬
tors, to prove that they had forgotten everything,
and learned nothing. Charles X., in 1830, was
driven into exile, and the former teacher of mathe¬
matics at Beichenau became Louis Philippe, king
of the French.
In his prosperity he was not unmindful of his
days of adversity, and he caused a painting to be
executed in which he was represented, surrounded
by his pupils.
In 1847 it was announced that the grandson
of his old director, Herr von Jost, who through
political troubles had been driven from Switzerland,
had been appointed to a lieutenancy in the French
army, and presented with a handsome outfit by
King Louis Philippe. A twelvemonth later, and
under the assumed name of Mr. Smith the mon¬
arch was hurrying to a safe retreat in England;
leaving his throne to be occupied, after a brief
interval, by the third Napoleon, who, after twenty
years of rule, has been compelled to surrender
* Carlyle, in his " History of the French Revolution," sends the
young Egalité to Coire, and calls him Corby, a double error.
8
himself to a Prussian king. Such are the vagaries
of Fortune! May we not learn a lesson from
them?
There are two timber bridges at Beichenau:
one over the Front Bhine, of comparatively small
dimensions; the other below the junction of the
stream, 237 feet long, and 80 feet above the
surface of the water. It was constructed by a
self-taught architect.
The valley of the Front Bhine is usually called
the Oberland, and is deservedly famous for the
bold and romantic character of its scenery. It is
forty-eight miles in length, and the descent from
Chiamiet to Beichenau is 3420 feet. Besides the
Middle or Medelser Bhine, the Front Bhine re¬
ceives about sixty brooks and mountain torrents,
of which the Somvix, the Glenner, and the Savien
are the chief. It therefore contributes no in¬
considerable augmentation to the volume of the
Back Bhine. The principal points of interest
arc :—-
Ilanz, or Ylim, 2240 feet above the sea ; a
picturesque but decayed little town, embosomed
among the mountains. It seems shut out from
the world, and wholly unconnected with the
living present; but the artist would find in its
vicinity many of those things of beauty which,
from the thoughts they inspire and the emotions
they awaken, are so much more precious than the
most coveted idols of society.
Dissentis is scarcely less remarkable for the in¬
finite romance of its isolated position. Its Bene¬
dictine abbey was formerly one of great influence,
as well as of high antiquity. It is said to have
been erected about 614 by the devout and enthu¬
siastic St. Sigisbert, a disciple of the Irish apostle,
St. Columbanus. Here was buried the body of the
martyr Placidus.
The Devil's Bridge (die Teufelsbrucke) lies away
from the beaten route, but is worth a visit. It
spans the mountain torrent of the Beuss, which
roars and welters in a rugged defile, 100 feet
beneath its mossy arches.
Another place to which the traveller may make
a détour, on his way to Beichenau, is the beautiful
little village of Andermatt. It is situated 4446
feet above the sea, at the mouth of the fair valley
of Unsem, and at the foot of the St. Anna moun¬
tain, whose piny slopes are rich in living verdure,
while its crest is crowned with a diadem of snow
and ice.
FROM REIOHENAU TO CHUR.
FBOM REICHENAU TO CHUB.
We stall henceforth follow the united stream
of the Rhine, and as we trace its winding course,
shall traverse a country widely differing in the char-
racter of its scenery from that which has hitherto
engaged us.
But it cannot be said that any great change
occurs in the six miles between Reichenau and
Chur: Chur, or Coire, the time-honoured capital
of the Grisons. On either side the mountains rear
their black wooded acclivities, whose summits, for
several months in the year, are covered with
glittering snow. The valley between is sufficiently
fertile, and romantic little glens descend to the
green bank of the Rhine, which now sweeps
onward with a moderately rapid current, now
dashes, hurries, foams, and thunders over a bed
of rugged rock.
On the left runs the long bold ridge of the
Kalanda, with the quaintly shaped and quaintly
named peaks of the Men's Saddle and the Women's
Saddle towering in its rear. On the right, the
mountain of the Three Leagues, and the Spontis-
kopfen, present an admirable diversity both of
form and colour.
This part of the Rhine Valley, that is, from
Reichenau to Chur, varies in elevation above the
sea level from 1550 to 1850 feet. Its fertility is
considerable ; and agriculture on the Swiss method,
which possesses a certain undeniable simplicity, is
carried on with some success. It contains two
towns and eleven villages, and the population
exceeds 20,000.
Of the villages Ems is, perhaps, the largest and
wealthiest ; the inhabitants are Catholics. The
appearance of Ems is squalid-looking and dirty.
This, indeed, is the character of many of the
villages of the Grisons ; while, on the other hand,
the traveller is not less struck with the cleanliness
and orderliness by which others of them are dis¬
tinguished.
Felsberg is situated on the lower bank of the
Rhine, nearly two miles lower down, and at the
foot of the Kalanda, which hangs above the village
a stupendous piece of overhanging rock, threatening
at some not far distant time to crush into shapeless
ruin the houses and church below. It is an awful
" sword of Damocles," which no stranger can regard
without an emotion of terror. Its downfall, says a
German writer, will occur sooner or later, for the
9
water flowing in the gaping clefts undermines
the foundation, and must inevitably provoke the
destruction of the entire mass. Aware of this
fact, the Felsenbergers have of late years founded
a new settlement near the margin of the Rhine ;
where, indeed, they are not liable to be crushed,
but run the hazard of being drowned in the frequent
inundations of the river.
It is possible from Felsberg to ascend the
Kalanda; but as its summit is only 7877 feet above
the sea, and its sides are not broken up with any
fathomless chasms or frightful precipices, it would
certainly be despised by the most timorous member
of the Alpine Club. The view from its white crest,
however, is very beautiful and extensive; one of
those views which make the joy of the spectator's
later life. Who can conceive of aught more
beautiful than a fairy ring of snowy peaks, whose
sides are richly diversified with masses of forest,
and at whose base the green pastures smile with an
inexhaustible verdure?
CHUR, OR COIRE.
Chur, the ancient capital of the Grisons, is the
Curia Rhsetorum of the Romans. It is situated at
an angle of the Rhine, where the river abruptly
strikes to the northward, and the plateau on which
its high-gabled houses, and grotesque spires and
steeples cluster, is hemmed in on three sides by the
ranges of the Three League Mountains, the Parpfran
Highlands, and the Hochwang. At the foot of the
heights, and at the mouth of a ravine from which
the Plessaur brings down its glacier waters, it takes
its stand, like a venerable monument of ancient
civilization; and far across the valley it seems to
cast its gaze, until bounded in the blue distance by
the " silver-glancing ice peaks" of the Oberland.
Chur is fully 1800 feet above the sea. It is
distant ninety-seven miles east from Bern, and
fifty-eight miles east-south-east from Luzern. As
it lies on the high road to the great Alpine
passes of the Splugen and Bernardin, it still
retains a considerable trade. Surrounded by lofty
walls, which are strengthened with massive towers,
and divided into close narrow alleys and streets,
whose houses bear the venerable impress of an¬
tiquity, Chur presents peculiar attractions for the
traveller. It is divided into an Upper and a Lower
Town. The former contains the Episcopal palace
and its appendages, a canonry, a Capuchin mon¬
astery, the ancient convent of St. Lucius, and
b
THE RHINE VALLEY.
the cathedral, a Byzantine edifice of the seventh
century. In the Lower are to be found the govern¬
ment house, the Schwarz house, St. Margaret's
castle, and St. Martin's church.
The population of Chur numbers about 5500,
who are nearly all Calvinists. The doctrines of
the Reformation were early and enthusiastically
embraced here, and have been maintained with
steadfastness. They were first preached by Jolm
Comander, from the old wooden pulpit of St.
Martin's.
Chur can boast of one artistic celebrity, Angelica
Kaufmann, born on the 30th of October, 1741.
She once enjoyed some reputation as a portrait
painter, but her works have long passed into com¬
parative oblivion.
Having thus briefly specified the general charac¬
ter of the town, we may proceed to notice some of
its more interesting details. Let us pass, then,
into the Bishop's Quarter.
The Emperor Maximilian was accustomed to
describe the bishoprics which formerly ruled all-
powerful over the valley of the Rhine in some
such epigrammatic terms as these : Constanz was the
largest, Basel the blithest, Strasburg the noblest,
Speyer the devoutest, Mainz the most dignified,
Worms the poorest, and Koln the richest. He
might have added that Chur was the oldest. It is
certain that the see was in existence as early as
452, and ecclesiastical tradition asserts that St.
Asimo was its first occupant. However small its
beginnings, it soon rose into importance, and waxed
fat and wealthy. Its territories were enlarged by
the gifts of the pious, no less than by judicious
exchanges ; and the bishop of Chur became a power
in the Grisons, helping to make the history of that
remarkable province. Though shorn of his ancient
privileges, he is still a considerable prelate, and
since 1824 has been the clerical administrator of
the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden.
He is elected by a chapter, consisting of twelve
prebendaries, six of whom live at Chur. His
country seat, Molinara, is situated near Zizers,
where there is a railway station.
The bishop's palace, or hof, is an ancient edifice,
crowning a steep hill in the Roman Catholic quar¬
ter of the town. Its staircase and halls are quaintly
decorated with devices in stucco. The private
chapel is located in an old Roman tower called
Marsol (corrupted, it is said, from Mars in oculis),
attached to the north-east side of the palace. In
10
this tower St. Lucius suffered martyrdom. In
another wing is a much mutilated fresco of a
" Dance of Death." A second Roman tower,
Spinol (Spina in oculis), strengthens the south¬
western angle of the walls.
In the rear of the palace runs an abrupt hollow,
planted with vineyards, and leading by a pictur¬
esque winding path to the Roman Catholic semin¬
ary. From this point a fine view of the town, the
Rhine, and the Schalfik-thal, may be obtained.
The church of St. Lucius, or the Dom, is a note¬
worthy example of the early Gothic, including
some fragments of an earlier building, erected
by Bishop Tello in the eighth century. The outer
gate is flanked by the statues of the four evangel¬
ists, resting upon lions. Their position at the outer
gate, according to Beda, indicates that they point
the way to our Saviour, while the principal gate
is the symbol of Christ himself, who leads the
devout worshipper to the Father and the com¬
munion of saints.
The choir is raised upon steps, leaving open to
the nave the crypt beneath, whose roof rests upon
a single pillar. The high altar is enriched with
quaint old timber carving, supposed to have been
executed by Holbein the elder. In the sacristy
are preserved the bones of St. Lucius, a British
king, and the supposed founder of St. Peter's
church, Cornhill. There are also an episcopal
crozier, a chasuble with raised work, a fourteenth
century pyx, and several other curiosities and relics.
The paintings are numerous and interesting.
The names of their artists being unknown, they
are freely attributed to Holbein or Albert Diirer,
Nor are old monuments wanting. A sarcophagus
of red marble is that of the Bishop Ortlieb of
Brandis; and in an adjacent vault lies the dust of
many of the bishops of Chur.
On entering the nave you will do well to look
attentively at the first pillar on the left, in which,
according to an old tradition, some huge bones are
built up; reputed to be those of a certain gigantic
robber, named Long Kuhn, or Long Conrad of
Schwyz, who, after plundering the Grisons in 1251,
was overtaken and slain by the inhabitants near
Tavanusa on the Upper Rhine.
" I know not if tbe talc be true,
As told to me I tell it you."
Chur, or Coire, is the terminus of the United
Swiss Railway, which leads to Rorschach on the
Lake of Constanz, with branches to Glarus, St.
RUINED CASTLES AND THEIR LEGENDS.
Gall, Winterthur, Rapperschwyl, arid Zurich. The
distance to Rorschach is sixty-two miles.
From Coire the traveller may visit Samaden, and
the grand and romantic Julier Pass, opening up
the finest scenery of the Engadine. Or he may
proceed to Spliigen by the Via Mala, or to Chia-
venna by the Spliigen. Klosters, in one direction,
and Siis in another, are also accessible from this
point. The traveller will find Michelet's " La
Montagne" an excellent guide to this part of
Switzerland. He has described the Engadine
with remarkable fervour and brilliancy.
FROM COIRE TO RAGATZ.
After quitting Coire, we continue to traverse
a rich and ample valley, inclosed between the
Kalanda, or Galanda-berg, on the west, and the
Falkniss, on the north-east. Almost every ridge
and projecting crag are crowned by the ruins
of " chiefless castles," so gray and weather-worn
that they can scarcely be distinguished from the
rock on which they stand; while the sides of the
mountains are marked with the deep furrows of
the winter torrents.
Of one of these ruined fortalices, that of Ober-
Ruchenberg, the following legend is told. It is
all that men seem to know or imagine about it —
When the fairy queen, who dwelt in the silent
heart of the great mountains, was giving birth to
one of her elfin progeny, she was generously assisted
by the then lady of Ruchenberg. As a reward, the
dame received a set of golden ninepins, with which
she could at all times obtain the faithful service
of the mountain sprites. They were handed down
as precious heirlooms to her descendants ; one of
whom, a great grandson, and a turbulent dissolute
rake, abused the fairy gift by lavishing on un¬
worthy objects the treasures it placed at his
disposal. At last his summons was answered by
nine living giants, who suddenly rose from the
earth with a sound as of thunder, and as they rose
the castle crumbled into ruin, and its profligate
lord was carried off from the eyes of men. This
evil man, however, had a daughter who was as
devout as he was blasphemous. The fairies saved
her from the general desolation, and thenceforth
she spent her life in the haunted caverns of the
mountains. Once every hundred years she is
permitted to revisit the glimpses of the moon, and
standing on the shattered ramparts of the old
baronial stronghold, she waits the coming of the
fortunate knight who is to restore her to her kind,
and, at the same time, to win from the fairy queen
the dangerous but valuable gift of the golden
ninepins.
Nearly opposite Coire stands the castle of
Haldenstein, with a village of the same name. The
castle, sumptuously rebuilt by the French ambas¬
sador to the Grisons, in 1548, suffered severely
from fire on several occasions, but was restored
in the last century by the family Von Salis, to
whose posterity it still belongs. The ruins of the
ancient fortress are situated on a rocky height at
some distance from the more modern erection.
To the north of the village some shattered walls
mark the site of the ancient castle of Lichtenstein.
After passing the point where the Landguart,
or Langaurs, rolling down from the valley of
Priittigau, pours its noisy waters into the Rhine,
we diverge a little from the right bank of the river
to visit the old and tranquil town of Mayenfeld,
said to be the Roman Lupinum. Its modern
name is probably derived from the " May-fields,"
or May courts of jurisdiction, held here under the
spreading boughs of a lime tree during the Car-
lovingian era. It boasts of a Roman tower, erected
by the Emperor Constantius about 340 ; and of an
excellent wine made from prolific vineyards of
modern growth. The valley of the Rhine from
this point presents a noble prospect, in which the
peak of the Falkniss, rising on the north-east to
an elevation of 7824 feet, is necessarily a con¬
spicuous and impressive object. The view also
comprehends the summits of " the Seven Electors,"
and the villages of Malans, Jenins, and Sargans.
From Mayenfeld we may visit the fortified
Lucian pass, named after the martyr, St. Lucius,
and 2180 feet high, which commands the road from
Germany to Italy. Territorially it is included
in the old principality of Lichtenstein-Vaduz.
Continuing our route along the valley, we call
at the romantic town of Malans, lying at the foot
of the Augustenberg (7356 feet.) Here, at Castle
Bodmer, was born the poet Von Salis, whose lyrics
breathe so tender and melancholy a spirit. " The
Silent Land," one of his most pathetic strains, is
well known in England by Professor Longfellow's
admirable translation of it.
At fourteen miles from Coire the traveller
reaches Ragatz,* a village of between 600 and 700
* Principal inns:—Hof Ragatz, formerly the summer residence of
the abbots of Pfeffers ; Hôtel de la Tainina; and the Krone.
li
THE RHINE VALLEY,
inhabitants, situated at the mouth of the gorge
(tobel) through which the foaming waters of the
Tamina rush down to join the Rhine. It depends
for its prosperity on its vicinity to the hot mineral
springs of Pfeffers, and its position at the junction
of the great roads from Zurich, St. Gall, Feldkirch,
Coire, and Milan. It contains a small English
chapel.
At Ragatz a victory was gained by the Swiss
confederates, under Itel von Reding and Fortu-
natus Tschudi, over the partizans of Hans von
Rechberg (March 6, 1446).
A road tunnelled through the rugged defile of
the Tamina, for about two miles and a half, leads
to the old baths of Pfeffers (or Pfaffers), one of
the most remarkable and wildly romantic spots in
Switzerland. The walk thither is undoubtedly
picturesque and impressive. ' ' At the edge of the
narrow path, which ascends gradually and not too
abruptly, and which occasionally passes under
the tunnelled rocks, the foaming torrent rushes
onward, bounding impetuously over every impedi¬
ment, and scarcely deigning to greet the melan¬
choly rocks in its rapid course. After a walk of
three miles, a narrow slope, clothed with pine trees,
is seen wedged in under the face of the rock, only
a few feet above the raging Tamina, on which is
built a tolerably large and straggling massive
edifice. Nothing more dreary can be conceived
than its situation in the cool dark glen, almost
buried beneath the rocks that tower above it to
the height of six or seven hundred feet ; in the
height of summer, in the months of July and
August, the sun manages to find his way into this
singular retreat from about ten o'clock in the
morning till four in the afternoon. This is ' Bad
Pfaffers.'"
The hot springs of Pfeffers were not known
to the Romans. The story runs that they were
discovered by a hunter, Karl von Hofenhausen,
who, having penetrated into the gorge of the
Tamina in the pursuit of game, was attracted by
the columns of vapour rising from them. In
authentic documents they are first mentioned in
1050, when they were conferred by the Emperor
Henry III. on the monks of Pfeffers. Centuries
passed, however, and nothing was done to facilitate
access to their wonder-working waters. Patients
who had faith in their curative properties were let
down to the spring from the cliffs above by ropes;
and with an admirable desire to benefit by them
12
as much as possible, were wont to spend a week
together, both day and night ; not only eating
and drinking, but sleeping, "under hot water in¬
stead of blankets." In 1629, however, the ravine
was enlarged, and a bathing-house, on the site now
occupied by the present establishment, was erected
by the Abbot Jodvens. The healing waters were
conveyed from the spring in wooden conduits, and
the work duly celebrated at Whitsuntide, in 1630,
by a service of thanksgiving. The present baths
were completed in 1716, but are now very scantily
patronized ; most visitors preferring the conve¬
niences and liveliness of Ragatz.
An excursion to the source of the waters (whose
temperature is 97° to 98°), has a perilous air about
it, well calculated to terrify weak nerves.
Proceeding through the bath-house, you cross
the Tamina on a bridge of planks, which, in the
shape of a scaffolding, is prolonged into the dark
dim gorge above the contracted but noisy torrent.
It is carried all along the abyss as far as the hot
spring, and furnishes the only means of access to
it, as the sides of the gorge are vertical, and there
is not an inch of space between them and the
Tamina for the sole of the foot to rest. A few
yards from the entrance the air is darkened by an
overhanging mass of rock. " The sudden chill,"
says a writer, "of an atmosphere never visited
by the sun's rays, the rushing and roaring of the
torrent thirty or forty feet below, the threatening
position of. the rocks above, have a grand and
striking effect; but this has been diminished by
modern improvements, which have deprived the
visit to the gorge of even the semblance of danger.
In parts it is almost dark, where the sides of the
ravine overlap one another, and actually meet
overhead, so as to form a natural arch. The rocks
in many places show evident marks of having been
ground away, and scooped out by the rushing
river, and by the stones brought down with it.
For several hundred yards the river pursues an
almost subterranean course, the roof of the chasm
being the floor, as it were, of the valley. In some
places the roots of the trees are seen dangling
through the crevice above your head, and at one
particular spot you find yourself under the arch
of the natural bridge leading to the staircase
mentioned further on. Had Virgil or Dante been
aware of this spot, they would certainly have con¬
ducted their heroes through it to the jaws of the
infernal regions.
HAKE AD F S ® K S Ï'A M Z4 9
AND THE ISLANDS OF MAINAU AND RflCHENAU.
Wl il I * M MACKENZIE, LONDON, EDINBURGH & GLASGOW.
THE CONVENT
OF PFEFFERS.
" After emerging from the gorge at the bath¬
house, the traveller may ascend the valley above
it by a well-marked track; ascending the steep left
bank, and then keeping to the left, and descending
a little, he will in about half a mile cross by a
natural bridge of rock, beneath which the Tamina,
out of sight, and heaving from above, forces its
way into the gorge of the hot springs. A steep
path or staircase (steige), formed of trunks or
roots of trees, on the right bank, is then met with,
ascending which you reach an upper stage of the
valley, formed of gentle slopes, and covered with
verdant pasture on one side, and with thick woods
on the other. The two sides are separated by the
deep gash and narrow gorge along the bottom of
which the Tamina forces its way. This is, perhaps,
the best point for obtaining a general view of the
baths, and the singular spot in which they are
sunken. On looking over the verge of the preci¬
pice you perceive, at the bottom of the ravine, at
the depth of 300 feet below, the roofs of the two
large buildings, like cotton factories in size and
structure. The upper valley, also, with its carpet
of bright green, its woods, and the bare limestone
cliffs which border it on either hand, and above
all, the huge peak of the Falkniss, rising on the
opposite side of the Rhine, form a magnificent
landscape."
The traveller's attention will next be directed to
the convent of Pfeffers, an edifice of considerable
extent, but by no means remarkable for architec¬
tural excellence. As in all Benedictine convents,
a church occupies the centre of its enceinte. The
position is admirable: from its lofty mountain-
platform it looks out, in one direction, on the rich
Rhine valley, backed by the lofty summit of the
Falkniss; in another, it commands the lake of
Wallenstadt, and the peaks of the Seven Electors
(Sieben Kurfurster.)
The foundation of the convent dates from 713,
when its erection was commenced by S. Pirminius,
bishop of Meaux, on the left bank of the Land-
guart. While felling timber for the building a
carpenter accidentally wounded himself. Some
drops of blood fell on a chip, which was straitly
picked up by a white dove, and carried across the
Rhine to the forest on the opposite heights. On
seeing the dove let fall the chip from the top of a
larch tree, S. Pirminius exclaimed, " There the
Lord wills that his house should be built." And
thus the convent came to be raised on its present
site, and to assume for its device a flying dove
with a chip in its beak.
The convent lasted for ten centuries, but its
financial affairs becoming hopelessly involved, a
majority of the brethren requested the govern¬
ment of the canton (St. Gall) to suppress it, and
it was therefore abolished in 1838. The building
has since been converted into a lunatic asylum.
We continue our route to Rorschach by way
of Sargans; Sevelen (where, on the left, across the
Rhine, lies Vaduz, capital of the miniature prin¬
cipality of Lichtenstein) ; Werdenberg, formerly the
seat of a patriotic line of nobles of the same name ;
Sennvald, a village at the foot of the Kamor ;
Altstetten, a town of 7000 inhabitants, in a fertile
country; S. Margarethen, near the Austrian ferry,
an English-like village surrounded by groves and
orchards; and Rheineck, a hamlet at the foot of
vine-clad hills.
Between Rorschach and Rheineck the Rhine
enters the Boden See, or Lake of Constanz. The
flat delta is covered with morass, and presents
no beauty to attract the traveller's eye. Rorschach
(inns: Hirsch, and Post) is a quiet town, the
principal station of the lake steamers, and a large
corn market. The grain required for the supply
of the Alpine district of North Switzerland is im¬
ported from Suabia in boats across the lake, and
temporarily stored in spacious warehouses. There
are several thriving muslin manufactories.
The only noteworthy buildings are the ruined
keep of the castle of St. Anne, and the dilapidated
palace of the abbots of St. Gall, now known as the
Statthalterz.
LAKE OF CONSTANZ, OR BODEN SEE.
Steamers navigate the lake between Constanz,
Schaffhausen, Ueberlingen, Meersburg, Friedrichs-
hafen, Rorschach, Ludwigshafen, Romanshorn,
Lindau, and Bregentz. The voyage from Rors¬
chach to Constanz occupies three hours, and from
Constanz to Lindau about five hours. Printed
bills of fares, hours, and places of starting will be
found at all the principal inns in the above-
named towns.
The Lake of Constanz, called by the Germans
Boden See, and known to the Romans under the
name Lacus Brigantinus (from Brigantia, the
modern Bregentz), is bounded by the territories of
five different states, Baden, Wurtemberg, Switzer¬
land, Bavaria, and Austria. A portion of its
13
THE RHINE VALLEY.
shores belong to each state. Its elevation above the
sea is estimated at 1385 feet. Its length is about
forty-four miles from Bregentz to Constanz, and
thirty miles from Bregentz to Friedrichshafen.
Its maximum width is nine miles; its maximum
depth, 964 feet. It is full of fish, and as many
as twenty-five species have been distinguished.
Locally it is divided into four sections: the Lake
of Bregentz, the Lake of Constanz, the Lake of
CJeberlingen, and the Lower Lake. Its waters
are clear, of a greenish tint, and an agreeable
flavour. Their surface is never smooth; a ripple
is always upon it, even when no breath of air is
felt in the " blue serene ; " this constant agitation
is probably due to some under-currents.
Its main tributary is the Rhine, which enters at
its eastern extremity; but it also receives upwards
of fifty brooks and torrents. It is frequently visited
by storms, when its billows roll with crested
heads, like those of a tempest-stricken sea. Though
its shores present no very attractive panorama
of scenery, they are exuberantly fertile ; and
on the south the landscape assumes a certain
picturesqueness of character from the numerous
ruined forts which crown each conspicuous height.
On an average the waters of the lake are lowest
in February, and highest in June and July, when
the snows, melting on the distant mountains, swell
.every brook and torrent which flows into its basin.
The lower section of the lake is generally frozen
every winter, but only a small part of the upper
is ever " bound in chains of ice." The Swiss
chroniclers, however, record several occasions
when, if they may be credited, nearly the whole
of the lake was frozen; as in 1277, 1435, 1560,
1573, 1587, 1695, 1785, 1788, and 1830. But
the entire surface was not iced over in the three
last-named years ; navigation was still possible in
the centre.
The following tradition is connected with the
freezing of the lake in the sixteenth century
(1587): —
During the winter, which was one of extraor¬
dinary severity, a horseman, bent on visiting the
lake, descended from the rugged mountains and
rode forth into the deep snowy plains. Wherever
he gazed, the hard whiteness met his eye ; not a
tree, not a house, relieved the monotony before
him. For leagues he pressed forward his weary
horse, hearing no sounds but the screams of the
wild water-fowl, or the shrieks of the wind across
14
the echoing waste. At length, as the darkness of
night spread over the sky, he descried in the dis¬
tance the faint glimmer of a taper; trees sprang
out of the low creeping mist ; the welcome sound
of dogs broke on his ear; and the wanderer stopped
his horse before a farm-house. He saw a fair
maiden at the window, and courteously inquired
how far it might yet be to the lake.
" The lake is behind you," she answered in
exceeding surprise.
" Nay, not so, for I have just ridden across
yonder plain."
"Mary, Mary, save us! You have ridden across
the lake, and the ice has not yielded under you!"
The villagers had by this time gathered
round the stranger horseman, and uttering loud
exclamations of surprise and wonder, they bade
him be thankful for the great mercy Heaven had
vouchsafed him. But they spoke to ears that
could not hear. When he realized the full extent
of the peril he had so narrowly escaped, both brain
and heart gave way, and he fell from his horse
lifeless.
CIRCUIT OF TIIE LAKE.
We now propose to notice briefly the interest¬
ing points on either shore of the Boden See.
On the west, two leagues from Rorschach, fies
the ancient town of Arbon (the Arbor Felix of
the Romans), a quiet little settlement of some 750
inhabitants. The Romans built a fort here, which,
in the fifth century, they were compelled to
abandon to the Allemanni. On its site, in 1510,
were reared the present castle (except the tower,
which is three or four centuries older) and the
church, which dates from the same epoch. Its
belfry is detached, and boarded, not walled, on the
side nearest the castle, in order that no besiegers
might be able to use it as a point of vantage.
From Arbon to Constanz the south shore of the
lake is occupied by the canton of Thurgovia, one
of the most fruitful districts in Switzerland. Gar¬
dens, orchards, and villages remind the traveller of
some of the midland scenery of England.
Following the sweep of a noble bay for eight
or nine miles we arrive at Romanshorn or Romis-
horn, which clusters somewhat irregularly on the
low peninsula forming the northern boundary of
the bay. The peninsula curves like a horn ; hence
the name of the village, which, is populous and
thriving, and stands in a land of vines. A fine
am i am mackenzie ion doh. \ 01 hbu«g>i * c ■. ' :,v'
]3 Poster
E.Br an. cl ax <3.
WILLIAM MACKENZIE, LONDON,
DINBUROH & 0' ASOOW
CONSTANZ AND ITS COUNCIL.
view of the lake, and of the white peaks of the
distant Alps, may be obtained from this point.
At Romanshorn is the terminus of the North-
Eastern Railway. It is fifty-one miles distant from
Zurich. The steamers from Bregentz, Lindau,
and Friedrichshafen call here.
Of the valleys of Utwyl and Kuswyl we have
nothing to record, nor of Giittingen, except that it
possesses an ancient castle, pleasantly situated on a
little promontory. Soon after passing the latter,
the industrious traveller reaches the Benedictine
nunnery of Miinsterlingen, founded, it is said, by
Angela, the daughter of Edward I. of England, in
commemoration of her escape from a great storm on
the Lake of Constanz. Whether this be true or not,
it is certain that the convent was largely endowed
by Queen Agnes of Hungary, and that the Em¬
peror Sigismund and the outlawed duke of Austria
were reconciled here in 1418. A new building
was erected for the nuns in 1715, but in 1838 the
nunnery was converted into an hospital.
Just before entering Constanz we reach the
Augustinian abbey of Kreuzlingen, now sup¬
pressed, like the nunnery, and adapted to the
purposes of an agricultural school, with between
ninety and one hundred pupils. The foundation
dates from 1120, when it was established by Bishop
Ulrich T.; but the ancient monastery,, standing
near the city gate, was frequently exposed to the
hazards of war, as in 1450, when it was set on
fire, and during the Thirty Years' War, when the
Swedes plundered and destroyed it. A new con¬
vent was therefore erected on its present site, at a
greater distance from the city. When the famous
Council of Constanz was held in 1414, Pope
John XXIII., on his way thither, spent the night
at the abbey of Kreuzlingen, and was so well
pleased with his reception that he presented the
abbot with a superb vest richly set with pearls.
The papal donation is still preserved at the abbey,
along with a curious piece of wood carving, by a
Tyrolese artist, which represents our Saviour's
Passion, and consists of several hundreds of well-
executed figures.
Our survey of the lake has thus conducted us
to the old, decayed, but historical city of
CONSTANZ,
Nine miles from Schaffhausen, twenty-six miles
from Rorschach. Population, 4500. Inns: Brochet,
Post, and Hôtel Delisle.
The most interesting associations connected
with Constanz are those of its great council, held
in 1414-18, and the martyrdom of the Bohemian
reformers, John Huss and Jerome of Prague,
the apostles and heirs of Wycliffism; and who,
in spite of the safe-conduct granted to the former
by the Emperor Sigismund as president of the
assembly, were seized, accused of heresy, tried,
condemned, and executed.
The avowed object of the Council of Constanz was
the reformation of the church; but the question
which secretly agitated the minds of its members
was, the supremacy of a general council over the
pope, or of the pope over a general council. It
was the first council which had represented Latin
Christianity; and it was called, not by the papal
volition, but at the instigation, or rather by the
command, of the Emperor Sigismund. The pope,
John XXIII., had made it-a condition that it
should not be held within the dominions of the
emperor; but when the latter named-Constanz as
the place of meeting, he was compelled to yield.
And in truth no city could have been better suited
for such a purpose. It was pleasantly and health¬
ily situated at the foot of the Alps ; accessible
from Italy and from all parts of .Christendom ; on
the fertile shores of a spacious lake, so that an
abundant supply of provisions might be readily
obtained ; and inhabited by an orderly and peaceful
population.
To Constanz, therefore, in the summer of 1414,
bishops and princes, patriarchs and professors,
abbots and priors, laymen and' clerics, began to
make their way from every country in Europe;
and with these were mingled merchants and
traders of every kind and degree, and-every sort of
wild and strange vehicle.* It was to be, appa¬
rently, not only a solemn Christian council, but
an European congress ; a vast central fair, where
every kind of commerce was to be conducted on
the largest scale, and where chivalrous, histrionic,
or other common amusements, were provided for
the idle hours of idle' people. In its conception it
was a grand concentrated outburst of mediaeval
devotion, mediaeval splendour, mediaeval diver¬
sions: all ranks, all orders, all pursuits, all pro¬
fessions, all trades, all artizans, with their various
attire, habits, manners, language, crowded to one
single city.
* The following account is condensed from Dean Milman's History
of Latin Christianity, b. viii. c. 8.
15
THE RHINE VALLEY.
Down the steep slope of the Alps wound the
rich cavalcades of the cardinals, the prelates, the
princes of Italy, each with their martial guard or
their ecclesiastical retinue. The blue waters of
the ample lake were studded with boats and barks,
conveying the bishops and abbots, the knights and
burghers of the Tyrol, of eastern and northern
Germany, Hungary, and from the Black Forest
and Thuringia. Along the whole course of the
Rhine, from Koln, even from Brabant, Flanders,
or the furthest north, from England and from
France, marched prelates, abbots, doctors of law,
celebrated schoolmen, following the upward course
of the stream, and gathering as they advanced new
hosts from the provinces and cities to the east or
west. Day after day the air was alive with the
standards of princes, and the banners emblazoned
with the armorial bearings of sovereigns, nobles,
knights, imperial cities ; or glittered with the silver
crosier borne before some magnificent bishop or
mitred abbot. Night after night the silence was
broken by the pursuivants and trumpeters announc¬
ing the arrival of each high and mighty count or
duke, or the tinkling mule-bells of some lowlier
caravan. The streets were crowded with curious
spectators, eager to behold some splendid prince
or ambassador, some churchman famous in the
pulpit, in the school, in the council, it might be in
the battle-field, or even some renowned minnesinger
or popular jongleur. Yet with all these multitudes
perfect order was maintained, so admirable had
been the arrangements of the magistrates. Constanz
worthily supported her dignity, as for a time the
chosen capital of Christendom.
And the pope, who had some cause to fear
the council, was received with every outward sign
of respect and spiritual loyalty. The magistrates
and clergy attended him through the streets, and
to the venerable Minster (October 28). Nine
cardinals and about six hundred followers formed
his retinue. But on the 3rd of December
another arrival caused still greater excitement.
There entered the city a pale thin man, in mean
attire, yet escorted by three nobles of his country,
with a great troop of other followers from attach¬
ment or curiosity. He came under a special safe-
conduct from the emperor, which guaranteed in
the fullest terms his safe entrance into and safe
departure from the imperial city. This was the
famous Bohemian "heretic," John Huss.
In these pages any chronicle of the proceedings
16
of the great council would be out of place. But we
must briefly trace its dealings with the Bohemian
reformer, from the imperishable association of his
name with the city whose history we are sketching.
He appeared before the council not so much as a
preacher of dogmas as a reformer of abuses. He
was provided with the imperial safe-conduct, with
testimonials to his orthodoxy from the highest
authorities; yet he did not enter Constanz without
dark misgivings. In a farewell address to his
followers he said, " I expect to meet as many
enemies at Constanz as our Lord at Jerusalem; the
wicked clergy, and even some secular princes, and
those Pharisees the monks."
His misgivings were speedily justified. A
charge of heresy was brought against him. The
emperor abandoned him, and basely consented to
violate his royal word. It was soon understood
that he was to be tried by the council, condemned
by the council, and that whatever might be the
sentence of the council it would be carried into
execution by the secular arm. Huss was thrown,
a prisoner, into the castle of Gottlieben, outside
the city walls. He was called upon to retract his
errors. " I will retract," he answered, " when con¬
vinced of them." On the 5th of June, 1416, he was
brought before the council ; again on the 7th and the
9 th ; but in the presence of his many accusers he
maintained a calm and unmoved composure, and
the serenity of a mind at case. On the 9th,
after he had been carried back to prison, the
emperor rose, and addressed the council:—" You
have heard the charges against Huss proved by
trustworthy witnesses, some confessed by himself.
In my judgment each of these crimes is deserving
of death. If he does not forswear all his errors,
he must be burned. If he submits, he must be
stripped of his preacher's office, and banished from
Bohemia; there he would only disseminate more
dangerous errors. The evil must be extirpated,
root and branch. If any of his followers are in
Constanz, they must be proceeded against with
the utmost severity, especially his disciple, Jerome
of Prague."
Huss calmly refused the recantation demanded
from him; and on the 1st of July was led forth
from his prison to undergo the sentence which
had been passed upon him as having swerved from
the true Catholic faith. Having been degraded
from the priesthood in the sacred shades of the
cathedral, he was delivered over to the secular arm.
EXECUTION OF JOHN HUSS.
The emperor gave him up to Louis, Elector Palatine,
the imperial vicar ; the elector to the magistrates
of Constanz ; the magistrates to the executioners.
With two of the headsman's servants before him,
and two behind, he went forth to the place of exe¬
cution. Eight hundred horsemen followed, and
the city poured out its whole population. The
bridge was narrow and frail; so they went in
single file, lest it should break beneath their weight.
They paused before the episcopal palace, that
Huss might see the pile on which his books lay
burning. He only smiled, for he knew that the
right or wrong in matters of belief cannot be
determined by brute force. As he went along he
addressed the people in German, protesting against
the injustice of his sentence ; his enemies, he said,
had failed to convince him of error.
The place of execution was a meadow outside
the city walls. Here he knelt, and, kneeling,
recited several psalms, with the perpetual burthen,
"Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me. Into thy
hands I commend my spirit." "We know not,"
exclaimed the people, "what this man may have
done, but we do know that his prayers to God are
excellent. " His attendants demanded if he would
have a confessor. A priest, mounted on a stately
horse, and richly clad, declared that no confessor
should be accorded to a heretic. But others were
more charitable, and one Ulric Schorand, a man of
piety and wisdom, was summoned from the crowd.
Ulric insisted first that Huss should acknow¬
ledge the errors for which he was condemned.
Unawed by the prospect before him, he refused to
confess. "I have no need of confession," he said;
"I am guilty of no mortal sin." He turned round,
and made an effort to address the people in Ger¬
man, but the elector caused him to be interrupted.
Then he prayed aloud, "Lord Jesus, for thy sake
I endure with patience this cruel death. I be¬
seech thee to forgive mine enemies." As he spoke
the paper mitre with which his head had been
crowned in derision fell to the ground. The rude
soldiery replaced it, saying, " He shall be burned
with all his devils !" In reply he said gently,
but firmly, "I trust that I shall reign with Christ,
since I die for his holy gospel. "
With an old rusty chain he was now bound to
the fatal stake. The Elector Palatine and another
again urged him to recant ; but firm in faith and
hope, Huss assured them that the testimony he
had borne was true, and that he was willing to
seal its truth with his blood. All he had taught
and written was with the view of saving the souls
of men from Satan's snares, and from the power of
sin. The fire blazed up ; an aged crone busied
herself in piling up the wood : 0 sancta sim-
plicitas!—"0 holy simplicity !" cried Huss, in the
spirit of tenderness and compassion. Then the
flames crackled, and the smoke went up in thick
wreathing clouds, while he, with his last gasping
breath, continued to pray to the Saviour, and to
commend his spirit into his hands. All the
remains of his body were torn in pieces ; even
his clothes were flung upon the fire ; the ashes
were gathered and cast into the lake, lest his dis¬
ciples should make reliques of them. But their
loyalty defied this precaution ; they scraped to¬
gether the earth around the pile, and carried it to
Bohemia.
Huss was born in 1369, or, according to other
accounts, in 1373, at Husinec in Bohemia, and
studied philosophy and theology at the university
of Prague. He became bachelor of theology in
1394, and in 1396, master of arts. He commenced
teaching in the university in 1398 ; and the year
following he took part in a public academic dis¬
putation, in which he defended several of the
tenets of Wickliffe, with whose writings he had,
so early as 1391, become acquainted. Along with
the office of teacher in the University, he had held
that of preacher in the Bethlehem chapel at Prague.
A few months after the death of Huss, Jerome
of Prague, his follower and companion, expiated
his deviation from the doctrines or the spirit of the
Catholic faith, by undergoing a similar fate. Like
Cranmer, he at first recanted ; but like Cranmer
he grew ashamed of his recantation, and his soul
rose to the fiery heights of martyrdom. In spite
of the earnest protest of Bobert Hallam, bishop
Salisbury, that God willeth not the death of a
sinner, but that he should be converted and live,
Jerome was condemned to be burnt alive, and the
sentence was carried into effect on the 1st of
June, 1416.
It is said of him that at the place of execution
his countenance was not only composed, but
cheerful. When bound, and bound naked, to the
stake,* he sang his hymns of thanksgiving,
with a voice whose clear loud accents never
trembled. The executioner offered to light the fire
* The stake was a wooden block, cut into a rough figure intended
as a likeness of Huss.
17
THE RHINE VALLEY.
behind him, that he might not see it. " Light it
before my face," he exclaimed; " were I the least
afraid, I should not be standing here."
Constanz is full of memorials of the two martyrs,
but more especially of the elder and more famous
one, John Iduss. The house in which he lodged
on first reaching the city stands in the Paul's
Strasse, near the Schnetzthor, and is distinguished
by a rude stone bust. He was afterwards confined
in the Dominican convent (December 6, 1414, to
March 24, 1415), which is now a cotton manu¬
factory. Its church, a thirteenth century build¬
ing, is in ruins, and these ruins are picturesque,
while the adjacent cloisters will attract the visitor's
attention from their singular character. The
chapter-house is probably older than the church.
The little island occupied by this interesting
edifice was formerly fortified by the Romans, and
a portion of the wall, towards the lake, still bears
witness to the solidity of Roman masonry.
The council, to whose zeal for the Catholic
faith Huss and Jerome fell victims, held its
sittings in the Hall of the Kaufhaus, which was
built in 1388 as a warehouse, but afterwards used
as the town-hall. The council was composed of
thirty cardinals, four patriarchs, twenty arch¬
bishops, two hundred professors of universities
and doctors of theology, besides princes, ambas¬
sadors, ecclesiastical dignitaries, abbots, priors, and
distinguished civilians. The place of meeting
was a large room, divided by two rows of wooden
pillars into three aisles.
In a small apartment at the north extremity of
the building are shown some curious relics, more or
less interesting according as they are more or less
authentic. The principal are :—1st. The ancient
fauteuil of Pope Martin V., whom the council
elected in place of John XXIII., and the throne
of the Emperor Sigismund. 2nd. On a platform
in front of the throne, the three effigies of Huss,
Jerome of Prague, and Father Celestine. 3rd. A
model, and some original fragments, of the dun¬
geon in which John Huss was imprisoned at the
Dominican convent. 4th. The beautiful gilded
casket, ornamented with bas-reliefs, in which were
deposited, in 1417, the votes for the election of
Pope Martin V. 5th. The Gothic altar, the gilded
and illuminated parchment missal, and the cross
of the same pope. 6th. A life-size statue of
Abraham, which supported the cathedral pulpit,
and being mistaken by the populace for a figure
18
of PIuss, was grievously defaced. 7th. An old
Germanic urn, with a patera, and images of idols.
8th. A stone idol of great antiquity, worshipped,
it may be, by one of the old Teutonic tribes. 9th.
Small statues of stone and metal discovered in the
neighbourhood. 10th. A collection of painted
glass. 11th. A collection of various sculptured
objects. 12th. A collection of indifferent oil
paintings. 13th. A well-executed view upon
the lake.
Another memorial of the martyrs is the field
outside the town, in the suburb of Briihl, where
they passed through their fiery trial. Rude images
of PIuss and Jerome, moulded in clay excavated
from this very spot, are here offered for sale to the
much-enduring stranger.
The ancient bishopric of Constanz, occupied
in due succession by eighty-seven bishops, was
abolished in 1802. Happily, the noble cathedral
in which they played their part has survived the
ravages of time, the storms of war, and the changes
from the old order to the new, of which Constanz
has witnessed so many. It is true that it has
suffered from the "pestilent heresy" of "restora¬
tion but its main features remain unaltered.
It was begun in 1052 ; but the work of com¬
pletion was very protracted, and occupied from
early in the thirteenth to the middle of the six¬
teenth century. The ground plan is cruciform,
with very beautiful open-work, turrets at the west
end. The tower, rebuilt in "1511, after the de¬
struction of an earlier one by -fire, was crowned
(1850-1857) by an open spire of limestone, under
the direction of Herbsçh. The doors of the main
portal are of oak, and quaintly carved with a
representation of our Lord's pasgion, executed in
1470 by one Simon Baider. The workmanship
is admirable for boldness and decision. The nave
is supported by sixteen pillars, each of a single
block, and dates from the thirteenth century.
Here, at sixteen paces from the entrance, you may
see the stone on which Huss stood, while under¬
going the ceremonial of "degradation."
In front of the high altar stands the tomb of
Robert Hallam, bishop of Salisbury, who died at
Constanz on the 4th of September, 1417. He was
a man of great ability and moderation, and as the
head of the English deputation to the great
council secured the confidence of the Emperor
Sigismund. It further deserves to be remem¬
bered that he alone, or almost alone, protested
THE CATHEDRAL AT CONSTANZ.
against the sentence of death delivered upon John
Huss. His tomb, as the workmanship proves, is
of English brass, and was probably sent over from
England by his executors.
The organ dates from 1520, but was restored in
1680 in the style of the Renaissance.
In a chapel on the south side may be seen
a carving of the Entombment of Christ, by the
sculptor, Hans Morinz ; in a chapel on the north,
the tombs of the Weller family, and of Bishop Otto
von Sonnenberg. In one to the left of the choir
are some striking half-length figures, the size of
life, grouped round a dying Virgin, sculptured in
sand-stone, and painted ; apparently the work of a
fifteenth century sculptor. The elegant winding
staircase, close at hand, is ornamented with sculp¬
tures and statues. In a chapel to the east may
be seen the tomb of Bishop Otto III., margrave of
Hochberg-Rœtaln, who died in 1432, and above it
an altar picture on glass of six of the apostles. The
tombs of bishops Burkhard and Henry von Howen
are situated in the transept.
The sacristy contains some curious relics ;
an old painting of The Crucifixion, date 1524,
erroneously ascribed to Holbein ; and the armorial
shields of all the prelates who have occupied the
episcopal throne of Constanz. In the vestry room
above it is shown a range of curious cupboards,
or presses of carved oak, none of a later date than
the fifteenth century.
Two sides of the ancient cloisters, with their
richly sculptured arches, are still standing. At¬
tached to them is a chapter-room of the fourteenth
century, in whose centre rests a thirteenth century
work, in the Italian Gothic style, representing the
Holy Sepulchre ; it consists of an open rotunda,
decorated by arches resting on small columns.
Externally are placed, against the piédroits, certain
finely executed statues, half human size, represent¬
ing the Annunciation, the Birth of Christ, the
Adoration of the Magi, and, underneath, the twelve
Apostles. In the interior is quite a cluster of sta¬
tues—an angel, and the three holy women visiting
the tomb of our Lord ; two groups of Roman sol¬
diers sleeping, and a man attired in the dress of a
physician, seated at a table, with two vessels before
him, in one of which he is stirring some drug or
potion ; in his left hand he holds a large round
spoon, on his head he wears a kind of square cap.
Next comes a female pointing with her finger to
two others, who carry a couple of vases. All these
figures, like those on the outside of the structure,
are half the size of nature.
There is little else to be seen in Constanz. St.
Stephen's church, however, is not without interest.
It was founded in the ninth century, rebuilt in the
thirteenth, and completed in the fifteenth by Bishop
Otto III. von Hochberg. It contains some good
ancient coloured glass, and some new (in the choir)
by Dr. Stanz, of Berne. The high altar-piece is
by Memberger. The sculpture of the choir, of the
door of the sacristy, and the tomb of his own wife,
is by Hans Morinz (1560-1610), and well worthy
of a careful examination. You can see that the
artist wrought at his work with a conscientious
devotion to his art ; the execution is everywhere
honest, careful, and vigorous.
Some portions of the old walls and towers are
still extant. The bridge across the Rhine, which
here flows from the Upper into the Lower Lake,
is roofed over, and protected by some military
defences dating from the fifteenth century. The
moats may also be traced by the inquisitive
stranger.
EXCUESIONS FEOM CONSTANZ : EEICHENAU.
The Isle of Reichenau is worth a visit. It lies in
the broad part of the Rhine, where the river still
retains something of a lacustrine character, and
contains the church and treasury of a Benedictine
abbey founded by Charlemagne.
The island is low but pleasing, and from its
highest point, the Hochwacht, commands a fine
view of the river, and of the upper and lower
lakes. It measures one league and a quarter in
length, and about half a league in breadth. The
principal villages are Reichenau, or Mittelzell,
Oberzell, Niederzell, and Unterzell. The popula¬
tion (1500) are chiefly occupied in the cultivation
of the vine.
We have spoken of the abbey as founded by
Charlemagne. More strictly speaking it origin¬
ated in an ecclesiastical colony planted by St.
Pirminius, which the great emperor of the Franks
afterwards endowed with ten towns. It throve
mightily, and met with numerous wealthy and
liberal benefactors. Thus, Genla, duke of Suabia,
conferred upon it Tuttlingen, Wangen, Stettin, and
five and twenty villages. It obtained from King
Carloman four towns on the lake of Como ; from
Charles III., Zurxach ; from Louis the Pious, Alt-
heim, Riedlingen, and five villages ; and from
19
THE RHINE VALLEY.
Duke Berthold of Suabia, thirty villages. It
must be confessed that the monks, if at all grate¬
ful, had good reason to celebrate masses continually
for the repose of the souls of men so generous and
devout! The abbey had upwards of 300 noble
vassals, 1600 dependent monks and priests, and of
its superior it was proverbially said, that he could
ride to Rome and yet dine and sleep every day on
his own land. Hence came the present name of
the island, Reichenau.
Rapid and astounding as was the rise of this cele¬
brated foundation, not less rapid and astounding
was its fall. In the tenth century it had already
begun to decline. In 1175 its annual revenue had
sunk from 60,000 to 1600 florins ; in 1384 it had
decreased to three silver marks; and the abbot
was so poor that, instead of entertaining princes
and nobles at his table like his predecessors, he
was compelled to ride on his white pony, every
morning and evening, to sit at the frugal board of
the priest of Niederzell. It was the old story;
profusion and ostentation and luxurious living
had wasted the resources of the monastery, and
as might have been anticipated, the result was,
that those ecclesiastics who had kept a court
equalling a king's in splendour, were succeeded
by others, who lived upon the scanty alms of the
charitable.
In the course of time the abbey was incorpo¬
rated with the see of Constanz (1541), whose
bishops assumed the title of abbots of Reichenau,
and restored its former glories. Since 1799 the
services of the church have been conducted by
three secular priests.
Of the various conventual edifices, once so
celebrated for their extent and magnificence, the
church and the treasury, as already stated, are all
that remain.
The church was built in 806 by Abbot Hatto,
but was thrice destroyed. The tower is probably
a portion of Abbot Hatto's work, and is Roman¬
esque in style. Here was buried Charles the Fat,
in 887, as an inscription, carved in 1728, duly
records. His grave, however, can no longer be
recognized. The treasury contains some remark¬
able relics, such as the silver-gilt shrine of St.
Fortunatus, an ivory ciborium, a cope, a crozier,
a missal of the tenth century; a so-called emerald,
weighing twenty-eight pounds, which is, however,
only coloured glass ; and the waterpot used by our
Lord in his miracle at the marriage of Cana—a
20
marble urn of simple design, presented to the con¬
vent by Simon Wardo, the general of Leo the
Byzantine emperor.
The valuable manuscripts which the convent
formerly possessed have been removed to the
libraries of Carlsruhe and Heidelberg.
At Niederzell the church has two small towers
in the Byzantine style. It was built in the ninth
century by Bishop Egino, of Verona, who lies buried
here. Persons suffering from fever were accus¬
tomed, down to a very recent date, to offer up
their prayers in this quaint old church, and then
lie down on the grass which covers the good
bishop's grave, in the hope or belief their devotion
would be rewarded by a cure.
At Oberzell the Byzantine crypt of its little but
ancient church is spoken of as a remarkable monu¬
ment in an architectural point of view.
Near this village moulder the ivy-clad rums of
an ancient castle, that of Schoppeln, which for¬
merly belonged to the abbots of Reichenau, but
was destroyed in a popular insurrection in 1382.
The abbot Mangold, who was also bishop of Con¬
stanz, had arrested some Constanz fishermen for
casting their nets within the limits of his jurisdic¬
tion, and had deprived them of sight with his own
hands. The fishermen then rose in open revolt,
invaded the island, set fire to several farms, and
demolished Schoppeln.
THE ISLAND OF HEINA.tr.
The island of Meinau, situated about four miles
north of Constanz, is of a more attractive appear¬
ance than that of Reichenau, and with its terraces
and vine-clad hills, its groves and gardens, might
be held to realize a poet's dream of an enchanted
isle, frequented by wood-nymphs, and haunted by
celestial music. " Nature," says a topographical
writer who does not ordinarily grow enthusiastic,
" nature has lent it every charm (and lent them
apparently in perpetuo), and all the sweet sunny
visions of blest isles and floating gardens, of which
the poets sing, are here realized. It rises from the
smiling lake in the form of terraces. The gently
sloping green banks are decked with fruit trees,
gardens, vineyards, and meadows ; old masonry
looks picturesquely forth from the green foliage,
and the summit is crowned with a stately castle,
from whose terrace a most splendid view is afforded
of the lake and the surrounding landscape. Its
loveliness gave rise to the name of Maien-aue, or
THE LEGEND OF PETER'S HOUSE.
' May-meadow.' " It is connected with the main¬
land by a wooden bridge, 630 paces long, and by
the bridge belonging to the railway. Its circum¬
ference is estimated at forty-three miles.
Anciently the island belonged to the barons of
Langenstein, and they erected a castle on it, which,
with the island, was handed over to the Teutonic
order, in 1282, by Arnold von Langenstein and
his four sons, the five chivalrous knights having
taken upon themselves the Teutonic vows. A
commandery was then established here, and Herz
von Langenstein, one of Arnold's sons, was the
first of a series of sixty-five " commanders," who
maintained the repute of the order in this beautiful
island. He seems to have been the beau-ideal of
a knight ; not only a warrior but a poet, for a col¬
lection of his poems has been discovered—one of
which, dated 1293, and devoted to a glorification
of the life of St. Martina, consists of 30,000 verses.
We may be permitted to hope he did not compel
his knights to listen to their recital.
On the 11th of February, 1647, the Swedes,
under their great general, Wrangel, landed in the
island a detachment of 1000 musketeers, with four
cannon, and drove out the imperialist garrison. It
is said that they found a great booty here, valued
at 5,000,000 florins. When the Swedish army,
and the French under Turenne, retired from the
shores of the lake, the imperialists made a bold
attempt to recover Meinau; but the attack was
defeated by the Swedes, who held possession of
the island until September 30, 1648, when they
evacuated it in compliance with the provisions of
the treaty of Westphalia.
In 1805 the island was annexed to the grand
duchy of Baden. Afterwards it was sold to a
natural son of Prince Esterhazy, who in his turn
sold it in 1839 to the Countess von Langenstein,
the morganatic wife of the Grand Duke Louis of
Baden. In 1854 it was purchased by Prince
Frederick, regent of Baden. The castle is an
eighteenth century building, and uninteresting.
PETEKSHAUSEN.
Petershausen skirts the right bank of the Rhine,
nearly opposite Meinau, and forms a village suburb
of Constanz. It derives its name from the old
Benedictine abbey, Domus Petri, or Peter's House,
and is inhabited by about 250 to 300 Catholics,
who depend for their support on the breeding of
cattle and the cultivation of the vine.
The founder of the Domus Petri was Gebhard,
bishop of Constanz, and the work was begun in 983.
The following legend is connected with it :—
The bishop, who himself superintended the erection
of the abbey, happened on one occasion, while the
interior was in course of decoration, to be absent.
The knavish painters seized the opportunity to
bury their, best colours, in the neighbouring forest,
and on the bishop's return demanded a fresh
supply of materials. But the holy prelate was
fully equal to the task of coping with dishonest
workmen. Endowed with the gift of second sight,
or some faculty not less useful and wonderful, he
conducted them to the wood, and said, "Let us
see if the grace of the Lord will not furnish us
with what we require ! " Striking his staff in the
ground he exclaimed, " Dig ! " They dug, and the
hidden treasures were revealed. " Now, my dear
children," said the bishop, slily smiling, " let this
miracle strengthen your energies, and I pray ye
resume your work." On the following day, how¬
ever, the deceitful painters suddenly fell to the
ground as if they were dead. The bishop touched
them with his pastoral staff and said, " I will not
reward you by permitting you to lie here and take
your rest. Up, up, and persevere in well-doing."
The dead then arose, and by their redoubled
industry showed the miraculous character of the
episcopal exhortation.
So, at length, the abbey was completed. The
church was dedicated to St. Gregory, whose bones
were sent hither from Rome by the pontiff ; and
the new foundation was richly endowed by its
founder, and afterwards by Otho III. and the
Duchess Hadewig.
For some centuries it prospered exceedingly,
but about 1489 a cloud came over its fortunes ;
it fell into a wretched poverty, and all its monks
deserted it, except John Meek of Lindau, who in
1518 became abbot, and energetically laboured to
effect its restoration. When the people of Con¬
stanz embraced the doctrines of Luther, its then
ruler, Gebhard III., took to flight, and the abbey
was destroyed. On the success of the Catholic
league, however, the city was compelled to re¬
build it, the monks returned, and it regained much
of its ancient prosperity. In 1803 the convent
was finally dissolved.
We must now return to Rorschach, in order to
complete our circuit of the Lake of Constanz, by
exploring its north-eastern shore.
21
THE RHINE VALLEY.
LINDAU.
From Rorschach wo may proceed by rail to
Lindau, passing Bregentz.
Lindau, with the villages of Nonnenhorn and
Wassenburg, constitutes nearly the whole of the
Bavarian territory on the shore of the lake. It is
the terminus of the Bavarian Railway, and distant
about five hours' journey from Augsburg. Built
on three islands, it has sometimes been called the
" Bavarian Venice," but the points of resemblance
are not visible to the unprejudiced eye of the
stranger. It contains about 4000 inhabitants, has
two good inns, is quiet and orderly, and wholly
destitute of animation, except when the pilgrim¬
ages to Einsiedeln commence. It has a consider¬
able transit trade and a good fishery, which might
easily be made better if the Lindauers were less
inclined to take things easily.
Lindau is agreeably situated: exactly opposite
it may be seen the broad extensive valley through
which the Rhine descending from the Rhaetian
Alps, hurries to the lake. The rocky mountain
chain of Switzerland runs along the whole of the
right side of this valley as far as the lake, and then,
extending along the same in a chain of fertile
hills, forms its southern shore. The left side of
the valley is bounded by the sterile summits of the
Vorarlberg, which, continuing towards the east,
terminate in a range of steep and lofty cliffs,
washed by the dark-blue waters of the Boden
See. All that portion of the latter which lies to
the east of Lindau forms a fine large oval basin,
two leagues wide, and nearly as long, at whose
western extremity stands the little town of Bre¬
gentz. Towards the west and north the lake stretches
out into a bright and magnificent expanse. From
Lindau to Constanz, as the crow flies, measures
thirty-three miles, and to the end of the Upper
Lake, forty-eight miles. The western and northern
shores, though much indented, preserve on the whole
a straight line, and the eye is therefore enabled to
range unobstructed over a sheet of water, whose
area is not less than forty German square miles.
When the atmosphere is not too transparent, the
views are bounded only by the horizon, and it is
easy to understand why the lake was once called
the Suabian Sea.
The three islands on which our Bavarian Venice
takes its stand boast of an area of 102 acres. The
foremost is the largest, and communicates with the
22
mainland by a timber bridge, 290 paces in length.
The principal part of the town is erected on this
island; the second, connected with it by draw¬
bridges, is given over to fishermen and vine-
growers. The third, called the Burg, is linked
to Lindau by a stone bridge. It contains the old
church of St. James, and some remains of ancient
walls, supposed to be Roman. The town itself is
strongly fortified.
In its earlier history the great enemy of Lindau
seems to have been fire, and we read of conflagra¬
tions destroying it in 948, 1264, 1339, and 1347.
Its position, however, was admirably adapted for
defence in time of war, and commercial enterprise
in time of peace. Thus, it rose again from its ashes
with unabated vigour, and in 1496 had acquired
so much importance that the Emperor Maximilian
I. selected it as the seat of the Imperial Diet. It
may further be mentioned, that it was one of the
first towns which embraced the doctrines of Luther;
with the cities of Constanz, Strasburg, and Mem-
mingen, it was represented at Schmalkalden when
the great Protestant League was formed, and sub¬
scribed to the famous Confession of Augsburg.
When, at the beginning of the Thirty Years'
War, a crusade was preached against the German
Protestants, the gallant burghers of Lindau pre¬
pared to defend their principles with the sword.
They fortified their town, under the superintend¬
ence of the count of Solms, but were unable to
resist the overwhelming force sent against them
by the emperor; and as a punishment for their
disaffection a garrison was quartered upon them
for twenty years.
In 1647 Lindau was unsuccessfully besieged by
the Swedes under Wrangel. After the French
Revolution it several times changed masters ; but,
by the Peace of Presburg in 1806, was finally
given to Bavaria, to which it still belongs.
Its public buildings are unimportant. St. Mary's
church formerly belonged to the nunnery of Lin¬
dau, which consisted of an abbess and twelve nuns,
all of noble family. The abbess possessed a singular
privilege; namely, she was allowed to rescue a
criminal from the gallows by cutting the rope from
his neck with her own hands. " This act of mercy
took place at the corner of the so-called 'Kerwatzen; '
the knife destined to sever the cord was borne after
the abbess in solemn procession on a silver salver.
The individual delivered from the executioner was
then regaled in the convent, and the rope tied
FROM MARSBURG
TO UEBERLINGEN.
about bis middle, to remind bim of bis fortunate
escape. Eacb abbess exercised the privilege once
only; it was actually carried into effect in the years
1578, 1615, 1692, and as late as 1780."
In Trinity church, which once belonged to
the Franciscans, but has been disused for many
years, the town library is preserved. It contains
two manuscript chronicles of the town, some black-
letter bibles, block-books, and interesting ancient
MSS. The Lutheran church is of great antiquity.
From Lindau we proceed to Friedrichshafen,
the terminus of the Stuttgard and Ulm Railway.
Langenargen and Friedrichshafen are in the lake
territory of Wiirtemburg; the formera small market
town, which formerly belonged to the Counts de
Montfort, and contains the ruins of a strong castle,
built on a jutting peninsula by Count William in
1332; the latter a busy and thriving port, with
a harbour constructed by Frederick, king of
Wiirtemburg. The imperial town of Buchhorn,
to the north-west, and the convent of Hofen, now
converted into a royal château, are situated within
its boundaries, and are connected by a long street
which skirts the shore of the lake. The views
from the palace are very beautiful and extensive.
From 1632 to 1634 Buchhorn was occupied by
the Swedes under General Horn, who successfully
resisted an imperialist attack, delivered both by
land and water.
MAESBITRG.
Soon after entering the Baden territory we
reach the ancient town of Marsburg, clustering
on the slope of a considerable hill, under the pro¬
tection of the castle which crowns the summit. It
is surrounded by vineyards and orchards, and its in¬
habitants deal in wine, fruit, cider, corn, and fish.
Its history is crowded with episodes of strife and
turbulence, so that one would be tempted to be¬
lieve its burghers lived in armour, and slept with
sword and crossbow by their side. Its inhabitants
evinced a disposition, at an early date, to embrace
Lutheran opinions ; and by way of warning the
bishop of Constanz burnt an heretical priest here,
on the 10th of May, 1527. John Hliyli, the victim,
died with a courage which the fear of torture and
death could not shake. Having arrived at the
place of execution, he publicly thanked the bishop
for the indulgence shown to him during his
imprisonment. As the pile was lighted, he ex¬
claimed, " Alas, my good people, may God forgive
ye, for ye know not what ye do!" And while
the flames wreathed around him, he continued to
sing aloud, "Gloria in excelsis Deo ! Te Deum
laudamus ! " His death did not arrest the spread
of his opinions ; the cause for which he died
thenceforward progressed rapidly in Constanz and
Lindau.
The old castle of Marsburg is an interesting
specimen of mediseval military architecture. The
main building, flanked by four circular turrets,
was erected in 1508 by Hugo von Breitenlanden-
burg, bishop of Constanz. The outer wall is more
ancient, and probably of Frankish architecture.
A new castle, separated from the old by an arti¬
ficial ravine, was built by Bishop Antony von
Siggingen of Hohenburg, and continued to be
occupied as a residence by the prelates of Constanz
until their see was suppressed. It commands a
magnificent prospect from its stately terrace.
In the cemetery chapel of Marsburg lies the
dust of that extraordinary man, half-enthusiast,
half-impostor—Antony von Mesmer, the inventor
of Mesmerism. He was born in 1734 at Itznang,
on the Lower Lake, and died at Marsburg in
1815. His monument was erected at the cost of
the Society of Naturalists of Berlin.
UEBERLINGEN.
Passing New Bernau and its picturesque chapel,
which lies embowered in vineyards, and the château
of Maurach, we arrive at the ancient imperial town
of Ueberlingen, situated on a creek or narrow bay
of the lake, which is named after it the Ueber¬
lingen See, or Lake of Ueberlingen. " The place
has a venerable appearance, looking precisely as
it did after its recovery from the ravages of the
Thirty Years' War in the middle of the seventeenth
century. It is situated close to the lake, which is
here very deep, on a rocky soil, surrounded by
vineyards and corn-fields; it still boasts of walls
and moats, has eight gates, sixteen towers, an old
minster, and four other churches. It is particularly
animated in the suburb, where there are many
fishermen's cottages. A considerable corn market
is held here every week."
The following summary of events is borrowed
from Dr. Gaspey:—
As early as the commencement of the seventh
century the place (then called Ibriungae, not being
mentioned as Ueberlingen till 1257) was a central
point of the Frankish dominion, and a nursery of
23
THE RHINE VALLEY.
Christianity. Gunzo, a Christian Frankish duke
of Allemannia, had his seat here. Frideburg, the
beautiful and only daughter of the duke, was the
betrothed of the Frankish king Sigebert, Theodoric's
son ; she was smitten, however, with severe illness,
so that her father and all the people believed her
possessed of an evil spirit. She was restored by
the prayers of St. Gallus, who, at her desire, was
fetched from the wilderness, but had at first
refused to obey the mandate of the prince, and had
fled into the valley of the Rhine. According to
an old tradition, the evil spirit departed from Fride¬
burg in the form of a black raven, which flew out of
her mouth. The duke, grateful for his assistance,
was desirous of conferring on him the episcopal
dignity, the see of Constanz being just then vacant ;
St. Gallus, however, declined the proffered favour,
and desired it might be awarded to the dean of
Juaxadaves, named John, who had been instructed
by him in the word of God.
In the middle of the fourteenth century, when
the country was devastated by the great plague of
the so-called "Black Death," and certain zealots
wandered from place to place, pursuing the Jews
with fire and sword, many of the Hebrew per¬
suasion were also sacrificed here. The mutilated
corpse of a boy who had been missed by his parents
was found in a brook ; as the body was borne past
the houses of the Jews the wounds broke out
afresh. In accordance with the old superstition
that the wounds of a murdered man bled in the
presence of his murderer, this circumstance was
held to be a satisfactory proof of their guilt.
Under the pretence of rescuing them, the terrified
Jews were removed to a tall stone house, in the
lower story of which a quantity of faggots had
been collected. As soon as the victims, over 300
in number, had been enticed into this supposed re¬
treat, the faggots were lighted. The hapless Jews
were driven by the flames from story to story,
and, at last, got out upon the roof. But there was
no chance of escape. The whole house was con¬
sumed, and with it every living creature. In their
desperation, the Jews hurled down knives and
stones and burning rafters on the crowd of per¬
secutors who stood below and mocked at their
agonies; some precipitated themselves from the
windows, but were quickly seized and massacred.
As a reward for its heroic conduct in the Pea¬
sants' War, Charles V. bestowed upon it many
privileges. It suffered greatly during the Thirty
Years' War; was besieged by the Swedes in 1634,
but forced them to retire. Five years later it was
attacked by the Bavarians, and after an obstinate
resistance compelled to capitulate. In 1802
Ueberlingen was attached to the grand duchy
of Baden.
The only public edifice in the town worthy of
notice is the Minster, or Cathedral, which presents
some Gothic features, and whose interior is both
spacious and majestic. The tower is upwards of
200 feet in height.
The mineral springs of Ueberlingen seem, of late
years, to have risen in repute.
The northern section of the Lake of Constanz
is divided into two basins, as a glance at a map
will show the reader, by a long narrow peninsula
jutting out from the mainland in a south-westerly
direction, and terminating opposite Constanz. Here,
at its extremity, is situated the suburb-village of
Petershausen, connected with Constanz and the left
shore of the lake by the bridge of the Strasburg
Railway. The island of Meinau, already described,
lies between this peninsula and the right shore of
the lake; that of Reichenau, between the penin¬
sula and the left shore of the lake, in the north¬
western basin (or Unter See), which strikes inland
as far as Rudolfzell.
In our preceding descriptions we have been as
brief as was consistent with our duty to the reader,
because the upper course of the Rhine, however
beautiful may be its scenery, is not much visited
by the British tourist; nor has it proved of any
great strategic importance in the principal Euro¬
pean wars. Moreover, with the exception of Con¬
stanz, we have met with no city of eminent
historical importance, nor with any of those ex¬
quisite landscapes which song and fable have
endowed with undying attractions. But now we
enter upon " hallowed ground." The river whose
descending wave we accompany will carry us past
cities and towns indissolubly associated with the
great men and deeds of bygone times, and with the
stirring events of the present epoch; as well as
through scenes of the highest interest and the
most admirable beauty. We must proceed, there¬
fore, at a slower pace ; but not, we trust, to the
dissatisfaction of the reader, who will find food
for meditation and objects of curiosity abundantly
supplied in every page.
24
CHAPTER II.
THE RHINE, FROM CONSTANZ TO STRASBURG.
Backward, in rapid evanescence, wheels
The venerable pageantry of Time,
Each beetling rampart, and each town sublime,
And what the dell unwillingly reveals
Of lurking cloistral arch, through trees espied
Near the bright river's edge.— Woi-dsworth.
EIGHT BANK OF THE EIYEE TO SCHAFFHAUSEN.
The Rhine issues from the Boden See in a
westerly direction, between the towns of Stein, on
the right bank, and Steckhorn, on the left.
Stein, on the right bank, is in German territory,
and picturesquely situated among vine-clad hills.
A wooden bridge, forty-four metres in length, con¬
nects it with a suburb on the left bank. It contains
a population of 1500.
In the eighth century it was already a consider¬
able village. In 945 it was raised to the rank and
privileges of a town by Duke Burckhardt II., of
Suabia; and in 1005 a further impetus was given
to its prosperity by the removal hither of the
Benedictine abbey of St. George, from Ilohentwiel.
The barons of Klingen, lords of the abbey, gra¬
dually crept into possession of the town ; one
moiety of which, in 1359, they sold to the duke
of Austria, and receiving it again as a fief in 1415,
sold it a second time, with the other moiety, to
the barons of Klingenberg. From the latter the
town succeeded in purchasing its freedom, in 1459,
for 1500 florins, and it then entered into an alli¬
ance offensive and defensive with the towns of
Zurich and Schaffhausen. In 1484 its heavy
debts, and the exactions of the abbot of St. George,
compelled it to place itself under the protection of
Zurich, then a powerful and influential city; and
so it remained until 1798, when it was formally
incorporated with the canton of Schaffhausen.
The abbey of St. George had previously been sup¬
pressed, having fallen before the sweeping whirl¬
wind of the Reformation.
The artist will find in the town many old houses
well worth a place in his sketch-book, such as the
Red Ox and the White Eagle. Near the bridge is
25
a mansion of venerable antiquity, bearing the sign
" Zum Klu," and reputed to have been formerly
the house of assembly for the nobles. It is
enriched with some very fine specimens of the
best painted glass, perfectly wonderful in their
depth and glow of colour. In the town hall hangs
the portrait of a citizen of Stein, Rudolph Schydt,
Baron von Schwarzenhorn, born in 1590, who after
having been carried into slavery by the Turks,
was, by a strange revolution of the wheel of
fortune, to become Austrian ambassador at the
Turkish court. The large and profusely orna¬
mented silver goblet is shown which he presented
to his native town, and which, on the occasion of
a wedding, figures always among the decorations
of the feast.
In the old abbey of St. George the visitor will
find a really noble hall, profusely ornamented with
quaint frescoes and some good wood-carving.
On the rocky height above the town stands
what time has left of the ancient castle of Hohen-
klingen, or the Steiner Klinge. To the family
which formerly occupied this fortress belonged
Walter von Klingen, a minnesinger of great cele¬
brity, and the friend of Rudolph of Ilapsburg,
whose future greatness he predicted. He lies
interred, with his three daughters, near Bale,
in the convent of Klingenthal, which was founded
by his pious generosity. From the topmost roof
of Hohenklingen was precipitated the burgomaster
Ezweiler, in 1758, for having treacherously plotted
to deliver up the town to the Austrians.
About three miles to the east, at an elevation
of 650 feet above the Rhine, and on the southern
slope of the Schienenberg, are situated the quarries
of CEhningen, remarkable for their abundant store
of fossil remains of terrestrial and fresh-water ani-
d
THE RHINE VALLEY
mais, as well as plants, discovered in their marl
and limestone rocks. The most curious discovery
was that of a fossil fox, made by Sir Roderick Mur-
chison. The strata lie immediately above the
formation called Molasse, and in their organic
contents differ from all fresh-water beds previously
discovered.
Continuing our course along the left bank* of
the river we next reach Hemmishofen, lying in a
pleasant gap or hollow between the hills. Then
we come to the mouth of the little river Biber,
which winds past the château of Ramson, and in
the shadow of luxuriant " beechen groves " make
our way to Gailingen, a hamlet embowered among
vines, and chiefly inhabited by Jews. Near this
point the French army, on the 1st of May, 1800,
effected that passage of the Rhine which enabled
Moreau to gain his great victory of Ilohenlinden.
Passing through the glades of the Schsechenwald
we next arrive at Bilsingen; and soon afterwards,
at Paradies, a nunnery of the order of St. Clara
(Clarisses), founded in 1214 at Constanz, and
thence transferred to its present site. In the
neighbouring marshes many rare plants are found.
The imperial army, under the archduke Charles,
crossed the Rhine at Paradies in 1799.
LEFT BANK OF THE EIVER TO SCHAFFHAXJSEN.
On the left bank of the river, after leaving
Constanz, the first point of interest at which the
traveller arrives is Gottlieben, and here he will
regard the hoary castle with curious eyes, from its
imperishable associations. It was the temporary
prison in 1414 of John Huss and Jerome of
Prague, who were confined in its dungeons, in
gross violation of the imperial safe-conduct, at the
instigation of Pope John XXII. By a strange
turn of fortune, the latter, a few months later, was
himself a prisoner at Gottlieben, by order of the
Council of Constanz, and was here compelled to
sign the bull by which he virtually abdicated the
papal throne. In 1454 Felix Hâmmerlin, the
canon of Zurich, better known by his Latinized
name of Malleolus, the most learned scholar and
generous philanthropist which Switzerland in the
fifteenth century could boast of, was also im¬
prisoned here. He was afterwards removed to the
convent of Luzern, where he was buried alive.
* The tourist may proceed from Constanz to Schaffhausen by the
Baden Railway, in which case lie loses sight of a considerable portion
of the Rhine ; or he may descend the river by steamboat (three hours).
The railway station for the Falls of the Rhine is Neuhausen.
26
During the siege of Constanz, in 1633, the
Swedish general, Horn, established here his head¬
quarters. The castle was purchased in 1837 by
Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte—now Napoleon
III.—who demolished a part of it, and recon¬
structed it on a more extensive scale.
The Rhine now broadens into the north-western
section of Lake Constanz—an ample basin, known
as the Zcller See north of Reichenau, and the
Untcr See south of that island. The shores of
the Zcller See are studded with several picturesquely
situated villages—Heyne, Allensbach, Markel-
fingen, Rudolfzell (already mentioned), Moos,
Itznang, Weiler, Horn, and Gaienhofen. The
Baden Railway skirts its north-western shore from
Rudolfzell to Petershausen, where, as before stated,
it crosses the Rhine and enters Constanz.
On the left or southern shore, our exploration
brings us to Ermatingen, a small town of 1500 in¬
habitants—agriculturists, traders, and fishermen—
dominated by the castles of Hind and Wolfsberg,
the latter belonging to an English family.
The château of Arenenberg (formery Narren-
berg) we regard with peculiar interest as the resi¬
dence and death-place of the duchess of St.
Leu, ex-queen of Holland—Hortense Beauharnais,
daughter of Josephine, and the mother of Napoleon
III., who purchased and restored the château in
1855. The emperor resided here previous to his
mock-heroic descent upon Strasburg.
In this neighbourhood, to the south of the
village of Maunenbach, are situated the château of
Solmstein, built in the twelfth and rebuilt in the
fourteenth centuries; and nearer the village, that
of Eugensberg, which was inhabited for a time by
Queen Hortense.
The castle of Sandegg, which belonged to Count
Eugene de Leuchtenberg, was destroyed by fire
in 1834.
Passing Berlingen, we next arrive at Steckhorn,
an ancient town of about 1500 inhabitants, situ¬
ated at the point where the Rhine issues from the
lake-like expanse of the Zeller Zee. The old castle
has been converted into a manufactory.
On a promontory covered with fruit trees stands
the Cistercian monastery of Feldbach, founded in
1252. Its chapel contains a statue of Walter von
Klingen, the feudal superior of the lords of Feld¬
bach, and a bounteous benefactor to the abbey.
The château of Clansegg is comparatively un¬
interesting. Through a broken and picturesqut
IB.'I. Hob art s
WILLIAM MACKENZIE. LONDON. E01NBURGH 8 GLASGOW.
GENERAL ASPECT OF SCIIAFFHAUSEN.
country, and passing the château of Ncubuvg, we
proceed to the village of Mammern, occupying a
tongue of land which juts boldly into the river.
On the opposite bank are Wangen and Oehringen.
The chateau of Oberstad has undergone that
process of transformation which so signally marks
the rise of a " new order " of things upon the ruins
of the old. It has been converted, like that of
Steckhorn, into a factory. Strigen and Katten-
horn are still famous for their vines.
At Eschenz the tourist, if he have time, may
reasonably spend a few hours in examining the
Roman and Germanic antiquities which render its
neighbourhood so full of interest. On the hills
above are planted the chateaux of Frendenfels and
Liebenfels, the latter recently restored.
The channel of the Rhine has considerably nar¬
rowed at Burg, where it is divided into two con¬
tracted branches by the small island of Woerd.
The chapel so conspicuous on this little islet—
which was anciently connected with Burg by a
Roman bridge, whose piles were visible as late as
1766—was erected in memory of Sidonius, bishop
of St. Gall. He was for some time confined here
a prisoner, and perished, in 759, the victim of a
false accusation.
The small hamlet of Rheinklingen need not
delay our progress. Diessenhofen is a town of
1650 inhabitants. From 1640, when it was con¬
quered by the Leaguers, until 1798, it formed a
small republic under the protection of Schaff-
hausen and the eight ancient cantons of Switzer¬
land. The Rhine is here spanned by a substantial
bridge. The town has some large tanneries, and a
considerable fair, especially for cattle.
St. Katharinenthal is a Dominican convent,
founded in the thirteenth century, and still in¬
habited by a prioress and four nuns.
We now enter the town of
SCHAFFHAUSEN.
Population, 8711. Sixty-four miles from Bâle;
twenty-nine miles from Constanz. Hotels in the
town, Falke, Krone, Lœwe; and at the Falls,
Schweizerhof and Bellevue. On the left bank,
Schloss-hauffen, Witzig, and Schiff.
Schaffhausen, the chief town of a canton of the
same name, has a population of 8711 inhabitants,
and stands on the right bank of the Rhine, at an
elevation of 1270 feet above the sea, in the valley
of Durach or Taunerbach. It is situated just above
27
the commencement of the falls or rapids which
render the Rhine unnavigable as far as Basel. An¬
ciently it was a landing-place and customs-town,
where all goods brought from the south or north
had to be embarked for conveyance up the river;
and it owes its name to the boat or skiff-houses
erected for this purpose. But the introduction of
railways has year by year diminished its importance,
and it chiefly depends at present on its limited
manufactures of soap, candles, silk, cotton, iron ;
its tanneries, potteries, and breweries ; and the
influx of tourists attracted by its vicinity to the
celebrated Falls.
Though it does not merit a long visit, yet it
possesses many features of interest for the culti¬
vated traveller. No other town in Switzerland—
perhaps none in Germany, with the single exception
of Nuremberg—has so faithfully preserved a me¬
diaeval characterand physiognomy. If, like Pompeii,
it had been buried under the ashes of a volcanic
eruption, and only recently exhumed, it could not
more thoroughly have retained the sentiment and
aspect of antiquity. It is an old-world place, and
in passing through its streets you feel suddenly
transported back to the sixteenth century, when
it was a city of influence, wealth, and power.
Many of its houses are remarkable for their antique
architecture, for the turrets and projecting oriel
windows which relieve their façades, and for the
quaint carvings and mouldings in wood and stucco
with which they are embellished. It is unfortunate
that few of them now exhibit any traces of the
fresco paintings with which they were originally
covered; and the antiquary will regret, though the
sanitary reformer will rejoice, that the muncipality
have of late years been inspired with a spirit of
improvement, and have begun to widen the
ancient streets and to substitute blooming gardens
for grim but useless fortifications. The wall and
six turreted gateways of the town are, however,
as yet extant, and will furnish the artist with
many picturesque subjects for his pencil. The
house called Zum Ritter, opposite the Krone
Hotel, is a " bit" worthy of Prout.
The celebrated wooden bridge, which was for¬
merly the glory of Schaffhausen, and the most
perfect specimen of that species of architecture
in the world, was burned by the French, under
Oudinot, in 1799, after their defeat by the Aus-
trians at Stockach. It consisted of a single arch,
365 feet in span, and was built by a carpenter
THE RHINE VALLEY.
from Appcnzell, named Grubenmann. A model
of it is preserved in the town library (20,000 vols.),
which also contains the collection of books made
by the great Swiss historian, Johannes Millier, a
native of Schaffhausen (1752-1809).
" At Schaffhausen," wrote Montaigne, on passing
through the town in 1580, "we saw nothing rare;"
and nothing rare is to be seen there to-day. On the
hill above it, the Emmersberg, however, is planted
the singular fort or castle called Annoth (that is,
ohne Noth, or " the Needless "), because it was
erected in order to provide the poor of the town
with food. It was built in 1560. The walls are
upwards of eighteen feet thick, and its vaults are
bomb-proof. There are subterranean passages
under it. From the summit of the tower may be
enjoyed a prospect of singular beauty and variety.
Frederick duke of Austria, in 1415, having
assisted Pope John XXIII. in his escape from
Constanz, provided him with an asylum in the
castle of Schaffhausen. To effect his purpose, he
had proclaimed a splendid tournament without
the gates of Constanz. All the city poured forth
to the spectacle ; the streets were wholly deserted.
Pope John, in the dress of a groom, with a gray
cloak, and a kerchief wrapped closely over his face, "
then mounted a sorry and ill-accoutred steed, with
a cross-bow on the pommel of his saddle (March
20). Unperceived and unchallenged he passed
the gates, and in about two hours reached Erma-
tingen. A boat was ready, he glided down the
rapid stream to Schaffhausen, and took refuge in
the ducal castle.
The emperor and the Council of Constanz were
quick in their punishment of the pope's abbettor
and assistant. The ban of the empire, and the
excommunication of the council, were both
launched against him on the 7 th of April. " All
his vassals," says Milman, " were released from
their sworn fealty; all treaties, contracts, oaths,
vows, concerning the man excommunicated alike
by the church and the empire, were declared null
and void. Whoever could conquer, might possess
the territory, the towns, the castles of the outlaw.
The Swabian princes fell on his possessions in
Alsace ; the Swiss Cantons (they only with some
reluctance to violate solemn treaties) seized his
hereditary dominions, even IJapsburg itself. Be¬
fore the month had expired this powerful duke
was hardly permitted to humble himself in person
before the emperor, whose insatiate revenge spared
28
nothing that could abase his ancient foe. It was
a suppliant entreating pardon in the most abject
terms, a sovereign granting it with the most hard
and haughty condescension. Frederick surren¬
dered all his lands and possessions to be held at
the will of the empire, until he should deign to
reinvest the duke with them under the most de¬
grading tenure of allegiance and fealty. The pope
then fled from Schaffhausen to Fribourg, and
thence to Brisach ; but he was quickly pursued,
overtaken, and thrown into prison in the strong
castle of Gottlieben."
The Minster, anciently the abbey of All Saints
(Allerheiligen), was founded in 1052, and com¬
pleted in 1101. In 1753 it was restored, but with
a pitiful want of taste. It retains, however, the
principal features of its ancient style, the Roman¬
esque, and its round arches and massive construc¬
tion will interest the stranger. The arches of the
nave rest upon single circular pillars ; those of the
central transept on square columns of such solidity
that they seem intended to outlast the world.
Prior to the Reformation, the great boast of the
minster was a colossal figure, called the " Great
Good God," which attracted numerous pilgrims.
It was a figure of Christ twenty-two feet in height,
and occupied the site of the present pulpit. The
story runs that an irreverent jester, boasting that he
was the brother of the Madonna of Einsiedeln,
was cast into prison for blasphemy. On being
brought next day before the magistrate, he said,
" Yes, the Madonna at Einsiedeln is my sister,
and what is more, the Devil at Constanz and the
Great God at Schaffhausen are my brothers ; for
my father, who is a sculptor, made them all three,
and therefore we must be akin."
The great bell of the cathedral, founded in
1486, bears the celebrated inscription which sug¬
gested to Schiller his " Song of the Bell:"
" Vivos voco, mortuos plango, fulgnra frango."
The Gothic cloister contains numerous white-washed
and plaster-daubed monuments of the magistrates
and principal families of Schaffhausen.
The church of St. John is the largest in Switzer¬
land; but its spaciousness is its sole distinction.
It was built in 1120.
On the public promenade near the casino garden,
a well-executed marble bust on a pedestal of gray
marble, which is enriched with some bas-reliefs in
bronze, perpetuates the memory of Schaffhausen's
A ."Will m ore.
1MDME FALLS,
SCHAFFHAUSEN
WILLIAM MACKENZIE.. LONDON. EDlNBURS'i S GLASGOW.
MORE ABOUT SOIIAFFHAUSEN.
most famous citizen. The inscription on it runs
as follows:—•
''.JOHANNES VON MULLBR,
Von Schaffhansen,
Geb. 8 Jan. 1752. Gest. 29 May, 1809.
Nie war ich von Einer Partie,
Sondera fUr Wahrheit and Recht
Wo ich's erkannte."
That is, " I was never of any particular party,
but for Truth and Light, wherever I recognized
them."
Schaffhausen is a place of great antiquity.
Annual fairs were held in the village, which then
belonged to Count Ebenhard III., of Nellenburg,
as early as the eleventh century. It increased so
rapidly, that in the next century it claimed the
rank and enjoyed the privileges of a town, and
was taken by the Emperor Henry VI. under his
protection and that of the Empire. The neigh¬
bouring nobility thought it an honour to obtain
its freedom, and Schaffhausen having thrown off
the supremacy of its abbot was received, in 1246,
among the number of free cities. Its burghers
having been greatly favoured by the house of
Hapsburg, always loyally supported it, and at the
battle of Morgarten fought bravely in the Austrian
ranks. It attained the climax of its prosperity
early in the fifteenth century, when it had a
population of 12,000, and was the great com¬
mercial dépôt of Upper Swabia. Its administration
was then in the hands of an elective burgomaster,
and its citizens were mustered in twelve guilds,
one of which was restricted exclusively to persons
of noble birth.
When Duke Frederick the Penniless was placed
under the Imperial ban in 1415, for his share in
the escape of Pope John XXIII., Schaffhausen
found itself in a position of extreme peril, and only
escaped the vengeance of the emperor by payment
of a fine of 30,000 ducats. The duke, who had
deserted it in its difficulties, then attempted to
recover possession of it; but the burghers gallantly
maintained the independence they had so dearly
purchased. For this purpose they concluded an
alliance with the Swiss, who nobly came to their
aid when, in 1451, the Austrian forces under Von
Hendorf had nearly succeeded in their investment
of the town. In return for such loyal service,
Schaffhausen supported the League, of which it
became a member in 1501, in its wars with Bur¬
gundy and Swabia. Meantime, it continued to
increase its territory by buying up the lands of
29
the neighbouring nobles, whose profligacy forced
them to raise money at any cost.
In 1529 Schaffhausen declared itself Protestant.
It was afterwards somewhat disturbed by the
outbreaks of the Anabaptists; but the course of
its history ran with tolerable smoothness until
the European convulsions caused by the French
Revolution. In the great struggle between revo¬
lutionary France and Austria it was ultimately
occupied by both armies; and from the 7th to the
10th of October by the Russians.
The canton of which it is the capital lies on
the right bank of the Rhine, occupies a superficial
area of 117 square miles, and has a population
of 37,000, of whom 34,000 are Protestants and
3000 Roman Catholics. The surface is hilly and
irregular, with many picturesque valleys, one of
which, the Klettgau, is famous for its vineyards.
The principal products are grain, flax, hemp, and
fruits. The canton contains the two small towns
of Xeunkirch and Stein, the latter, in reality, a
suburb of Schaffhausen; the five market towns
of Unter-Hallau, Schleitheim, Wilcliingen, Thiïin-
gen, and Ramsen; twenty-eight to thirty villages;
and about forty castles and farms.
THE FALLS OF SCHAFFHAUSEN.
The course of the Rhine from the suburb of
Stein to the little village of Obernid, where it
quits the canton of Schaffhausen, measures about
nine Swiss leagues. In this distance it descends
210 feet; and such is the rapidity of its current
that in the severest winter it never freezes.
Nowhere, in the whole extent of its manifold
windings, is the river brighter or more transparent;
its deep blue waters, with their emerald gleam,
flow onward with many a crest of pearly foam,
but are never unclean or turbid. The depth
varies, but between Stein and the Falls attains a
maximum of thirty feet.
About a mile and a half below Schaffhausen
the river, for a distance of 1000 feet, whirls
and foams and eddies over a succession of broken
calcareous rocks. It is here called the " Lachen,"
or " Pools," from the countless basins into which
the waters are pent up. On the left, just below
these pools, a huge crag juts forward like a pro¬
montory, and contracts the channel of the river
into a space of one hundred and twenty feet.
With a fall of eight or ten feet, the current dashes
headlong through this narrow throat, and then
THE RHINE VALLEY.
suddenly expands to a breadth of 560 feet, darts
off at a right angle towards the south, and for half
a league is content to mitigate its fury, and flow
with some degree of moderation through sloping
banks covered with luxuriant vineyards. But
the shores gradually grow steeper, and draw
nearer together ; and the river, confined between
the heights of Bohnenberg on the one hand, and
of Kohlfurt on the other, and broken up into three
channels by two isolated masses of projecting rock,
leaps a descent of forty-five to sixty feet with inde¬
scribable violence and boundless fury.
In front of the Falls, on the right bank, stands
the castle of Woerth, and nearly opposite it, on
the left, the chateau of Lauffen (i.e., the " rapids"),
from either of which a fine view of the " hell of
waters" may be obtained. Immediately above the
Falls the river is spanned by the stone bridge of
the Schaffhausen and Zurich Railway, and the rocks
on the right bank are occupied by some iron-works,
whose hammers are worked by the waters, but
whose dingy buildings considerably detract from
the beauty of the scene.
Perhaps, after all, the best point of view is
from the chateau of Lauffen. Here a wooden
gallery projects to the very edge of the rapids,
so that you can touch the water with your hand.
You see the emerald-tin ted, azure-shining mass
swirling impetuously downward, almost over your
head, with a roar like the thunder of battle.
Hurled against the rocks, like a stone from a cata¬
pult, part rises in a cloud of dense and flashing spray,
part sweeps onward in a boiling rush of foam,
while the main volume of water, descending into
the semi circular basin beneath, again is partly dis¬
sipated into foam and spray. But the great charm
of the picture is its variety. At times it is dark and
dim, and then the heart of the spectator is troubled
with its infinite suggestions of terror; but when
the sun shines it is lit up with a myriad shifting
hues, and brightened into beauty by an endless
succession of rainbows.
No ancient or classical writer mentions these
rapids. The first author who refers to them is the
Florentine Poggio:—" The river," he says, "pre¬
cipitates itself among the rocks with so much fury
and so terrible a roar, that one might almost say it
bewailed its fall."
They are thus described by Montaigne:—" Be¬
neath Schaffhausen the Rhine encounters a hollow
full of great rocks, where it breaks up into many
30
streams, and further on, among these same rocks,
it meets with a declivity about two pike-staves
in height, where it makes a huge leap, foaming
and roaring wildly. This arrests the progress
of the boats, and interrupts the navigation of the
river." In such cold and passionless language does
the great essayist describe one of the most beautiful
scenes in Europe !
Madame Roland is more enthusiastic:—" Figure
to yourself," she says, " the river in all its majesty
sweeping headlong like a sea of leaping foam;
until the rocks, crowned with verdure, interrupt
the course of its vast sheet of water, of this torrent
of snow. The irritated river lashes its inclosing
banks in furious wrath, undermines them, en¬
croaches upon them, and multiplies its falls by the
gaps it cleaves in them ; it crashes down with a tur¬
moil which spreads horror on every side, with
which the whole valley re-echoes, and the shat¬
tered billows soar aloft in vapours richly adorned
by shining rainbows."
Dr. Forbes speaks of the scene as being singu¬
larly impressive by moonlight. No sound is then
heard but the one continuous roar of the water,
softened by the distance, and seeming to fill the
whole air, like the moonshine itself There is
something both wild and delightful in the hour
and its accompaniments. The mind yields pass¬
ively to the impressions made on the senses. A
host of half-formed, vague, and visionary thoughts
crowd into it at the same time, giving rise to feel¬
ings at once tender and pathetic, accompanied with
a sort of objectless sympathy or yearning after
something unknown. The ideas and emotions most
definite and constant are those of Power and
Perpetuity, Wonder and Awe.
But we must be careful to avoid exaggera¬
tion in our pictures of natural phenomena. The
language in which some writers speak of the
Falls of the Rhine is grotesque in its extra¬
vagance. Dr. Forbes honestly confesses that,
after all, they impress the intellect much less
than the feelings. The first view, in truth, is
somewhat disappointing, particularly as to the
dimensions of the Falls, both in breadth and
height ; and as you gaze, you feel a sort of critical
calculating spirit rising within you; but this is
speedily subdued by something in the inner mind
above reasoning, and you are overpowered by a
rash of conflicting emotions. Milton makes his
Adam and Eve tell us that they " feel they are
THE CRADLE OF
THE HAPSBURGS.
happier than they know:" the spectator of tho
Rhine Falls feels they are grander than ho thinks.
For the convenience of the tourist we may add
that the distance between Constanz and Schaff-
hausen is three posts and a quarter, or twenty-nine
one-fourth English miles.
Posts. Eng. Miles.
Constanz,
Steckhorn, 1 9
Diessenhofen, If 1-i
Schaffhausen, § 'Î
From Constanz to Lauffen is three miles. The
tourist can take the railway if he pleases, stopping
at Dachsen station; or he may go down by boat,
or travel by road.
DESCENT OF THE HEINE CONTINUED: SCHAFFHAUSEN
TO BASEL.
(Railway from. Schaffhausen.')
Schaffhausen to Waldshut, 29 miles.
Waldshut to Lauffenburg, 9 "
Lauffenburg to Sackingen, 6 "
Sackingen to Rheinfelden, . .... 10 "
Kheinfelden to Basel, ........ 10 "
Total distance, 64 miles.
We shall first pursue the right bank of the
Rhine from Schaffhausen to Basel, and then,
returning to Schaffhausen, follow up the left
bank.
Below the Falls, the Rhine " nobly foams and
flows" through a fertile and attractive country.
At first it takes a southerly direction; then it
strikes towards the west and north ; and, after
awhile, bends round with a southerly inclination.
Here two narrow tongues of land confine the
channel of the river, which is further impeded by
a little islet. On one of these tongues, or penin¬
sulas, stands the small town of Rheinau, belonging
to the canton of Zurich; and on the island, con¬
nected with the mainland by a substantial stone
bridge, stands the Benedictine abbey of the same
name, conspicuous with its towers. It was founded
in 778, and contains the marble tomb of its sup¬
posed founder, an Allemannic prince, named Wolf-
hard.
Just above Rheinau our river receives the Thur,
and just below it the Toss. Neither rivulet contri¬
butes any great augmentation of volume. A more
considerable tribute is furnished by the Aar, which
flows into the Rhine opposite Waldshut, and near
the little village of Coblence (Confluentia). The
Aar rises in the two huge glaciers of the Ober
and Unter-Aar Gletscher, near the Hospice of the
Grimsel. The Unter-Aar glacier divides into two
21
branches, the Lauter Aar and the Finster Aar ;
and from these the river draws its ice-cold emerald
waters, which, swollen by their transit through
various Swiss lakes, and by the junction of the
Reuss and the Limmat, wind through valley and
glen to feed the great German river.
It was near this point of junction, and on the
deltoid tongue of land between the Aar and the
Reuss, that the Romans raised their mighty fortress
of Yindomissa, the most important settlement they
had in Helvetia. Its name is preserved in the
little modern village of Windisch, but notwith¬
standing the immense extent of the Roman settle¬
ment, which stretched twelve miles from north to
south, its remains are inconsiderable. In the
Barlisgrube vestiges of an amphitheatre have been
discovered, and on the road from Brauneck-berg to
Konigsfelden the ruins of an aqueduct.
When Christianity was introduced into Helvetia,
Yindomissa became the seat of the first bishopric,
which was afterwards removed to Constanz. In the
third and fourth centuries the town was ravaged
by the Yandals and Allemanni, and in the sixth
it was destroyed by Childebert, king of the Franks.
Near its ancient site was erected the monastery
of Konigsfeld, and about two miles westward, on
a wooded height, moulder the ruins of the castle of
Habsburg or Habrichtsburg (Hawk's Castle), the
cradle of the imperial house of Austria. The town
of Bruegg, or Bruck, lies further to the south.
Thus, as Gibbon says, within the ancient walls
of Yindomissa, the castle of Habsburg, the abbey
of Konigsfeld, and the town of Bruck have suc¬
cessively arisen. The philosophic traveller may
compare the monuments of Roman conquests, of
feudal or Austrian tyranny, of mediaeval supersti¬
tion, and of industrious freedom. If he be truly a
philosopher, says Gibbon, he will applaud the merit
and happiness of his own time.
If he be truly a philosopher, we may add, he
will certainly contemplate with interest the ruined
castle which witnessed the dawn of the fortunes ol
the Hapsburgs ; of the great family—often defeated
but never wholly crushed—who wore so long the
imperial crown of Germany, the inheritance ot
Roman empire, and maintained for centuries so
bitter a struggle with the rising Hohenzollerns for
the retention of the imperial power. At last they
seem to have been worsted in the fight, and the
fatal field of Sadowa has handed over the supremacy
of Germany to the Prussian dynasty.
THE RHINE VALLEY.
The castle of Hapsburg was built by Werner,
bishop of Strasburg, son of Kanzeline, count of
Altenburg, early in the eleventh century. Ilis
successors increased their family inheritance by
marriages, donations from the emperors, and by
becoming prefects, advocates, or administrators of
the neighbouring abbeys, towns, or districts. His
great grandson, Albert III., was owner of ample
territories in Suabia, Alsace, and that part of
Switzerland which is now called the Aargau, and,
moreover, held the landgraviate of Upper Alsace.
Albert's son, Rudolph, was the true founder of the
family. The emperor bestowed upon him the
town and district of Lauffenberg, and his astute¬
ness and perseverance gained him great influence
in Uri, Schwytz, and Unterwalden. Dying in
1232, his two sons, Albert and Rodolph, divided
their inheritance. The former obtained Aargau
and Alsace, with the castle of Hapsburg; the
latter Cleggow, the Brisgau, and the counties of
Rheinfelden and Lauffenberg. He fixed his resi¬
dence in the latter city, and thus established the
branch of Hapsburg-Lauffenberg.
Albert married Hedwige, daughter of Alice,
countess of Baden, and by her had three sons,
Rudolph, Albert, and Hartinau. The former, born
in 1218, displayed a surprising sagacity and heroic
prowess, and after a stirring career was elected
emperor of Germany, and successor of the Caesars,
in 1273.
From this point, as Dr. Bryce remarks, a new
era begins in European history. In A.D. 800 the
Roman empire was revived by a prince whose vast
dominions gave ground to his claim of universal
monarchy; it was again erected, in A.D. 962, on
the narrower but firmer basis of the German king¬
dom. During the three following centuries Otto
the Great and his successors, a line of monarchs of
unrivalled vigour and abilities, strained every nerve
to make good the pretensions of their office against
the rebels in Italy and the ecclesiastical power.
•Those efforts failed signally and hopelessly. Each
successive emperor continued the strife with
resources scantier than his predecessors ; each was
more decisively vanquished by the pope, the cities,
and the princes. Still, in the house of Hapsburg
the Roman empire lived on 600 years more ; and
the crown of the Caesars and of Charlemagne and
of Otto was transmitted from generation to genera¬
tion of the descendants who sprang from the loins
of Werner, the founder of the castle of Hapsburg.
32
That castle is now in ruins. The keep, tall,
square, and built of rough stones, with walls eight
feet in thickness, is the only portion entire. The
view from its summit is justly described as both
picturesque and interesting ; picturesque from the
variety it includes of wood, and savage glen, and
mountain height, and rolling rivers ; interesting,
because it sweeps, as it were, over a wide historic
field. Yonder lie the ruins of Yindomissa; yon¬
der, those of Ivonigsfeldcn : to the south rises the
desolate keep of Braunegg, which formerly belonged
to the sons of the tyrant Gessler; below it, in the
quiet shades of Beir, Pestalozzi, the educational
reformer, died and lies buried. But more; at a glance
you take in the entire Swiss patrimony of the
Hapsburgs—an estate inferior in size to that of
many an English peer—from which Rudolph was
called to wield the sceptre of Charlemagne. The
house of Austria, 130 years later, were deprived
by Papal ban of their ancient Swiss domains ; but
the ruined castle, the cradle of that house, was
purchased not long ago by the present occupant of
the Austrian throne.
The abbey of Konigsfelden (" King's-field ") was
founded in 1310 by the Empress Elizabeth and Agnes
queen of Hungary, in memory of the murder of
the husband of the one and the father of the other,
the Emperor Albert, just two years previously.
The convent, " a group of gloomy piles," was sup¬
pressed in 1528. Parts of it have been occupied
successively as a farm-house, an hospital, and a
lunatic asylum ; a portion now serves as a maga¬
zine, but divine service is still celebrated in the
choir. Other parts are falling rapidly into a decay
which threatens to be irretrievable. There is
much excellent painted glass in the church ; and
the visitor will not fail to gaze with compassionate
interest on the sculptured stones which mark the
last resting-places of a long train of knights and
nobles slain in the fatal field of Sempach (1386)
—Austria's " Sadowa" of the fourteenth century.
The high altar, it is said, indicates the spot
where the Emperor Albert fell beneath the swords
of his murderers.
The emperor at the time was preparing to lead
a formidable army into Switzerland, with the view
of suppressing the revolt which had broken out
in the cantons of Uri, Schwytz, and Unterwalden.
His nephew John, having attained his nineteenth
year, had demanded the possession of his inheri¬
tance, which the emperor had seized during his
Eii. "Bobcrtg.
[LAEJIFEKiBdJlKlBn
WILLIAM MACK! NZlt. LONDON, i DlNBuROM &OL4SCOW
liEDHiFElLIDKKIo
WUUIAM MACKENZIE, LONDON, EDINBURGH & GLASGOW.
ASSASSINATION OF THE EMPEROR ALBERT.
minority. Angered by repeated denials, and in¬
stigated by some discontented nobles of Aargau
and Kyburg, he entered into a conspiracy against
bis uncle with four confidential adherents of illus¬
trious birth, namely, his governor, Walter von
Eschenbach, Rudolph von Wart, Rudolph von
Balne, and Conrad von Tegelfeldt.
The emperor, accompanied by his family and a
numerous train, among whom were the conspira¬
tors, set out on the road to Rheinfelden, where his
consort, Elizabeth, had gathered a considerable
force. As he rested at Baden for the purpose of
refreshment, the young prince once more demanded
to be installed in his estates and dignities ; but
Albert flung to him a wreath of flowers, observing
that it better became his youthful years than the
cares of government. Stung by the insulting jest,
John burst into tears, threw the chaplet on the
ground, and retired to concoct a scheme of imme¬
diate vengeance.
Arriving on the banks of the Reuss, opposite
Windisch, the conspirators were the first to pass
the ferry, and were followed by the emperor with
a single attendant, his son Leopold and the re¬
mainder of the suite waiting on the other side of
the river. As he rode slowly through the meadows
which lay at the foot of the bold rock crowned
by the frowning towers of Hapsburg, conversing
familiarly with his nephew, he was suddenly
attacked by the conspirators, one of whom seized
the bridle of his horse. His nephew, exclaiming,
" Will you now restore my inheritance ?" wounded
him in the neck with his lance. Balne ran him
through with his sword, and Walter von Eschen¬
bach clove his head at one tremendous blow.
Wart, the other conspirator, stood aghast, unwil¬
ling at the last to share, yet afraid to prevent the
terrible crime ; the attendant fled, and the emperor,
falling from his horse, lay weltering in his blood.
The atrocious deed was witnessed by his son
Leopold and all his suite, but they were unable
to cross the river in time to arrest the murderers.
Their conduct, in truth, is inexplicable, for they
left their dying master to breathe his last in the
arms of a compassionate peasant woman, who
chanced to appear on the scene.
" A peasant-girl that royal head upon her bosom laid,
And, shrinking not for woman's dread, the face of death survey'd :
Alone she sate. From hill and wood low sunk the mournful sun;
Fast gushed the fount of noble Blood, Treason his worst had done,
with her long hair she vainly pressed the wonnds to staunch their tide,
Unknown, on that meek humble breast, imperial Albert died."
— Mrs. Hemans.
Near the mouth of the Aar occur the rapids of
the Rhine known as the "Little Lauffen."* A
ridge of rocks is thrown across like a weir; but
a gap in the centre, eighteen feet wide, admits
of the passage of small vessels. When the waters
are high they overflow the ridge, and produce a
miniature fall; when low, the rocks lie bare and
exposed, and with the help of a plank you might
cross the river dryshod from the Swiss bank to
the Baden.
Swollen by the accession of the glacier-born
Aar, onward flows the Rhine with a bold and
impetuous current, passing Waldshut on the left,
and near Lauflenberg executing another abrupt
descent of about twenty feet. Here a bridge, 306
feet in length, connects Lauflenberg with Klein
Lauflenberg; the two containing, perhaps, a popu¬
lation of 1000. On the hill above the former town
are the ruins of the stronghold of the Lauflenberg
branch of the Hapsburgs.
We pass onward to Rheinfelden, a picturesque
place, with a pleasant, suggestive name. It has
high hills at its back, and open meadows on either
side, and a foaming river in its front; so that an
artist will be glad to enshrine its principal features-
in the amber of his memory. And the archaeologist
will be pleased to know that it occupies the site of
the Roman station Augusta Hauracorum, which
was founded by Munatius Plancus in the reign of
Augustus, and destroyed by the Huns in 450 ; while
the historian will recollect that Rheinfelden itself
has many associations of storm and strife. Did it not
stand on the debatable frontier-line of the Holy
Roman empire, and was it not frequently fought
for by contending armies? Especially was this
the case in the Thirty Years' War, when the
celebrated Lutheran leader, good Duke Bernard
of Saxe Weimar, sheltered his battalions under its
massive battlements and defeated Johann von
Werth and the Catholic army. In 1744 it was
captured and razed to the ground by the French,
under Marshal Belleisle; but it contrived to raise
its head again from the ashes, and its future safety
was secured in 1801 by its annexation to neutral¬
ized Switzerland.
Its prosperity now depends upon its extensive
salt-works, and on the visitors who seek relief in
its saline baths from some of the many ills which
" flesh is heir to."
* It was in descending these rapids in a small boat that Lord Mon¬
tague, the last of his line, was drowned. On the same day his family
mansion, Cowdray, in Sussex, was burned to the ground.
33
THE RHINE VALLEY.
Here, almost in the centre of the river, lies a
large mass of rock, precipitous on either side, but
with a sufficiently level area on its summit for the
erection of a strong fortress. This, wo are told, is the
celebrated " Stone of Rheinfelden anciently occu¬
pied by a formidable castle, but now by nothing
more terrific than the house of a customs officer.
At this point occur the Hollenhallen rapids,
where the seething and swirling river, and the
rugged rocks, form a spectacle of singular and
romantic interest.
Between Rheinfelden and Basel (Basle, or Bale),
only two villages remain to be noticed, on the
right bank of the Rhine, those of Basel-Augst and
Kaiser-Augst. The Roman ruins in their vicinity
mark the westward limits of the once wealthy and
powerful Augusta Rauracorum. An encampment
at Kaiser-Augst, of which some remains exist, was
probably the outwork or advanced post, designed
to protect the city from any sudden incursion of
the turbulent Germans.
RIGHT BANK OF THE RHINE.
Returning to Schaffhausen, we cross to the right
bank of the river, which is traversed by the Baden
Railway, and proceed to indicate its points of in¬
terest as far as Basel.
The first town of importance is Eglisau, where
the river is crossed by a timber bridge. The val¬
ley here is narrow but fertile, and blossoms with
orchards and vineyards.
Opposite Eglisau the Glatt, which rises at the
foot of the Almann, pays its tribute to the Rhine.
A broad rock, just below Kaiserstuhl (the
ancient Tribunal Ccesaris), is crowned by a grace¬
ful chateau, fancifully named Schwarz-Wassertels
("Black Water-Wagtail"). Weiss-Wassertels, on
the Baden bank, is in ruins.
Waldshut, situated on the slope of the Black
Forest, is a walled town, small but pleasant, with
a population of 1200. It lies at a considerable
elevation above the river, and commands some
magnificent prospects, bright, varied, and romantic.
It owes its foundation to Rudolph of Hapsburg;
was unsuccesfully besieged by the Swiss in 1462 ;
at the epoch of the Reformation became the
headquarters of the Anabaptist leader, Balthasar
Hubmeier; and on his flight was captured by
the Austrians.
About two miles to the north is situated Hoch-
enschward, 3314 feet above the sea-level, and the
34
highest village in the Black Forest. It is unne¬
cessary to say, that the tourist who climbs to this
natural watch-tower will be able to satisfy himself
with some of the finest pictures in all this romantic
region. IIow grand they are may be inferred
from the fact that a great part of the snow-covered
chain of the Alps, with their bold peaks, like a
combination of colossal spires, towers, and pyra¬
mids, sharply defined against the azure sky, may
be seen from this point. For an Alpine panorama
it can hardly be surpassed.
Passing the mouth of the Meng we arrive at
Siickingen, a considerable town, traditionally cele¬
brated as "the first seat of Christianity on the
Upper Rhine." Here a chapel, monastery, and
nunnery were founded by St. Fridolin in the
seventh century. The bones of the saint are
preserved in the ancient abbey-church, a quaint
edifice distinguished by two towers.
Between Sackingen and Basel there is nothing
to interest ; but if we travel by rail we pass through
a fertile country, and pause at the stations of
Breunet, Rheinfelden, Wyhlen, and Grenzach.
The Rhine here flows through a narrow but deep
valley.
BASEL, BASLE, OR BALE.
Population, 45,000 (of whom 19,697 are Roman
Catholics). Hôtels: Three Kings, Schweizerhof,
Cigogne, Sauvage, Couronne, Kopf, and Hôtel de
la Poste. The Central Railway station is on the
south side of the town ; the Baden station in Klein
(or Little) Basel, on the right bank of the river.
Post and Telegraph offices in the Freien Strasse.
English Church service in the church of St.
Martin.
Basel is happily situated on the left bank of the
Rhine, at an elevation above the sea of 730 feet,
in an open and sunny plain, surrounded at a
sufficient distance by verdurous hills and wooded
mountain slopes. It is the point of junction of
three very different countries—France, Germany,
and Switzerland—a circumstance to which its pro¬
verbial wealth and prosperity are undoubtedly due;
and of each it seems to exhibit some characteristic
feature. It is connected with its suburb, Klein
Basel, on the right bank of the river, by a wooden
bridge 840 feet in length, which was originally
constructed in 1285. Basel is the chief town of
the old canton of the same name, and of the new
canton of Bale-Ville.
WILL »" MACn£*7it. lOlPOH, EDINBURGH I GtASCOW
f. " ?ï» î
1 k S L fÊ a
WILLIAM MACKENZIE, LONDON, EDINBURGH & OLÀSOOW.
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BASEL.
" The first thing which strikes the stranger on
entering Basel," says Emile Souvestre, " is the ex¬
pression of melancholy and solitude which every¬
where encounters his eye. At the sound of
carriage-wheels the shutters fly forward, the doors
are closed, and the women hide themselves. All
is dead and desolate. It looks like a town to let.
You must not think, however, that the voluntary
imprisonment of the good people of Basel denotes
any want of curiosity ; for they have found a
means of satisfying both that and their primitive
savageness. Mirrors fixed to hinges of iron, and
skilfully arranged at the windows, enable them to
descry, from the shades of their apartment, every¬
thing which transpires without, while sparing
themselves the annoyance of being scrutinized
in their turn.
" But if there is a certain gloom in the appear¬
ance of the streets of Basel, we must own that
their cleanliness is exquisite. Every house looks
as if it had been finished off last evening, and was
waiting for its first tenant. Not a cranny, not a
scratch, not a spot on all those oil-painted walls;
not a crack in all those marvellously wrought
railings which protect the lower windows. The
summer benches, placed near the threshold, are
carefully raised, and let into the wall, to shelter
them from the sun and rain. If the street be
on too abrupt a descent, hand-ropes, fixed to
the walls, arrest the tottering steps of old age, or
of the peasant, bowed beneath his heavy burden.
Everywhere you meet with this minute thought-
fulness, this anxiety, this attention, which is that
of the proprietor, and, at the same time, of the
head of a family."
It is some years ago since this graceful sketch
was written, and Basel, while retaining its clean¬
liness, has lost much of its sadness. Its hotels
are conducted with as much vivacity and polite¬
ness as the best in France; its inhabitants are as
frank and honourable as those of an unadulterated
German town. There are few cities on the Rhine
where an English tourist can more pleasantly
spend a summer holiday.
Basel is the ancient Basilia, which is first men¬
tioned by Ammianus Marcellinus in a passage of
much perplexity to antiquaries. He speaks of a
fortress, Robur, as erected near Basilia by the
Emperor Yalentinian I. The exact site of this
ancient fortress is an archaeological puzzle which
has had a strong attraction for many inquisitive
Dryasdusts, but scarcely seems worth our formal
discussion. When Robur disappeared we know
not, but it is certain that Basilia, though not
mentioned in any of the Itineraries, became a
town of considerable importance ; and after the
ruin of Augusta Rauracorum it would seem to
have been the chief town in this part of Switzer¬
land (Rauracia). The episcopal seat was removed
to it ; an episcopal palace was erected ; and
houses rapidly sprang up in the shelter of the
ecclesiastical power.
Though plundered by the Barbarians in the
fourth and fifth centuries, and by the Huns in the
tenth (a.d. 917), it rose on each occasion with re¬
newed vigour. In 1032 it was transferred from the
kingdom of Burgundy to the sovereignty of the
Holy Roman Empire ; but it still continùed under
the immediate control of its bishops, whom Char¬
lemagne had elevated to the rank of princeps aulce
nostra. For this reason it ranked as a free town,
like Ratisbon or Worms, and never laboured under
the incubus of a provincial governor. But as it
waxed strong and wealthy it grew impatient even
of episcopal jurisdiction, and from 1200 the efforts
of its citizens to throw off the yoke were resolute
and unceasing.
Meanwhile, churches, palaces, and convents had
multiplied in the prosperous town. A cathedral
was built, and richly endowed, by the Emperor
Henry II. in 1010—1019. In 1061 it was the
seat of a general council, where the anti-pope,
Honorius II., was elected, and Henry IV. crowned
by Roman ambassadors. To protect it from Ru¬
dolph of Suabia it was fortified with walls and
ditches in 1080. In 1247, relying on its virtual
independence, it joined the League of the Rhenish
Towns.
In the thirteenth century its tranquillity was
greatly disturbed by the quarrels of its patrician
families, as was Florence by the feuds of Guelph
and Ghibelline, and Rome by those of the Colonnas
and Orsinis. The two great families of Schaler
and Monche were accustomed to meet and car¬
ouse at the hostelry of the " Sigh," and as they
carried a banner emblazoned with the figure of
a parrot (" Psittich"), they were known as the
Psitticher. Another company of knights and
burghers held their revels at the " Fly," and bore
a star as their emblem. All the town in due time
was divided into two houses, like ancient Verona;
and every inhabitant belonged to either the Stars
35
THE RHINE VALLEY.
or the Psitticher. The two factions were con¬
stantly engaged in open warfare, which became
more serious still when Count Rudolph of Haps-
burg and the bishops intervened in it ; the former
siding with the Stars, the latter with the Psitticher.
Count Rudolph, assisted by the Stars, was laying
siege to the town, when he received the news of
his election as king of Rome. The siege was
immediately raised ; and the bishop threw open
the gates of Basel without demur to the successor
of Charlemagne. This prompt obedience led to
the entire reconciliation of the two parties. The
emperor frequently visited the faithful town, and
both he and his successors endowed it with many
privileges. The wife and two of the sons of
Rudolph were interred in the cathedral.
The history of Basel is curious in many respects,
and especially in the illustrations it affords of the
surprising vitality of a great town. Its tenacity
of life was truly wonderful. In 1312 it was
literally desolated by the " Black Death," which
carried off on this one occasion 14,000 persons;
and each time that it visited Basel, which it
too frequently did during the next three cen¬
turies, it was not satisfied except it counted its
victims by tens of hundreds. In 1356, on the 18th
of October, the town was overwhelmed in ruins by
a terrible shock of earthquake. Not a tower or
spire escaped, and scarcely one hundred houses,
while upwards of 300 lives were lost, and the
whole neighbourhood, for miles around, was fear¬
fully ravaged. Yet it survived these disasters.
In a few years it was populous and prosperous
again. It rebuilt its cathedral, reared anew its
churches and public edifices, purchased the village
of Klein Basel, on the opposite bank of the river,
and the lordships of Liestal, Waldenburg, and
Homburg.
Meantime its burghers grew more and more
sensible of their power. They defied Austria, and
they defied the church. The patricians retaining
some privileges dangerous to the commonwealth,
they were summarily deprived of them; and the
clergy launching the bolts of excommunication,
were bidden to sing and pray, or remove them¬
selves from the town. They entered into a con¬
federacy with other cities, and surrounded their
own with new walls. They were active in trade
and commerce, encouraged mechanics, and estab¬
lished the first paper mills of Germany.
The great CEcumenical Council of Basel was
36
held from 1431 to 1438. It commenced on the
14th of December, 1431, and consisted of eleven
cardinals, three patriarchs, twelve archbishops, one
hundred and ten bishops, six temporal princes,
and a large number of doctors, besides ambassadors
from England, Scotland, France, Arragon, Portu¬
gal, Sicily, and Denmark, from the princes, cities,
and universities of Germany. It was presided
over by the emperor, who submitted for the con¬
sideration of the Fathers the all-important question
of the marriage of the clergy. John of Lubeck, says
Milman, was authorized to demand in the emperor's
name, the abrogation of celibacy. John of Lubcck
is described as a man of wit, who jested on every
occasion. But on this subject jesting was impos¬
sible ; it was of a nature so grave and important
that a serious treatment of it was imperative. The
celibacy of the clergy is practically so interwoven
with the framework of Catholicism, that the ques¬
tion of abandoning the system could not be
expected even by its advocates to obtain from the
council a unanimous response to it. It furnished,
indeed, the subject of no small debate, and facts
and reasons, for and against it, were urged and
rebutted by the spokesmen in the council, in
accordance with the views which reflection and
observation had led them to espouse. The
Greek Church, it was urged, admitted marriage.
The priests of the Old and New Testaments were
married. It is said that the greater part of the
council were favourable to the change; but the
question, as unsuited to the time, was " eluded,
postponed, and dropped."
The most important act of the council was the
deposition of Pope Eugenius IV., and the election
of Duke Amadeus of Savoy, under the title of
Felix V. (1440). In the interval Basel was again
visited by the Black Death. The mortality was
terrible. The ordinary cemeteries were wholly
insufficient; huge charnel-pits were dug to receive
the dead. The Fathers, however, stood nobly to their
post, and refused to quit the blighted and sorrowing
city. When the plague passed the pope was
solemnly crowned at Basel, his two sons, the duke
of Savoy and the count of Geneva (an unusual
spectacle at a papal inauguration), standing by his
side; 50,000 persons were witnesses of the mag¬
nificent ceremony. The train worn by the new
duke-pope was of surpassing splendour, and worth,
it is said, 30,000 crowns.
After this event the influence of the council
BASEL IN THE MIDDLE AGES.
gradually declined, and they had the good sense
to consummate their own dissolution, at the insti¬
gation of JEneas Sylvius Piccolomini, afterwards
Pius II. He officiated as secretary to the council,
and has left on record a graphic description
of the coronation of Felix V. He speaks in
enthusiastic terms of the pope's gravity, majesty,
and ecclesiastical demeanour; "the demeanour of
him who had been called of God to the rule of his
universal church." Of the 50,000 spectators many,
he says, wept for joy; all were excited. Nor does
iEneas forget his own part in the ceremonial.
" The cardinal of Santa Susanna chanted the service ;
the responses were given by the advocates and
notaries in such a dissonant bray that the congre¬
gation burst into roars of laughter. They were
heartily ashamed of themselves. But the next day,
when the preachers were to make the responses,
iEneas, though quite ignorant of music (which
requires long study), sung out his part with
unblushing courage (cantilare meum carmen non
erubui). iEneas does not forget the tiara with
30,000 pieces of gold, the processions, the supper
or dinner to 1000 guests. He is as full and
minute as a herald, manifestly triumphing in the
ceremonial as equalling the magnificence, as well
as imitating to the smallest point, that of Rome."
In 1444, on the 26th of August, the battle of
St. Jacob was fought beneath the walls of Basel;
and 1400 Swiss, who had hastened to protect the
city from the Armagnacs, were slain after a desper¬
ate defence of ten hours against 30,000 enemies.
In 1460 Pope Pius II. granted Basel a bull for
the foundation of an university, which was solemnly
opened in the same year, and rapidly rose into high
repute. In 1501 the thriving, busy, opulent,
learned city, was received as a member into the
Swiss confederacy. No sooner was the treaty of
alliance signed than the good burghers of Basel
immediately threw open their gates. Hitherto,
the dangers to which they had been incessantly
exposed from the neighbouring nobility, had not
only compelled the citizens to guard them day
and night, but also to keep them constantly closed.
From this date, instead of an armed guard, they
stationed there a single woman with a distaff to
levy the toll.
In the early part of the sixteenth century Basel
reached the climax of its prosperity, and its fame
as a centre of learning spread over all Europe. It
was the rendezvous of men of science and letters,
the gathering place of a host of scholars, empirics,
professors, physicians, philosophers, and fools. Not
one of the least famous was that singular character,
half-impostor, half-philosopher, Aureolus Philippus
Theophrastus Paracelsus. He was not a native of
Basel, he had not studied at its university, but on
his arrival there was warmly welcomed. For the
learned of that age formed a compact, freemason-
like guild, whose sympathies were not with the
world, and whom the world hated as well as feared.
At first, therefore, the much-travelled philosopher,
who shook off the dust of Italy and Denmark,
Hungary and Muscovy, at the gates of Basel ; who
had visited the rose gardens of Persia, fallen a
prisoner to the Tartars, and been despatched by
their Cham on a mission to Constantinople, was
well received by the Illuminati of Basel. But
Paracelsus was a man of original intellect and
aggressive character. Almost immediately on his
arrival he provoked the jealousy of his brothers
in science by a bold stroke of medical practice.
The celebrated printer of Basel, Jacob Froben,
had long suffered from an intense pain in the
right foot, which not all the doctors of Basel could
relieve, and which permitted its victim neither to
eat nor sleep. He summoned to his aid this new
physician as a last desperate chance; for as Para¬
celsus boasted that he had turned oVer the leaves
of Europe, Asia, and Africa, it might reasonably
be supposed that he had gathered some useful
hints out of so vast a volume.
Paracelsus obeyed the summons, prescribed
fomentations, and administered a specific which he
had brought back from the East in the shape of three
black pills (très pilulas nigras); the said specific
being opium, previously unknown in Europe. The
printer quickly tasted that luxury of repose which
had so long been denied to him. Sleep restored
strength and energy to worn-out nature. He
speedily recovered, and everywhere sounded the
praises of his able physician, who was soon after¬
wards unanimously elected to the chair of medicine
at the Basel University (a.d. 1526).
As a professor, Paracelsus attained the very
summit of popularity, and from all parts of Chris¬
tendom students flocked to attend his lectures.
They were characterized by much originality, no
little talent, an unconscionable amount of self-
praise, and an uncompromising denunciation of all
other teachers but himself. " There is more know¬
ledge," he would say, " in my shoe-strings than in
37
THE RHINE VALLEY.
the writings of all the physicians who have pre¬
ceded me ! I am the great reformer of medical
science. You must all adopt my new and original
system—you, Avicenna, Galen, Rhazes, Monta-
gnana, Miseri ; you must and shall follow me,
gentlemen of Paris, of Montpelier, of Vienna, and
Koln ! All you who dwell on the banks of the
Rhine or the Danube, who inhabit the islands of
the seas—you, too, Italians, Turks, Sarmatians,
Greeks, Arabs, Jews—you shall follow me ! If
you do not freely enlist under my banner, it is
because you are but as the stones which the very
dogs defile ! Rally, then, to me as your leader; for
the kingdom shall be mine, and sooner or later you
must swallow the bitter draught of obedience ! "
Then the splendid charlatan brought forward a
vase of fire, upon which he flung handfuls of nitre
and sulphur. And as the lurid flames shot up¬
wards, he flung into them the ponderous tomes of
Galen and Avicenna, and while his audience gazed
in astonishment at this novel act of incremation,
he exclaimed:—"Thus, 0 ye doctors, shall ye
burn in everlasting fire ! Get thee behind me,
Sathanas ! Get ye behind me, Greek, Latin, Arab !
ye have taught nothing but absurdities ; the secret
of nature is known only to myself ! "
It is no wonder that the cordiality with which
Paracelsus had been received by the learned of
Basel, was soon replaced by jealousy, suspicion,
and dislike. It may be that his ability and success,
quite as much as his ostentatious vanity, worked
his downfall ; but it must be owned that his mode
of life, intemperate and licentious, was calculated
to disgust his friends and embolden his enemies.
His pupil, Oporinus, says of him, that he never put
off his clothes at night for the two years he was
with him, but with his sword hanging by his side,
would fling himself on his bed, filled with wine,
towards the hour of dawn. And in the darkness
of night he would start up suddenly, and deal
blows all around him with his naked sword; now
striking the floor, the bed, the doorposts, and
striking so furiously that Oporinus often trembled
lest he should be unwittingly decapitated.
Meanwhile he effected numerous cures, and, at
length, one of so brilliant a description that it
ought to have consummated his fortune. Un¬
happily, it cut short his career at Basel.
One of the canons residentiary lay, as was sup¬
posed, at the point of death. In his extremity
he had recourse to Paracelsus, promising him a
38
splendid recompense if his treatment should be
successful. Paracelsus, like Caesar, venit, vidit,
vicit. He administered his favourite specific, and
the canon recovered. But with a shameful ingrati¬
tude he then refused to fulfil his contract, asserting
that his illness could not have been serious if it
could be so easily cured. Paracelsus summoned
him before the magistrates, but they decided that
the patient could only be required to pay the usual
fee. In a tempest of rage the discomfited philo¬
sopher poured out his indignation on the heads of
the purveyors of the law, and the next morning
secretly quitted Basel to avoid being thrown into
prison.
A man of greater eminence, the celebrated Eras¬
mus, whose work in promoting the Reformation
was scarcely inferior to that of Luther himself,
lodged with the printer Froben, in the house
" Zum Luft," from 1521 to 1529, and again in
1536, in which year he expired at Basel. It was
here he undertook and carried out his " enormous
labour " of editing and translating selections from
the writings of the Fathers. While the art of
printing was young, the New Testament was little
known by the body of the people ; all that they
knew of the Gospels and the Epistles were the
passages more immediately connected with the
services of the church. Erasmus published the
text, and with it a series of paraphrases containing
bold innovations on the system of doctrine which
had previously been maintained, and thus sub¬
jected himself to the censures of the ecclesiastical
authorities. Erasmus, however, had little of the
spirit of the martyr. He courted fame ; but he
held not his opinions with such earnestness as to
prompt him to expose himself to suffering for
their sake, and, indeed, was not fully trusted by
either Catholics or Lutherans.
It should be noted that this was the earliest
published New Testament, and the printing press
of Basel had the honour of giving it to the world.
Here, too, appeared, in 1524, his " Colloquies,"
a book of keen and lively satire, in which he
ridiculed many of the tenets and observances of
the Romish Church. Here he made his attack
on Luther, in his treatise "De Libero Arbitrio"
(on Free Will), which led to a controversy be¬
tween them ; indeed, he went so far as to write
to the elector of Saxony, urging him to punish
Luther for his opinions. In 1529 he left Basel
and retired to Freiberg in the Brisgau ; but
ANECDOTES OF HANS HOLBEIN.
the quiet and learned city on the Rhine, with its
literary circle and university and printing-office,
had an overmastering attraction for him, and he
returned to it in August, 1535.
His edition of " Ecclesiastes " was printed at
Basel, and here he commenced his edition of
Origen. Confined to his house by an attack of
gout, he employed his leisure in writing a com¬
mentary on the 15th Psalm, " De Puritate Taber-
naculi." It was the last effort of his clear and
vigorous intellect. An attack of dysentery brought
him to the verge of the grave, and he prepared to
meet his end with firmness. Without absolution
or extreme unction, or any sacerdotal ceremonies,
but with the words " Lieber Gott" on his lips, he
died, on the 12th of July, 1636, at the age of
seventy. He was buried with great pomp in the
cathedral, where his tomb is as a sacred shrine to
every lover of learning.
A contemporary of Erasmus, and a man whose
fame is inseparably associated with Basel, Hans
Holbein the younger, deserves a longer notice
than our limited space permits us to dedicate to
his memory. Whether he was born at Basel is
uncertain ; most probably his birth-place was
Augsburg ; but he must have come to this city at a
very early age, as his father was engaged in
decorating its town-house in 1499, and the year of
Hans' birth is invariably stated to have been 1498.
His great artistic capacity showed itself in his
youth, and at fourteen he painted two admirable
portraits of his father and himself. About 1523
he became acquainted with Erasmus, whose portrait
he painted, and for whose works he executed many
splendid wood-engravings. The scholar recom¬
mended him to visit England, and thither the
artist repaired in 1526, with a letter of introduc¬
tion to Sir Thomas More, who welcomed him with
the most delicate and generous kindness. The
chancellor having embellished his apartments with
Holbein's pictures, became anxious to introduce
him to Henry VIII. in the manner best adapted
to secure the royal favour and protection. Accord¬
ingly, he arranged his pictures in the most advan¬
tageous order in the great hall, and invited the
king to an entertainment. When the latter entered,
he was delighted with the excellence of the artist's
works, and so warmly expressed his admiration that
Sir Thomas begged him to accept of the one he
most affected. But the king inquired anxiously
after the artist, and when the latter was introduced,
received him graciously, observing, " that now he
had got the painter, Sir Thomas might keep his
pictures." Holbein died in England in 1554, of
the plague.
Some of the houses were formerly adorned
with his frescoes, but these were unhappily de¬
stroyed when the edifices were rebuilt. A well-
known anecdote is related in connection with a
painting-which formerly "glorified" the house of
an apothecary in the Fishmarket. When Holbein
was employed upon this task it was summer
time, and the days were so hot that he found
himself compelled to resort very frequently to the
"Flower" inn. A merry company of roysterers
was wont to assemble there, and a shady room
with a bottle of sparkling wine, to say nothing of
lively jest and joyous song, proved so much more
attractive than a hot scaffolding, that Master Hans
spent almost the whole day at the hostelry. His
employer remonstrated with him for his idleness :—
" I do not pay you to drink," he said, " but to
paint my house. You must leave off revelling and
drinking, or I will have none of you." The artist
promised amendment, and thenceforth, whenever
the owner of the house took up his watch, he
found Hans Holbein at work. But alas, on
one occasion after convincing himself of the
painter's diligence, he chanced to cross over to
the tavern. What was his surprise to find him
seated at the table with his glass and his long
pipe! Hastily returning home and ascending
the scaffold, he found that what he had supposed
to be Holbein was only a pair of legs which he
had painted with the most wonderful exactness to
imitate the real limbs.
It is said that Holbein's wile was a shrew, and
that he went to England, not so much to please
his friend Erasmus, as to escape her vixenish tongue.
But as Mrs. Jameson remarks, those who look
upon the portraits of Holbein and his wife at
Hampton Court, will reasonably doubt whether
the former black-whiskered, bull-necked, resolute,
almost fierce-looking personage could have had
much to endure, or would have permitted much,
from the poor broken-spirited and meek-visaged
woman opposite to him, and will give the story
a different interpretation.
Among the mediaeval celebrities of the old city
we may mention John Wessel; Sebastian Brunei;
the scholar and reformer Reuchlin, who taught
Latin and Greek at Basel from 1474 to 1478 ; and
39
THE RHINE VALLEY.
Johannes Hussgen, or Œcolampadius, one of the
supporters of the Reformation. The latter was born
at Weinsburg in 1482. His father was a merchant
in moderate circumstances, who destined him for
his own vocation; but his mother, a woman of
energy and talent, recognizing the abundant pro¬
mise of her son's childhood, succeeded in obtaining
for him the boon of a superior education. He
learned Latin in the grammar-school of Heilbronn ;
studied law in the university of Bologna; but not
liking the law, betook himself to Heidelburgin 1499,
where he studied theology and the literce hwnaniores,
acquiring such a reputation for scholarship that
the Elector Palatine Philip appointed him tutor to
his son. His heart, however, was in his theologi¬
cal studies, and returning to Weinsburg, he entered
zealously and perseveringly on the duties of a
parish priest. His sermons on the " Seven Words
of the Cross," published in 1512, are remarkable
for their earnestness, and show that his energies
were all enlisted in his Master's service.
To improve his knowledge of Greek he visited
Tubingen and Stuttgard, availing himself of the
lessons of Melanchthon at the one place, and of
those of Reuchlin at the other, and imbibing
from both a strong sympathy with the scheme of
doctrine proclaimed by Luther. In 1519 we find
him studying Hebrew at Heidelburg ; and soon
afterwards the bishop of Basel invited him to be¬
come a preacher in its cathedral. There he made
the acquaintance of Erasmus—whom he assisted
to prepare his edition of the " New Testament
and of the other men of letters who, in the first
half of the sixteenth century, shed so great a
lustre upon the ancient Swiss city.
In 1519 he published some writings of a decided
Lutheran tendency ; but the doubts which possessed
him were so strong, and the struggle between the
traditions of his youth and the new sympathies
which had risen in his mind became so violent,
that he suddenly took refuge in a monastery near
Augsburg in 1520. Carrying on his studies in
tranquillity, his views gradually underwent such a
change that he resolved to abandon the church
with which he had hitherto been connected ; and
returning to Basel openly appeared as a teacher of
the doctrines of the Reformation. Having been ap¬
pointed by the municipality in 1523 to a lectureship
in the university on biblical criticism, he chose the
prophecies of Isaiah for his theme, and denounced
the doctrines of Romanism with a degree of
40
vehemence which had a stirring effect on the
minds of the citizens. It is needless to trace any
further his career ; the work which he had set
himself to do, he did uncompromisingly. In 1529
the Reformation was formally adopted in Basel,
and two years later he closed in peace a life of
unceasing labour.
Basel, however, was slow in the adoption of
new ideas and new practices ; and, as Mr Mayhew
remarks, it stoutly resisted, throughout the Middle
Ages, every attempted innovation in the manners
and customs of its citizens. It was called in these
days " the reverend city of Basel," and its councillors
were honoured with the title of " the noble, dread,
pious, resolute, prudent, wise, and honourable
lords." Whether they always deserved these epi¬
thets may reasonably be doubted; assuredly they
could not often be applied to the members of mun¬
icipalities nearer home! They were so "reso¬
lute " in the maintenance of their dignities, that in
1501 the council issued a decree, declaring, that
if it so happened that, either through scorn or
through envy, any person should curtail their
civic title in any manner whatsoever, and neglect
to address them as their ancestors had been always
addressed, every letter and message would be incon¬
tinently dismissed without receiving the slightest
notice.
Even as late as the end of the last century, it was
the custom in the city of Basel for the clocks to be
set one hour in advance of all others in Europe.
Tradition explains this practice by ascribing the de¬
liverance of the town from a conspiracy to surrender
it to the enemy at midnight, to the circumstance
that the minster clock struck one instead of twelve.
We do not ask the reader to accept this tradition
as authentic ; but to the practice, at all events, the
citizens clung so pertinaciously, that when in 1778
the "noble, dread, pious, resolute, prudent, wise,
and honourable lords " of the corporation issued
an edict to the effect that all the clocks of Basel
should, after the 1st day of January next ensuing,
be regulated by solar time, the alteration was so
unfavourably received, that the town council was
compelled, a fortnight afterwards, to issue a second
decree repealing the first. And the clocks of
Basel were kept one hour before the sun until the
present century began.
After the Reformation, a singular rigidity of spirit
took possession of the town, which became as
violently fanatical as the straitest of Scotch sects
LATER HISTORY OF BASEL.
during the most flourishing times of Calvinistic
supremacy. The burgomasters regulated the dress
and viands of their fellow-citizens by the severest
sumptuary edicts, and enforced upon all a sober
economy in table and wardrobe. They would
not allow women to have their hair dressed by
males, nor a dinner-party to take place whose bill
of fare had not been revised by the civic authorities.
All persons going to church were compelled to wear
black ; and no carriage was allowed to pass through
the gates during Sunday morning service—a rule
still enforced, or at all events enforced down to a
very recent period.
This rigid devotion is too frequently unaccom¬
panied by a spirit of Christian charity ; and Mr.
Mayhew points out that for years a violent feud
prevailed between the two quarters of the town—
Basel east and Basel west, Klein Basel and Grosse
Basel. A curious memorial of this antipathy exis¬
ted in the image called Lallen Konig, or the " Stut¬
tering King." A tower on the left bank of the
Rhine was so situated as to command the bridge
which connects the two towns. Here, near the
summit, was placed a clock, with a giant's head
skilfully carved in wood projecting from the wall
above. A long tongue was thrust from the open
mouth of this monstrous figure at every beat of the
pendulum, and made to roll about derisively in the
face of the people of the Klein Stadt on the oppo¬
site bank. To avenge this insult, the people of Klein
Basel also set up a wooden image at their end of
the bridge : a huge carved dummy, which turned its
back on the Lallen Konig in a manner more signi¬
ficant than graceful. This singular specimen of
local humour was not removed until 1830.
The later history of Basel does not present many
features of interest. Yet in 1795 the Lutheran
city was associated with an event which the tragic
drama that has recently passed before our eyes ren¬
ders peculiarly significant. The coalition which
had been formed against revolutionary France had
been shaken to its foundation by the vast successes
of her arms ; and Prussia, deserting her allies, opened
conferences at Basel with the representatives of the
French government, and in January, 1795, con¬
cluded a peace. It was a fatal step on the part of
Prussia, and opened the way to those changes in
Europe which brought humiliation and disaster
on her head. By signing the treaty of Basel,
says Prince Hendenberg, the Prussian king aban¬
doned the house of Orange, sacrificed Holland, and
41
laid open the empire to French invasion. Accident
alone prevented the treaty of Basel from being
followed by a general revolution in Europe.
Had Frederick William possessed the genius and
resolution of Frederick the Great, he would have
protected Holland against the arms of France, and
included it in the line of military defence of Prussia.
By the treaty of Basel he entered upon a policy
of neutrality, which alienated from Prussia every
European power, so that when she was compelled
to descend into the arena to fight for her national
existence she fought alone, and was prostrated on
the field of Jena. Eighty years have passed away,
and Jena is at length avenged. In 1795 Prussia
concluded with a French Republic a peace which
involved her in dishonour and disgrace; in 1871
she may again be called upon to sign a treaty with
another French Republic, but on this occasion,
under very different conditions, and with very
different aims. ' The next treaty at Paris, under
whatever form of government, will rest on other
principles than those of the treaty of Basel in 1795.
In 1830 the democratic spirit of the second
French Revolution made itself felt in Basel, and
fierce and even sanguinary struggles took place
between the peasantry who adhered to the old
constitution, and the townsmen, who sought to
establish a socialistic and communistic republic.
The townsmen having been defeated near the vil¬
lage of Prattelen, on the 3rd of August, 1833,
Basel was occupied by Federal troops for eleven
weeks, and until the peace of the town was fully
insured. The result was the division of the canton
of Basel into two independent cantons, Basel-town
and Basel-country ; the former retaining only three
communes, or rural districts, on the right bank of
the Rhine. Each canton has its separate con¬
stitution.
In addition to the literary worthies already
mentioned, Basel can boast of an ecclesiastical
historian of great merit, Karl Rudolf Hagenbach,
born in 1801, and of two illustrious mathematicians,
Leonard Euler and John Bernoulli. It is worth
noting that the latter came of a family which pro¬
duced, in all, eight distinguished mathematicians.
The first of the series was James Bernoulli,
1654-1705, professor of mathematics in the uni¬
versity of Basel. His brother was the celebrated
John Bernoulli, born at Basel in 1667 ; he was the
friend and correspondent of Leibnitz: died in
1748. Nicholas, the nephew of the two brothers,
THE RHINE VALLEY.
was born at Basel in 1687, and died in 1759.
Another Nicholas, the eldest son of John, born in
1695, was not only an eminent mathematician, but
an able jurist and an expert linguist; he died in
1726. Daniel, the second son of John, and the
most distinguished of the family, was born at
Groningen, but he was educated at Basel, did the
best of his work at Basel, and died at Basel in 1782.
John, the third and youngest son of John
Bernoulli, succeeded his father as professor of
mathematics at Basel, and held that position until
his death, in his eighty-first year, in July, 1790. He
was a foreign associate of the French Academy of
Sciences; and it should be noted, that from the
election of his father and uncle to that body in
1699, to his own death in 1790, the name of
Bernoulli continued in the list of members for one
and ninety years.
John, elder son of the foregoing, born in 1744,
worthily maintained the reputation of this remark¬
able family. He obtained the degree of doctor of
philosophy at the age of thirteen ; and at nineteen
was appointed astronomer-royal at Berlin. He
died in 1807.
We close this extraordinary list, which affords
so strong a proof of Mr. Galton's theory of here¬
ditary genius, with James Bernoulli, brother of
the preceding, who was born at Basel in 1759, and
died at the premature age of thirty, in 1789.
Thus much have we thought it necessary to say
of the historical associations and literary glories of
Basel. Now,
"Let us satisfy our eyes
With the memorials and things of fame
That do renown this city."
Foremost amongst these stands the Cathedral or
Munster, the former cathedral-church of the bishop¬
ric of Basel. It is built of red sandstone, with two
towers, one 200, the other 205 feet high; and
though not magnificent in aspect, nor chaste in
style, is eminently picturesque, and pleases, if it
does not promptly attract, the spectator's eye. It
was begun in 1010 by the Emperor Henry; conse¬
crated in 1019; greatly injured by fire in 1185;
almost destroyed by an earthquake in 1356 ; rebuilt
immediately, and completed to the very top of the
towers in 1500. Its architecture is a mixture of
the Romanesque and Pointed styles, the latter pre¬
vailing. The interior was restored in 1859, and
restored with much care; though the zealous
archaeologist will, perhaps, regret that the chisel
42
was so freely used. Externally, the most striking
features are the porch of St. Gallus, in the north
transept (thirteenth century), with its curious, very
curious, statues of Christ, John the Baptist, the
Evangelists, and the Ten Virgins; and the western
part, with its tower and carving, and its figures
of the Virgin and Holy child; the emperor Henry
I. (or Conrad II. ?); the empress (Helena or Cuni-
gunda?), and their two daughters; and the eques¬
trian statues of St. Martin and St. George.
Within, the objects of interest are not very
numerous, but the artist may find some entertain¬
ment in studying the fantastic masks which ter¬
minate the corbels. The stone pulpit, dating
from the fifteenth century, is also worth examina¬
tion; the font (1465) is curious; and he must not
omit to notice the four columns of the choir, which
are formed of groups of detached pillars. Observe,
too, the tomb of the Empress Anne (1281), wife
of Rudolph of Hapsburg, from whom the imperial
house of Austria sprang; and that of Erasmus
(dated 1536), in red marble. The stone carvings
inserted in the wall are peculiarly mediaeval in
character.
The windows are filled with modern stained
glass, which lacks depth and delicacy of colour.
A staircase leading out of the choir conducts
us to the chapter-house, or Concilium's Saal, a
small low Gothic chamber, with four windows,
which remains in the same condition as when
the Council of Basel held some of its seances
here, between 1436 and 1444. Two clepsydrae, or
water-clocks, which the princes and prelates will
often have gazed upon during the tedious harangue
of some merciless orator, are still suspended to the
wall; and the room also contains several plaster
casts, more or less interesting, the famous Lallen
Konig (removed here in 1837), some pieces of
mediaeval furniture reported to have belonged to
Erasmus, a few quaint old chests, and the six
remaining fresco fragments of the original " Dance
of Death " (Danse Macabre), which once enriched
the walls of the Dominican church, and a set of
coloured drawings of the whole series of figures.
From the researches made by certain archaeol¬
ogists it seems evident that the custom of painting
on the walls of the cloisters and churches a succes¬
sion of images illustrative of Death wheeling away
in a mad wild dance persons of all " sorts and
conditions," existed before the fourteenth century.
Some authorities are of opinion that the idea of
THE "DANCE
OF DEATH."
these paintings was suggested by the puppet-shows ;
others, by the terrible depopulation of Europe
through the frequent visitations of the plague.
Fabricius asserts that they received the name of
the " Danse Macabre" from the poet Macaber,
who was the first to treat this fantastic subject
in some German verses, translated into Latin by
Desrey de Troyes, in 1460. The Latin version is
still frequently reprinted, with the blocks of the
ancient woodcuts, under the title of " La grande
Danse Macabre des Hommes et des Femmes." The
"Dance of the Dead" at Basel was painted, it is
said, by order of the council, to commemorate the
mortality occasioned by a pestilence in 1439.
As the elder D'lsraeli observes, the prevailing
character of all these works is unquestionably
grotesque and ludicrous; not, indeed, that genius,
however barbarous, could refrain in so large a
picture of human life from inventing scenes often
characterized by great delicacy of feeling and depth
of pathos. Such, says D'lsraeli, is the newly-
married couple, whom Death is leading, beating a
drum, and in the rapture of the hour the bride
seems with a melancholy look not insensible of
his presence; a Death is seen issuing from the
cottage of the widow with her youngest child, who
waves his hand sorrowfully, while the mother and
the sister vainly answer; or the old man, to whom
Death is playing on a psaltery, seems anxious that
his withered fingers should once more touch the
strings, while he is carried off in calm tranquillity.
The majority of the subjects, however, are
purely ludicrous, and could only awaken risible
emotions in the minds of their spectators. There
is no question of teaching or impressing; they
amuse, and nothing more. What was their object?
To excite a contempt of death? We think not.
Life was but little valued in the middle ages, for
the conditions under which the millions lived were
so harsh and rigid, that the grave must have ap¬
peared to them in the light of a place of blessed
repose and felicity. We believe that these Dances
of Death, like so many of the carved caricatures in
church and cathedral, were a kind of protest on
the part of the weak against the strong ; the silent
yet significant satire by which the oppressed
avenged themselves on the oppressors. They seem
to say, "You lord over us now; you are our
masters and tyrants; but see you the Master and
Tyrant in whose presence you will be as powerless
as we arc?" It is in the same spirit that the old
43
French poet, Jacques Jacques of Ambrun, repre¬
sents Death as proclaiming triumphantly the uni¬
versality of his dominion :—
'• Egalement je yay regneant,
Le connseiller et le sergeant,
Le gentilhomme et le berger,
Le bourgeois et le boulanger,
Et la maistresse et la servante,
Et la mère comme la tante;
Monsieur l'abbé, monsieur son moine,
Le petit clerc et le chanoine ;
Sans choix je mets dans mon butin
Maistre Claude, maistre Martin,
Dame Luce, dame Perrette," &c., &c.
The cloisters, in whose sacred shades Erasmus
probably may have often walked and meditated,
were erected in the fourteenth and fifteenth cen¬
turies (1332, 1400, and ^1487). They extend to
the brow of the hill overlooking the river, and
to those who are fond of " meditations among the
tombs " offer a very agreeable retreat. The monu¬
ments of three of the Reformers deserve a passing
notice: (Ecolampadius, who died in 1531, Mayer,
and Grynaeus, who also died in 1531.
Behind the cathedral extends the terrace called
the Pfalz. It is seventy feet above the river, and
planted with chestnut trees, which in the May
month hang the entire walk with blossom. The
view which it opens up is very picturesque and
extensive, including the broad sweep of the Rhine,
the roofs and towers of the city, and the green
slopes of the hills of the Black Forest.
From the remains of ancient walls and other
ruins discovered in 1786 and 1836, it has been
conjectured that the Minster stands within the
area of the old Roman fortress of Robur or Basilia.
Here, in an open space, is erected a monument to
the reformer GEcolampadius. In one corner of the
square stands a building called " Zur Miicke," of
which nothing more need be said than that it was
the meeting place of the conclave which, in 1436,
converted Duke Amadeus into Pope Felix V.
Before proceeding further, we may as well glance
at the other churches of Basel, none of which
are characterized by any remarkable architectural
beauty. In that of St. Martin, (Ecolampadius
preached the doctrines of the Reformation, address¬
ing his hearers in their native German. In St.
Peter's, restored in 1851, are the tombs of many of
the Basel worthies, Zeillenden, Offenburg, Seevogel,
Froben, and Bernoulli. St. Elizabeth's is a new
and spacious edifice, erected within the last twenty
years at the cost of an opulent citizen.
Passing into the streets, which are remarkable
THE RHINE VALLEY.
for their tall, narrow, and vari-coloured houses,
we direct our steps towards the Spahlen TJior (un¬
less, indeed, the spirit of iconoolasm abroad in Basel
shall have accomplished its destruction), a narrow
square tower, with two turrets and a pointed roof.
The exterior of the gateway is adorned with a good
statue of the Holy Virgin, to which the Catholic
peasantry of the neighbourhood ascribe a peculiar
sanctity, and certain traditional wonder-working
powers. When the reformers attempted to destroy
it, she struck her assailants dead with her sceptre
of stone.
Under the scalloped cornice of the barbican,
which covers the entrance to the town, a row of
quaint little figures demands and deserves examin¬
ation. What a queer fancy must have been his
who sculptured them ! The Fischmarkt Brunnen,
or " Fishmarket Fountain," which has been recently
restored, is a graceful little structure, dating from
the early part of the fifteenth century. We find
a description of it done to our hand ; it consists,
says a recent writer, of a kind of telescopic prism-
shaft, ornamented with fretted Gothic canopies for
the statues which enrich its sides. The sculpture
is excellent ; the pinnacles canopying the figures
are of the most delicate open tracery-work, and
the little notched spire at the top of the column
is crested with a miniature golden angel, so that
the details are exquisitely varied, and the effect
of the whole is as light and graceful as the lines
formed by the glancing and shining water.
As we are not writing a guide-book, but simply
endeavouring to seize the salient features of each
place that interests us, we shall pass over unnoticed
the new hospital, the new fountain, near the said
hospital, the summer casino, customs-house and
post-office, the missionary institute, and the botan¬
ical garden. With all these cannot the reader
become acquainted in the pages of Baedeker,
Murray, and Joanne?
But let us not be forgetful of the Spahlen
Brunnen. Its sculptured figures are most feli¬
citous. They were designed, it is said, by Albert
Diirer, and represent the Dudelsack-pfeifer, or
bagpiper, playing to a group of dancing peasants.
In the house " Zum Seidenhof " lodged strong-
handed Rudolph of Hapsburg when he first visited
Basel as emperor; his statue is shown there. That
of " Zum Luft" was the dwelling-place of Eras¬
mus, and the printing-office of Frôben; let every
lover of letters reverently doff his cap as he passes
44
by it. In the Burkhard'sche (formerly Oclisische),
the treaty of peace was signed in 1795 between
Prussia and France. And in the house This'sche,
near St. John's Gate, the duchess of Angoulême
was exchanged, in 1795, for certain members of the
National Convention. The " Hotel of the Three
Kings " has been so called, it is said, since the
year 1026, when the Emperor Conra4 II., his son
and chosen successor Henry III., and Rudolph of
Burgundy, met under its ancient roof.
In the Arsenal is a small but not particularly
valuable collection of arms and armour. The
only thing of interest is the coat of mail worn
by Charles the Bold at the battle of Burgundy.
We have dwelt at some length on the history
and historical buildings of Basel, but we have yet
to notice, before resuming our voyage, the New
Museum, the Rathhaus, and the University.
The Museum, which contains all the art-trea¬
sures and science-treasures formerly scattered over
various collections, is situated in the street of the
Augustines. It contains at least seven different
departments. As lovers of art we shall first visit
the Museum, properly so called; that is, the
Kunstammberg, which is under the direction of
Herr Wackernagel.
The frescoes in the Entrance Hall are by Cor¬
nelius, designed for the church of St. Louis, at
Merneil.
In the Yestibule are the paintings of Holbein,
to which we have already alluded.
We next enter the Salle des Dessins, where,
besides etchings and engravings by Brant and
Jacques Callot, we may see some eighty-six pen
and ink sketches by the immortal Holbein; the
Death of the Virgin Mary, by Hans Griin, from
sketches by Albert Diirer; and the Last Judg¬
ment, by Cornelius.
We count no fewer than thirty-six pictures in
the Salle de Holbein, from the pencil of that inde¬
fatigable artist. Here are the Schoolmaster, por¬
traits of Ammerbach and Erasmus, the Dead Christ
(painted with ghastly fidelity), the Burgomaster
Meyer, a Lais and a Venus, the printer Froben,
and the eight tableaux of our Lord's Passion, for
which the Elector Maximilian had the magnificent
good taste to offer 30,000 florins.
We have little admiration left for anything after
dwelling so long on the masterpieces of a great
and conscientious artist, but the Salle Allemande
is not without attractions. The Eleven Thou-
OBJECTS OF INTEREST AT BASEL.
sand Yixgins of Lucas Cranach exhibits a certain
amount of rough but genuine power ; and there
is much to study in Albert Diircr's Adoration
of the Magi. Observe, too, Peter Breughel's St.
John preaching in the Wilderness (how gaunt
and laidly frowns the great Precursor !), and the
fragments of the Dance of the Dead, removed
from the Dominican convent, and restored by
Klander.
We pass quickly through the Salle Suisse and
Salle Baloise. In the Quatrième Salle are two
specimens of Jean de Mabuse ; one of Teniers'
cabaret-interiors, coarse but vigorous; a Quintin
Matsys, and an Annibale Caracci.
In the Cinquième Salle the pictures best worth
notice are Nicolas Poussin's Landscapes ; a Birth
of Christ, by Annibale Caracci ; an Adoration
of the Magi, by Jean de Mabuse, which may be
profitably compared with Albert Diirer's presenta¬
tion of the same subject in the Salle Allemande ;
a Landscape, by Ruysdael ; a jovial group of
Smokers, by David Teniers ; and two landscapes,
with figures, by E. van Heimskerk.
The library is under the superintendence of
Professor Gerlach ; it contains 80,000 volumes
and 4000 MSS. Among the latter the enthusiast
will know how to estimate an unique manuscript
of Yelleius Paterculus ; the Acts of the Council of
Basel in three great volumes, with chains attached
to their covers, so as to secure them from felonious
hands ; the original Greek Testament of Erasmus ;
and a copy of his "Encomium Moriae," with
marginal notes in his own writing, and charming
pen and ink vignettes by Holbein.
To the attention of the archaeologist we may
commend the collection of Roman antiquities dis¬
covered at Augst, and the collection, scarcely less
interesting, of Mexican and Egyptian antiquities.
The Cabinet of Medals contains about 12,000.
The Museum of Natural History is abundantly
rich in minerals, fossils, and in birds from the
Guinea coast. There are also a cabinet of Natural
and Physical History, and a gallery of portraits of
the most celebrated professors of the university.
The university was founded on the 4th of
April, 1460, by a bull of Pope Pius II. (the
ingenious and astute AEneas Sylvius, who as
secretary to the great council had worked out
his manœuvres for his advancement with singular
skill), and has always enjoyed a high and deserved
reputation. It was re-organized in 1817, and again
45
in 1835. Among its most eminent professors
we may name Erasmus, Œcolampadius, Grynaeus,
Ammerbach, Frobenius, Paracelsus, Plater, the two
Bauhins, Daniel and John Bernoulli, and Euler.
The Rathhaus stands at the bottom of the Freie
Strasse (the principal street), opposite the pinnacles
of the Fischmarkt-brunnen. It was erected in
1508, and offers a pleasing example of the Bur-
gundian or French Gothic. It was restored in
1825-27. The walls, of which the upper part is
castellated, the lower part arched, are decorated
with frescoes ; and along the top runs a frieze,
embellished with the arms of Basel, and of the
cantons of Uri, Schwytz, and Unterwalden. The
frescoes of the façade are descriptive of a hawking
party, with groups of armed knights, and a charac¬
teristic figure of Justice carrying her sword. It
is traditionally reported that they were designed
by Holbein, and, at all events, their merit is such
that their gradual decay cannot but be deplored.
In the interior the artist cannot fail to admire
some good old wood carvings, some painted glass,
a picture of the Last Judgment, and a statue of
Munatius Plancus, the traditional founder of Basel,
and of the " colony " of Augusta Rauracorum.
The character of a city may be said to depend, in
some measure, on the character of its immediate
neighbourhood. For this reason we shall glance
at some points in the environs of the towns we
successively describe.
The village of St. Jacob by the Birs is situated
about a quarter of a mile from Basel, on the Berne
road. Here a Gothic column, thirty-six feet high,
marks the last resting-place of the dead who fell
in the great battle of St. Jacob, on the 26th of
August, 1444, when a small Swiss force, not
exceeding 1300 in number, heroically attacked the
French army under the dauphin (afterwards Louis
XI.), though the latter were 20,000 strong.
Again and again, says Zschokke, the Swiss
threw themselves upon the countless battalions of
their enemies. Their little force was broken and
divided, yet still they fought: 500 maintained the
unequal struggle in the open field; the remainder
behind the garden wall of the Siechenhaus at St.
Jacob. Fierce as lions they fought in the meadow,
until man after man fell dead on the heaps of
slaughtered foemen. The dauphin won the vic¬
tory by sheer preponderance of numbers, but it
taught him a lesson. " I will provoke this obsti¬
nate people no further," said he, and full of
THE RHINE VALLEY.
admiration for such heroic courage, he met their
representatives at Ensisheim, and concluded peace.
The young men enrolled in the various " Singing
Unions" and "Federal Rifle Clubs" in this dis¬
trict, commemoiate their Swiss Thermopylae yearly
with vocal and rifle festivals. And the vineyard
of Wahlstadt, not far from the battlefield, yields
a red wine, which the people delight to call
Schweizerblut, or " Swiss blood."
A marble tablet in the church of St. Jacob (a
plain and unpretending edifice) bears an inscrip¬
tion to the following effect:—
our souls to god,
our bodies to the enemy.
here died, unconquered,
but exhausted with victory,
thirteen hundred confederates and allies,
in conflict with french and austrian*,
26th august, 1444.
We now take our leave of Basel. A few paces
and we enter upon the French province of Alsace,
which has figured so conspicuously in the present
war, and which, at the time we write, seems fated
to become a portion of the spoil of the conquerors.
Alsace, or Alsatia (in German, Ellsass), is
supposed to derive its name from the Ell or III
(Alsa), which waters two-thirds of the country,
and constitutes its principal artery, and the German
Sass, or " settlers." It formerly belonged to Ger¬
many, but by the treaty of Westphalia in 1648,
and as a result of the victories of Turenne,
was annexed to France, of which it forms the
easternmost province. To the west lies Lorraine,
separated from Alsace by the mountain-range of
the Vosges, through whose defiles the Prussian
Crown Prince so successfully carried his numerous
battalions at the outset of the war of 1870. Its
southern boundary, dividing it from Switzerland,
is the chain of the Jura; to the south-west it
borders on Upper Burgundy ; to the east the Rhine
separates it from Baden; and to the north the
Lauter from Rhenish Bavaria.
Its surface being broken up by lofty mountains
and deep valleys, and watered by numerous rivers, it
is necessarily rich in bright and romantic landscapes.
The slopes of the Vosges are covered with the
ruined strongholds of the feudal barons; and an old
saying is still popular, that in Alsace three castles
are to be found on every mountain, three churches
in every churchyard, and three towns in every
valley.
46
The rivers of Alsace are many and charming,
and the glens or hollows through which they
trail their dark waters, present a succession of
pictures bold in outline and rich in colour. The
111 is the largest and longest; it traverses a great
part of the province, which is further intersected
by the Monsieur or Napoleon Canal, connecting
the Rhine with the Rhone, and, consequently, the
North Sea with the Mediterranean. From the
"bosom infinite" of the Vosges descends many
a rippling river and tumbling torrent. In the
department of the Upper Rhine, the Leber, which
flows into the 111 near Schlettstadt; the Weiss,
issuing from the Black and White Lake, and
emptying its tribute into the Fecht; the Fecht,
winding through the Miinster valley, and after
a course of thirty miles, falling into the 111; the
Thur, which brightens and enriches the vale of St.
Amarin; the Doller, or Tolder, rising in a lake
above the village of Dobern, and flowing into the
111 below Muhlhausen. In the department of the
Lower Rhine, the Lauter, a Bavarian affluent, falls
into the Rhine at Neuburg; the Moder, the Zorn,
the Morsig, the Zunts, the Scher, the Andlau, the
Ischer, and the Mayet are comparatively unim¬
portant streams.
Alsace contains the important cities of Stras-
burg, Colmar, and Muhlhausen. In Caesar's time
it was occupied by Celtic tribes; who, towards
the decline of the Roman empire, were con¬
quered by the Alemanni, and completely Ger¬
manized. For centuries it formed a part of the
German empire. At the peace of Westphalia,
some portions of it were ceded to Vienna, and the
remainder was annexed by Louis XIV., whose
seizure of Strasburg, in 1681, during a time of peace,
was one of the most iniquitous acts of a reign in
which the only recognized law was the law of might.
By the peace of Ryswick in 1697, the cession of
the whole to France was unwisely confirmed, and
Germany had the misfortune to see one of its finest
provinces yielded to an aggressive and powerful
neighbour, at a time when her arms were crowned
with victory. At the downfall of the first Napo¬
leonic empire, in 1813, an opportunity arose for the
restoration of Alsace to Germany; but the Treaty
of Vienna did nothing to redress an undoubted
wrong in all its over-ingenious attempts to establish
the European balance of power. Mr. Matthew
Arnold has keenly remarked that the great object
of the statesmen who concluded that famous treaty
FROM BASEL TO STRASBURG.
was to erect barriers against Fiance. How did
they proceed to carry out this object ? " Instead
of creating a strong Germany, they created the
impotent German Confederation; placing on the
frontiers of France the insignificant Duchy of
Baden and an outlying province of Bavaria, and
dividing the action of Germany so that her two
chief powers, Prussia and Austria, must necessarily
be inferior to France. They created the inco¬
herent kingdom of Holland and the insufficient
kingdom of Sardinia; they strengthened Austria
against France, by adding to Austria provinces
which have ever since been a source of weakness
to her. They left to France Alsace and German
Lorraine, which unity of race and language might
with time have solidly re-attached to Germany.
In compensation they took from France provinces
which the same unity may one day enable her to
re-absorb. The treaties of Vienna were eminently
treaties of force, treaties which took no account
of popular ideas ; and they were unintelligent and
capricious treaties of force."
Of late years, however, we have grown accus¬
tomed to see these treaties openly disregarded;
and in spite of them Italy has become an united
kingdom, and the isolated states of the Germanic
Confederation have been welded " by blood and
iron " into a compact and homogeneous empire.
If at the close of the present war, victorious Ger¬
many puts forward a demand for the restoration
of Alsace, it is difficult, say the pro-Prussian party,
to see on what grounds the demand can be opposed
by the neutral powers. Alsace, they tell us, is a
German province, wrested from Germany by force
and fraud ; and the very principle of nationality to
which so much prominence has been given since
the war of 1856, would justify its annexation to
the empire founded by Bismarck and Von Moltke.
The German language is still spoken by many of
its inhabitants, notwithstanding the efforts of the
French to extirpate it, and in the smaller towns
and villages German customs still prevail.
Alsace has given birth to some worthies who
have attained an European reputation. Among
these we may mention General Klèber, who dis¬
tinguished himself in the French expedition to
Egypt in 1798, and was left by Napoleon in com¬
mand of the French army; Kellermann, and Rapp,
two of Napoleon's favourite and most trusted
lieutenants; Sebastian Brandt, of Strasburg, the
author of the " Ship of Fools," well known in
47
England through Barclay's vigorous but quaint
translation of it; the poets Augustus and Adolphus
Stober, whose lyrics breathe a genuine German
spirit; and the pious village pastor and enthusiastic
philanthropist, Johannes Friedrich Oberlin (born
at Strasburg in 1740, died in 1826). It is needless
to say that in history it has played a conspicuous
part, the thunder of battle having frequently
resounded among its mountains, and the blood-red
tide of war poured devastatingly over its fertile
plains.
FROM BASEL TO STRASBURG.
On the Alsace lank of the Rhine.
A railway running parallel to the bank of the
Rhine connects Basel with Strasburg. It was
opened in 1841. The distance is 89 miles.
Soon after leaving Basel we perceive, on the
right, the village of Grosse-Hiiningen, so called to
distinguish it from Klein-Hiiningen, on the Baden
bank of the river. In 1680, by command of Louis
XIV., it was converted into a strong fortification
by Vauban, the great military engineer; but the
defences were razed in September, 1815, at the
instance of the Swiss Confederation, and by the
second treaty of Paris, France bound herself never
to restore them.
We next arrive at the important and thriving
town of Miihlhausen, situated on the Rhone and
Rhine Canal, and famous for its extensive calico
manufactories. The surrounding country is level
but fertile, and its pastures are pleasantly refreshed
by the windings of the 111.
Miihlhausen, or, as the French call it, Mulhouse,
owes its origin, as its name indicates, to a mill
erected here on the bank of the 111. We can
easily imagine that in course of time other houses
would spring up around the centre thus provided,
until the hamlet grew into a village, and the village
into a town. As early as the eighth century, this
town was surrounded by walls. Having fallen
into the hands of Rudolph of Hapsburg, it was
elevated to the rank of an imperial free town in 1273.
From succeeding emperors it received many pri¬
vileges, and in 1293 Adolph of Nassau bestowed
upon it a charter, in keeping, indeed, with the
spirit of the times, though the superiority of its
citizens over strangers or foreigners was pushed
to the extent of waiving their responsibility for
even the most criminal acts. Thus, no citizen
could be summoned before a foreign magistrate.
THE RHINE VALLEY.
No citizen was required to defend himself against
the accusation of an alien, nor was he allowed to
render assistance to a foreigner against a fellow-
citizen. All goods of which a citizen could
prove that they had been in his possession for a
year, were thenceforth to be regarded as his own
property. If a citizen killed a foreigner, and it
could be proved that provocation had been offered
him, he was not condemned even to pay a fine.
And lastly, no citizen, of whatever crime accused,
could be arrested in his own house; a privilege
surpassing the Englishman's proud boast, that his
house is his castle ; for the Englishman's house has
always been open to the ministers of the law.
It cannot be said that the existence of such
extraordinary immunities was altogether favour¬
able to the prosperity of the town. They certainly
attracted to it a numerous population ; but what a
population ! Miihlhausen became the " Alsatia "
of the surrounding country; the asylum of robbers
and thieves, who were admitted to the rights of
citizenship on taking an oath that they had not
voluntarily committed a crime. As might be
expected, its population was not deficient in
energy, and it always evinced a marked hostility
towards the nobles. In 1338 it joined the league
of Alsace against them. In 1437, after gallantly
repulsing an attack of the Armagnacs, it drove the
seigneurs from its walls. Thenceforth it flourished
as a democratic republic, and with undaunted
intrepidity maintained its liberties, even ventur¬
ing, in 1474, to resist Charles the Bold, who had
threatened it with annihilation.
In its endless feuds with the nobles it had fre¬
quently demanded and received the support of
the Swiss, with whom it was allied. In 1515 it
renewed its treaty of perpetual union, and under¬
took, as a guarantee of its fidelity to the confeder¬
ation, that it would enter upon no war, nor accept
any foreign succour, without their consent. From
these close relations sprung the natural result of
the adoption of the Lutheran doctrines by the
people of Miihlhausen, and this adoption, towards
the end of the sixteenth century, leading to the
interference of the house of Austria, a Swiss garri¬
son was stationed in the town to protect it from
attack.
In 1648 the treaty of Westphalia handed over
to France the Austrian possessions on the Rhine,
and the towns in the government of Haguenau.
Miihlhausen was at the same time declared inde-
48
pendent, like the Swiss cantons, and having no
longer to arm against external power, was free to
cultivate the arts of peace. A century elapsed,
however, before it came to the front in the ranks
of material progress. In 1746 the first manufac¬
tory of printed calicoes was established here by
three worthies, whose names are still held in
honour at Miihlhausen, Samuel Kœchlin, J. J.
Schmaltzer, and Johannes Heinrich Dollfus.
Twenty-five years later, and eleven new factories
had been planted on the ruins of the palaces
of the old nobility.
The busy city now throve amazingly. But its
wealth attracted the greedy eyes of France, and
though for some years it gallantly defended its
freedom, in 1798 it was compelled to vote for its
own extinction as an independent city. Under
the influence of French bayonets, it gave 666
votes against fifteen, in favour of its annexation to
France. Whether the whirligig of fortune will
once more wrest it from France, and with the rest
of Alsace, hand it over to victorious Germany, it
is at present too early to conjecture.
Miihlhausen is distinguished by its great indus¬
trial resources; it is also distinguished by its noble
benevolent institutions. It presents almost the
only example in Europe of a Workman's City, of
an independent community of operatives. No¬
where else has trade unionism been developed
under such favourable auspices, and with such
satisfactory results. Between Miihlhausen and
Dornach, says Jules Simon, extends an ample plain
traversed by the canal which winds round the city.
Here, in a singularly healthy situation, and on both
banks of the canal, the Société des Cités Ouvrières has
traced the plan of its new town. The ground is
perfectly level; the streets, broad and spacious, are
laid out at right angles. As each house stands in
its own little garden-plot, the eye is everywhere
greeted with trees and flowers, and the pure air
circulates as freely as in the open country.
On the Place Napoleon, an open area in the very
centre of this interesting town, and the point
where the main thoroughfares terminate, are
erected two houses of dimensions superior to the
others ; one of which is appropriated to the public
baths and lavatory ; the other to the restaur¬
ant, store-rooms, and library. On the opposite
bank of the canal, in the square formed by the Rue
Lavoisier and the Rue Napoleon, is located an
asylum for the reception of 150 children; it is
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS AT MUHLHAUSEN.
excellently managed, clean, and comfortable.
There is no private school, because the managers
have rightly judged that it could not surpass, or
even equal, the communal school, which is one of
the most admirable institutions in Miihlhausen.
At the restaurant and bakery every article is
sold at wholesale prices. The restaurant is con¬
ducted on a most admirable plan. The charges
are moderate, and differ greatly from those of the
ordinary establishments. The dishes, too, are of a
better quality, and sufficiently varied.
The conditions on which the houses become
the property of the workmen are thus plainly
stated by M. Simon.
The society, he remarks, makes no mystery about
them. It says—" You see my houses are wide
open; enter, and inspect them from the garret to the
cellar. The ground cost me one franc twenty cen¬
times per mètre (about three yards three inches);
including the architect's fees, purchase of materials,
expense of erection, the houses cost 2400 to 3000
francs; I sell them to you at the same price. You
are not in a position to pay me 3000 francs ; but I,
the society, can wait your convenience. You will
deposit in my hands a sum of 300 or 400 francs to
begin with ; this will defray the legal and pre¬
liminary expenses. Afterwards, you will pay me
eighteen francs (about 13s. 10<i.) per month, for a
house worth 2400 francs; or twenty-three francs
(about 18s. 3d.) for a house worth 3000 francs.
That is, you will pay about four or five francs
more than you would for hired apartments. By
continuing this payment for fourteen years you
will have reimbursed the price of your house; it
will be paid for, you will be its owner. Not only
will you thenceforth live rent-free, but you will be
able to leave it to your children or to sell it. By
setting apart five francs monthly, which, if put in the
savings bank, would not have realized 1400 francs,
you will have acquired a house now worth 3000
francs, but which, in fourteen years, will probably
be worth double that amount, and meanwhile, you
will have been completely housed, without run¬
ning any risk from a landlord's whims. You will
have enjoyed the use of a garden, whose produce
cannot be valued at less than thirty or forty francs
per annum. We do not take into account the
broad healthy streets, the tree-planted squares, the
children's asylum—in a word, all the public and
useful institutions which have been open to you,
and which are not in anyway included in your rent."
It must be admitted that such terms as these
present no ordinary attraction for the intelligent
operative, and we are not astonished to find that
out of the 560 houses belonging to the Société
des Cités Ouvrières in 1860, 403 had been sold.
Something of the same kind has been accomplished
in London, and some of the larger towns of Eng¬
land and Scotland, but not, as it seems to us, on so
liberal a scale or so enlightened a plan; and we
commend the example of Miihlhausen to our Bri¬
tish philanthropists in their efforts to promote the
well-being and advance the interests of the work¬
ing-classes. Fourierism and Owenism appear the
empty theories of credulous philosophers when com¬
pared with the practical work so nobly conceived,
and so admirably carried out, at Miihlhausen.
This enlightened town boasts also of a Société
Industrielle, which carefully examines into the
merits or demerits of every project brought forward
for the amelioration of the condition of the work¬
ing-classes. Then there are—a Société d'Encour¬
agement à l'Epargne (for the encouragement of
economy), a Société Alimentaire, a Société de
Saint Vincent de Paul, a Société des Amis des
Pauvres, and a Société de Charité. In fact,
Miihlhausen has become the arena where philan¬
thropic designs are tested before the eyes of the
public, and where those which possess intrinsic
merit are immediately adopted, and energetically
carried into execution.
Such a place will necessarily be provided with
good schools. In addition to a college, a profes¬
sional school, and an upper school, it possesses an
admirable primary school, which the town sup¬
ports by a yearly grant of 70,500 francs, and
which has no equal in France, no superior on
the Continent. The work of supervision and
tuition is intrusted to a director, a sub-director,
and forty-two masters, mistresses, and assistants,
who take charge on an average of 3000 children
of both sexes. The children of the operatives
are admitted free. The educational course com¬
prises French, German, English, Drawing, Geo¬
graphy, History, Arithmetic, and the Elements of
Geometry.
France has a right to be proud of its radiant
and intellectual Paris, of historic Tours, of regal
Rheims, of sunny Bordeaux, and of many other
towns and cities scattered over its fair and fertile
land ; but of none can it boast with greater justice
than of industrious and philanthropic Mulhouse.
49 g
THE RHINE VALLEY.
A few words will be sufficient to satisfy the
reader's curiosity respecting its public edifices.
Here, as in the preceding pages, we shall follow
the guidance of Adolphe Joanne.
The new Catholic church, built in the ogival
or pointed style of the thirteenth century, is a
really graceful and yet majestic building, which
we think would meet with the approval of the
architectural purist, both in its general conception
and principal details. It is above 270 feet in
length by 110 in width at the transept, and seventy-
five at the nave and aisles. Its height in the
interior is seventy-five feet. The roof of the nave
and transepts is of timber, and the general effect
is very grand and impressive.
A new Protestant church, designed by the same
architect, M. Schaere, has recently been erected.
It measures 145 feet long, seventy-five feet wide,
and sixty-five feet high.
M. Schaere is also the architect of the Jewish
synagogue, which is built in the Oriental style, of
red sandstone, and in the form of a parallelogram.
The interior is divided into three aisles; in the
central, which is of great width, sit the men; in
the narrow lateral aisles, the women.
The town-hall is situated in the Place de la
Réunion, in the oldest part of the town. It dates
from 1551 to 1553. Its most original feature is
its external double staircase. To the left of the
entrance is a wall-painting, very striking and
vigorous, of an old man in magisterial robes; on
the right, a figure of a woman of the handsomest
German type, crowned with roses, and bearing a
crown of laurel in her hand. The great hall is
adorned with three pictures representing the shields
of the burgomasters or maires of Mulhouse. Above
them is a row of the armorial bearings of the
Swiss cantons. The glass windows are ancient
and curious.
A lively and agreeable promenade is furnished
by the long line of well-built quays which skirt
the basin formed here by the Rhone and Rhine
Canal. In most of the streets, however, the visitor
will find much to amuse, and more to interest.
The signs of rapid industrial progress are every¬
where. To these, indeed, he may be accustomed
in other towns; but in few towns will he find
them accompanied by such abundant and satisfac¬
tory indications of moral advancement and artistic
culture. Muhlhausen is French in aspect, Ger¬
man in character, English in spirit. In many
50
respects it is a model of what a great manufacturing
town ought to be.
The Industrial Museum is worth a visit. It is
situated in the triangle of colonnaded mansions,
which looks like a bit of Belgravia, erected in 1828.
Miihlhausen was entered by the Prussians in
September, 1870.
The next station on our route is Dornach, a
manufacturing town of about 4000 inhabitants.
Here is the well-known establishment of Messrs.
Dolfiis-Mieg and Company, whose printed calicoes
are noted for their excellence.
At Dornach we cross the 111, which formerly
served as the boundary line between the Sundgau
and Alsace, and the Rhone and Rhine Canal.
At Lutterbach the railway strikes further inland,
and opens up some striking views of the rugged
peaks and deep ravines of the Vosges. A branch
line diverges from this point to Thann (the ancient
Pinetum), another manufacturing town, with a
population of about 5000, partly Catholics and
partly Protestants, as is the case in most of the
towns of Alsace. Its situation is eminently pic¬
turesque, for it lies at the mouth of the St. Amarin
Valley, while huge summits dominate over the
foreground, and far away spreads a seemingly end¬
less stretch of fair and fruitful country. Its special
pride is its minster, dedicated to St. Theobald; a
structure in the finest style of the German archi¬
tecture of the fifteenth century, and not unworthy
of the genius of Master Erwin of Strasburg, who
is reported to have furnished the design. The
spire, however, was erected by the architect
Rumiel Vatel. The whole work, begun in 1430,
was completed in 1516. An old tradition runs
that the latter was an excellent year for the vintage,
and that the beauty of the spire is owing to the
circumstance that the mortar was mixed with wane.
The western gateway is magnificent. It is en¬
riched with statues in decorated niches, and with
a variety of ornamentation, which is not less grace¬
ful in design than conscientious in execution.
From Thann, following the course of the Thur,
we return to Ensisheim, situated at the confluence
of the Thur and the 111. The latter river, it should
be observed, from Muhlhausen to a point below
Strasburg, incloses, in conjunction with the Rhine,
a long and narrow peninsular strip of land, which
is low, level, fertile, and well-cultivated.
Ensisheim is a town of about 3000 inhabitants.
Jacob Balde, a Latin poet, whose odes have been
HOW THE EMPEROR WAS
DEFEATED AT ROUFFACH.
translated by the German Herder, was born hero
in 1603. In its church is preserved a large aerolite,
which fell in the neighbourhood on the 7th of
November, 1492. It originally weighed 280 lbs.,
now only about 170 lbs.; portions having been
gradually broken off by inquisitive curiosity-
mongers.
Continuing our course at a distance of about ten
miles from the Rhine, with the Vosges on our left
hand, we reach, in succession, the town of Sultz,
(3989), and Gebweiler (10,680), both inhabited
by an industrial population. Near the latter, the
Vosges culminate in the bold peak of the Belchen
(4410 feet), or "balloon of Gebweiler."
We next arrive at Rouffach (the Rubeacum of
the Romans), a busy and interesting town of a de¬
cidedly German aspect, with a population of 3917.
Here was born Marshal Lefebvre, duke of Dantzig,
one of Napoleon's safest and most skilful lieutenants,
on the 25th of October, 1755. He was the son of
a miller, who had formerly served in the army, and
at the age of eighteen entered the Gardes Françaises,
rising to the post of 'premier sergent in the year
preceding the outbreak of the French revolution.
In those stirring times every soldier carried a mar¬
shal's bâton in his knapsack. His rise was rapid.
In 1793 he was a general of brigade. For some
years he served under Hoclie, was appointed gene¬
ral of division, distinguished himself at Lamberg
and Giesberg, and more especially at Stockach,
March 25, 1799, where he kept at bay a greatly
superior Austrian force. Afterwards he offered
his services to Napoleon, and when the latter estab¬
lished the first empire, Lefebvre was made a marshal.
At Jena, in 1806, he earned the imperial praise by
his splendid valour, and in the following year was
appointed to the command of the army besieging
Dantzig. The city capitulated, and Lefebvre was
created a duke. In 1808 he served in Spain, in
1809 in Austria and the Tyrol. In the disastrous
invasion of Russia he commanded the imperial
guard, and during the terrible retreat from Mos¬
cow Ins intrepidity and wonderful powers of
endurance were strikingly displayed. He fought
with equal courage and skill in the brilliant but
unsuccessful campaign of 1814. It proved the
close of his military career. After the restoration
his services were not required, but he accepted the
Bourbon rule with honourable loyalty, and was
permitted to retain his hard-won honours. He
died in 1820. A bust of the marshal, by David
of Angers, is the principal ornament of the town-
hall of his native place.
Rouffach grew up round the old castle of Isen-
burg, one of the oldest in Alsace, where Dagobert
II. frequently resided. At a later period it be¬
longed to the bishops of Strasburg. It was seized
by the Emperor Henry IV., whose men-at-arms,
enjoying here an uncontrolled license, were guilty
of the most abominable excesses. One day, the
feast of the Passover, the governor of the castle
carried off a young maiden of noble birth, while
she was proceeding to church in her mother's
company. The citizens heard with emotion the
shrieks and exclamations of the distracted mother,
but a craven dread of the imperial lances kept
them silent. Their wives and daughters, however,
more courageous, and more easily aroused to enthu¬
siasm, hastened to the castle, broke through the
gates, drove out the surprised garrison, and the
emperor himself, who was at the time a resident
within its walls. Terrified by the unexpected
attack of the Alsatian heroines he fled, half-naked,
to his harem at Colmar, leaving behind him his
crown, his sceptre, and his imperial mantle, which
his victorious assailants immediately offered up at the
altar of the Virgin. In memory of this event, says
Rouvrois, in his "Voyage Pittoresque en Alsace,"
the magistrates of the town conceded the right of
precedence to the women in every public ceremony,
and this proud prerogative they still enjoy.
Ashamed of his defeat, and furious at its dis¬
grace, the emperor laid siege to the town with an
army of 30,000 men, which he had collected for a
campaign in Italy. It was now the turn of the
men of Rouffach to come to the front, and they
fought with so much resolution and intrepidity
that the emperor was completely baffled. Unable
to satisfy his vengeance by force, he had recourse
to fraud. He demanded permission for his troops
to pass through the town (1106), and when the
citizens unsuspectingly opened their gates, he
ordered it to be set on fire, and handed it over to
the greed and lust of his mercenaries.
Towards the end of the thirteenth century, the
men of Colmar seized upon Rouffach and plundered
it. After this disaster, it was surrounded by strong
walls, but the defence prcved useless against the
Armagnacs, who sacked it in 1444. Finally, in
the seventeenth century, it was three times occu¬
pied by an enemy; on the first occasion by the
Landgrave Otho; on the second by the Duc de
51
THE RHINE VALLEY.
Rohan; and on the third by Marshal Turenne, after
his victory at Turckheira.
One cannot but pity the fate of these frontier
towns, so frequently exposed to the ravages of war;
nor can one help feeling some surprise at the vitality
they have exhibited in surviving so many and such
deplorable misfortunes.
In the thirteenth century Rouffach became un¬
happily distinguished by its cruel persecution of
the Jews, many of whom were burned at the stake
in a meadow still called Judenfeld. And, even at
this day, not a single Jew inhabits Rouffach, or
owns any property within it.
The church of Rouffach, dedicated to St. Arbo-
gast, is an interesting monument of twelfth century
date.
Its design and its decorative work refer it, ac¬
cording to M. de Rouvrois, to the second period of
the Gothic style. The choir, with its remarkable
boldness of construction, appears much more
ancient than the remainder of the edifice. One of
the baptismal fonts in a side-chapel on the right,
arrests special attention as a masterpiece of subtle
and delicate sculpture, in which every line seems
informed with genius. Persons afflicted with epi¬
leptic fits are in the habit of resorting to the chapel
of St. Valentine.
We must take the reader to Pfaffenheim (1700
inhabitants), situated at the very foot of the Vosges,
in a sheltered and sunny land of vineyards, famous
for the excellence of their vintage. The church is
ancient, with a remarkable spire. Above the town
rises the striking hill of the Schaumburg (1780
feet), from whose summit a view of the valley of
the 111 may be obtained, which presents some strik¬
ing features.
Gueberschwir (1500 inhabitants) was formerly a
walled town, with a castle, the Mittelburg, of some
celebrity. Its church, in the so-called Roman style,
is an edifice of more than ordinary pretensions.
A line may be given to Pluttstadt (1000 inhabit¬
ants) to refer the visitor to the romantic ruins of
the old castle of Barbenstein.
Crossing the Lauch, a small swift stream, clear
as a mountain torrent, and sparkling with an azure
gleam in a dell of luxuriantly leafy character, we
observe the stately castle of Hurlisheim (1100 in¬
habitants), erected in the last century on the site
of an old robber fastness. Then we come to the
interesting town of Eynisheim (1953 inhabitants),
the birthplace, in 1049, of Pope Leo IX.
52
Of the castle in which, according to tradition,
the pope was born, and which was built by the
Count Eberhard, son of Duke Athic, the only
remains are a grey hexagonal tower, gaunt and
weatherworn, and some trace of the fosses which
supplied the castle with water. To the west, on
the cone-shaped mountain above the town, rise the
three shattered towers of an ancient fortalice, called
Drei-Exon. Each tower was severally named:
thus, on the south stood the Wahlenburg ; on the
north, Dagsburg; in the middle, Weckmund. One
of them is still some 125 feet in height; the others
are in ruins.
This palace was erected by the first Count von
Eynisheim, grandson to Duke Athic, and founder
of several princely and royal dynasties, in whose
successive generations our readers would take no
interest. But, at least, it may be as well to note
that among the number are included the princes of
Teck, now, through the marriage of the Princess
Mary of Cambridge, closely connected with our own
royal house. Bruno of Eynisheim, son of Count
Hugues IV., became bishop of Toul, and after¬
wards Pope Leo IX. His life has been written
by his disciple and partisan, Archdeacon Wibert,
with a credulity which leaves little to be desired.
Whoever has a taste for the legendary and marvel¬
lous should turn to this narrative, as it appears in
the valuable collection of Muratori. As a bishop,
Bruno was notable for his fervent piety, his gentle¬
ness to those below him (he constantly washed the
feet of the poor), his boundless charity, his elo¬
quence as a preacher, and his knowledge of music.
As pope, he showed a great talent for organization,
an intense devotion, and an unwearied zeal for the
interests of the church. Both as pope and bishop,
however, he evinced a curious feature of character:
he discovered reliques of saints wherever it was
necessary to find them, he worked miracles, and
he " saw visions." He died on the 13th of April,
1059, closing a saintly life with a sublime death.
He ordered his coffin to be carried into St. Peter's ;
and laid himself down on a couch by its side. Then,
having bestowed his last advice and admonitions
on those around him, he received the last sacra¬
ments, and, rising with difficulty, looked stedfastly
upon his future resting-place. " Behold," he said,
" my brethren, the mutability of human things.
The cell which I dwelt in as a monk expanded into
yonder spacious palace; it shrinks again into this
narrow coffin." The next morning he was dead.
A JOURNEY THROUGH ALSACE.
Of his miracles we can but record a single exam¬
ple. A costly cup, presented to him by the arch¬
bishop of Koln, fell to the ground and was broken
to pieces. At the bidding of Leo, these pieces
came together, the cup was made whole, and the
fracture was marked only by a thin thread (capillo).
But the most wonderful thing was, that all the while
not a drop of the wine which it contained was
spilled !
The following account of the destruction of the
pope's birthplace we borrow from the " Yoyage
Pittoresque en Alsace —
" It was in 1466. The year before, the nobles,
whose oppressions the towns did not bear so
patiently as in the preceding century, had been
expelled from the senate of Miihlhausen. Enraged
at this bold act of rebellion, they waited only for a
pretext to re-assert their ancient domination, and
avenge themselves on the presumptuous burghers.
A miller's boy of Miihlhausen furnished them with
the excuse they needed. Driven out by his master,
and pretending that he was in great distress for a
paltry sum of six oboli, which the latter refused to
pay him, he carried his complaint before the nobles ;
and one of them, Peter of Eynisheim, purchased
from him his debt.
" Strong in his legal title, and putting himself
forward as a redresser of wrongs, he seized upon
several citizens, and flung them into the lowest
dungeon of his castle.
" Miihlhausen appealed to its allies, and a war,
known as the Plappert-Krieg, or 'War of the Six
Oboli,' broke out on this insignificant cause. The
nobles, summoning to their aid all their friends
and kinsmen, retired to the castle of Eynisheim,
which they strongly fortified, and appointed Her¬
mann Kliv, the miller, who had been the original
cause of strife, to the chief command.
" The allied towns resolved to attack the castle,
and under the leadership of a certain Stiitzel, they
carried it by assault on the day of the Fête-Dieu
(1466), and burned it to the ground. Then they
crowned their victory by hanging up the miller
and three of the most tyrannical nobles.
" It would seem to be tolerably certain that
these three fortresses were never rebuilt, or in¬
habited after this event; for in 1568 a pretended
sorceress, accused of having married her daughter
to the devil, and celebrated the nuptial-feast among
the ruins of Eynisheim, was brought to trial.
The details of the evidence brought against this
unfortunate victim of superstitious ignorance are
very curious, very extravagant, and, as persons
knowing anything of the history of witchcraft
will readily believe, are frequently disgusting.
We may mention, however, that it was stated as
a fact, before a properly constituted court of judi¬
cature, that the wedding-feast had consisted of
bats—cooked, we suppose, in a variety of ways—
and that the concluding dance had been performed
by imps and devils !
" What thronging, dashing, raging, rustling !
What whispering, babbling, hissing, bustling !
What glimmering, spirting, stinking, burning,
As heaven and earth were overturning ! "
It is needless to add that the poor sorceress was
put to death.
We resume our route. The Hoh-Landsberg,
which rises above the château of Plixburg—the
latter a thirteenth century building, with a cylin¬
drical keep—was formerly, as its remains very
plainly indicate, a fortress of great strength, and
almost impregnable in the days before rifled can¬
non and mitrailleuses. In the history of Alsace it
played an important part, as early as the thirteenth
century. In 1281 it was captured by an imperial
army, and thenceforth it remained a fief of the
house of Austria. The Swedes took possession
of it in 1638. It was dismantled by order of
Louis XIY.
Logelbach, on the left, is famous for its large
cotton mills, weaving, and calico-printing estab¬
lishments. Wintzenheim, another manufacturing
town, has a population of 4000.
Almost opposite the railway station of Colmar
lies Turckheim (2946 inhabitants), where Marshal
Turenne, on the 5th of January, 1675, gained a
great victory over the imperialists.
Colmar is the principal town in the department
of the Upper Rhine, and was the seat of the im¬
perial court for the departments of the Upper and
Lower Rhine.
This ancient and quaint old town is situated in
the immediate shadow of the Vosges, on the small
rivers Lauch and Fecht, and in a plain of great
fertility, watered by innumerable rills which sup¬
ply the motive power of many important mills and
factories, and are carried through the busy streets of
the town itself. In some they are reduced, how¬
ever, to the modest dimensions of gutters. Its prin¬
cipal manufactures are cottons and printed goods.
Founded in the sixth century, it was called
53
THE RHINE VALLEY.
Columbaria, or Colmaria, when the sons of Louis
the Debonnair encountered in its vicinity their
father, against whom they had rebelled, and forced
him to surrrender the crown he had received from
Charlemagne (a.d. 833). The three brothers after¬
wards met in council at the royal vill of Colmar,
and Lothair conveyed his father from thence to
the monastery of Soissons, and treated him with
the most shameful indignities. He was compelled
to perform public penance in the church of St.
Médard. There the father of three kings laid
down upon the altar his armour and his imperial
robes, and clothing himself in black, read the long
and enforced confession of his crimes. Next, he
laid the parchment on the altar, was stripped of his
military belt, which was likewise placed there;
and having put off his secular dress, and assumed
the garb of a penitent, was thenceforth deemed
incapacitated from all civil acts.
The field where the emperor had been deserted
by his courtiers and army, was ever afterwards
named Liigenfeld, Campus Mentitus, or " the field
of falsehood."
In 1106 Colmar suffered severely from fire, but
was soon rebuilt. In 1226 it was raised to the
rank of a town by the Emperor Frederick II., and
in 1282 declared an imperial town. In 1474 it
was attacked by the French under Charles the
Rash, but successfully repulsed its assailants. In
1552 it had grown so wealthy and prosperous, that
it was thought advisable to fortify it with ramparts
and towers. In 1632 it was taken by the Swedes;
the majority of the citizens having embraced
Lutheranism, compelled the imperialists to capitu¬
late. Two years later it was annexed to France,
and in 1673 Louis XIY. dismantled the fortifi¬
cations, whose site is now occupied by pleasant
boulevards, agreeably planted with trees, and
surrounding the old, quaint, and obscure town
with a belt of leafiness.
Colmar has given birth to three eminent men,
Pfeffel, Rewbell, and General Rapp.
Gottlieb Conrad Pfeffel was born in 1736. He
became blind at the early age of twenty-one, while
pursuing his studies in the university of Halle.
By dint of unwearied perseverance he conquered
the numerous obstacles which loss of sight throws
in the way of the man of letters, and as a writer
of fables attained a great and deserved distinction,
lie died in 1809, having for several years conducted
with success a Protestant military academy.
54
Rewbell was one of the many whom the surg¬
ing waves of the French Revolution carried into
power. Having attained an influential position
in the National Assembly, he had the courage to
denounce the sanguinary excesses of the Jacobins,
and was appointed one of the five directors to
whom the government of France was intrusted by
the constitution of 1795.
His character is concisely sketched by Alison:
—An Alsatian by birth, and a lawyer by pro¬
fession, lie was destitute of either genius or elo¬
quence; but he owed his elevation to his habits
of business, his knowledge of forms, and the
pertinacity with which lie represented the feelings
of the multitude, often in the close of revolutionary
convulsions envious of distinguished ability.
For ourselves, we think that Alison does not
do him justice. He was a man of principle, and
advocated moderation at a time when to do so
required considerable intrepidity. He was at all
events a sincere republican, and had the sagacity
to fathom the designs of Napoleon, and the courage
to oppose them as long as opposition was possible.
In 1799 he retired from the Directory, and thence¬
forth made no sign.
Jean Rapp was born at Colmar on the 26th of
April, 1772, of obscure parentage. He enlisted at
the age of sixteen, served in the army of the Rhine,
was four times wounded, promoted to the rank of
lieutenant, and as aide-de-camp to Dessaix accom¬
panied " General Bonaparte's " expedition to Egypt.
Still following the fortunes of Dessaix, he stood
by his side at the battle of Marengo, and supported
him in his arms after he had received his mortal
wound. It was probably his friendship with the
one man whom Napoleon pre-eminently loved and
trusted, that recommended him to the great con¬
queror's favour. At the battle of Austerlitz he
led one of the most dashing and successful cavalry
charges ever made, and was rewarded with pro¬
motion to the rank of general of division. Hence¬
forward he was admitted to Napoleon's special
confidence, and was employed on several difficult
and delicate missions. After serving throughout
the disastrous Russian campaign, he was appointed
military governor of Dantzig, and gained great
distinction by his brilliant defence of that city in
1813; not surrendering until two-thirds of the
garrison had perished. Being made a prisoner of
war, he did not return to France until the restora¬
tion of Louis XYIIL, to whom he offered his
THE MINSTER
AT COLMAR.
services. When Napoleon returned from Elba
he could not refuse the claims of his old leader,
and he took the command of the garrison at
Strasburg, which city he held even after the
crushing defeat of Waterloo. In spite of his
tergiversation, he secured the forgiveness of the
Bourbons, and was made a peer of France in
1818. He died in 1821, in his fiftieth year;
leaving behind him the reputation of a gallant
and trusty soldier, who was inferior to none in all
the qualities which make an excellent lieutenant.
He had no genius, but he had military talent; and
he had a knack of doing whatever he had to do in
a very sufficient and effective manner.
We can easily see all that is to be seen at Col-
mar in a few hours. A ramble along its streets will
open up to us some quaint examples of domestic
architecture ; and if it be market day, we cannot
but be amused by the no less quaint costumes of
the peasants who stream into the town from the
neighbouring villages.
The Minster, or St. Martin's church, is an admir¬
able Gothic edifice, begun in 1265 and completed
in 1360. Completed, that is, so far as the original
design seems likely ever to be carried out; but of
the two towers the southern one only has been
commenced, and this rises but a little above the
body of the building. A spire has been erected in
the place of the ancient spire, destroyed by fire in
1572. The grotesque figures which decorate the
portico and nave are worth examining; their car¬
vers must have been men of a sly satiric humour !
Not less notable is the altar-piece, by Martin Schon,
or Schongauer, a native of Colmar (died 1488), of
the Virgin Mary with the Holy Child resting in
a bower of roses, and attended by angels. The
figures, larger than life, are set off by a background
of gold.
Each window in the choir consists of three lancet
lights with two mullions. They are filled with the
remains of the superb painted glass which formerly
adorned the ancient church of the Dominicans. It
would be impossible to speak too highly of its depth
and transparency of colouring.
The old Dominican convent (that of the Unter-
linden) has undergone a deplorable transformation ;
the principal building being used as a corn-mart.
The conventual church has been more fortunate; it
contains the town museum and library, the latter
numbering about 40,000 volumes. There are some
interesting paintings in illustration of the life of
Christ, by Martin Schongauer; six subjects from
the Passion, and an Annunciation and Adoration
of the Magi, by the same artist; also various pic¬
tures attributed, with more or less foundation, to
Albert Durer and Grunewald. Here, too, are
some fine specimens of mediaeval carving, from the
convent of Isenheim ; the head of Peter of Hagen-
bach, embalmed, and preserved under glass; an
aerolite which fell near Colmar in 1492; a Gallo-
Roman mosaic from the choir of the minster; speci¬
mens of armour, and certain instruments of torture;
besides many other things both rich and rare, and
some which are neither rich nor rare.
The treasures of the library are, the first book
printed in German, at Strasburg, by Eggenstein, in
1466 ; namely,a" Tractatus RationisetConscientiœ,"
either printed by Guttenberg himself, or by his
successor, Nicolas Becklermunze ; and collections
of medals (10,000 in number), ethnography, and
natural history.
A bronze statue, by Bertholdi, to General Rapp,
was erected on the Champ de Mars in 1855 ; and
one in stone, by Friederich, to the fabulist Pfeffel,
was placed beside the museum in 1859.
From Colmar a visit may be paid to Freiburg, in
the Brisgau, and Neuf-Brisach (3456 inhabitants),
on the banks of the Rhine. The latter is one of
Vauban's fortified towns. In its vicinity is planted
the Fort Mortier, a constant menace to Alt-Brisach,
which suffered greatly, as well as the fort, in the
Franco-Prussian War.
At four miles from Colmar we reach Bennwihr
(1000 inhabitants), whence we proceed, by way of
Ostheim, on the Fecht, to the Kaiserberg, and Rap-
poltsweiler (8000).
Kaiserberg is situated in a pleasant little valley
at the foot of the ruined mountain fortress of the
same name. Both fortress and town sprung into
existence during the first quarter of the thirteenth
century, under the Emperor Frederick II.
A short distance from the railway, and at the
mouth of a vine-clad valley, lies Rappoltsweiler,
better known by its French name of Ribeau-
villé (population, 6081, of whom about one-
seventh are Protestants). This town was the
cradle of the once powerful family of Rappolt-
stein, who, after the annexation of Alsace to
France, changed their name to Ribeaupierre. It
was one of this family who, on the summit of
the mountain above the town, erected the castle,
now in utter ruin, of IIoh-Rappolstein, besieged
55
THE RHINE VALLEY.
in turn by Rudolph of Hapsburg and Adolph of
Nassau. It is distinguished by its cylindrical
tower. Lower down are the remains of two
other castles, the Giersberg, and Nicderberg, or
St. Ulrich.
The parish church, dedicated to St. Germain,
which contains the tombs of the lords of Ribeau-
pierre, and the town-hall, are the only two build¬
ings of any particular interest or merit.
Along the crest of the foremost line of the
Yosges runs the singular rampart, of unknown
antiquity, called the Heidenmauer, or "Pagans'
Wall." Its remains extend over an area of two
leagues. It is composed of unhewn stones, unce-
mented, and about eight to ten feet high.
Philipp Jacob Spener, an eminent divine, who
may justly be considered the founder of the Piet¬
ists, was born at Rappoltsweiler in 1635. He
studied successively at Strasburg, Basel, and
Geneva, imbibing the principles of the strictest
Lutheranism, with, however, a strong attachment
towards the Calvinistic ideal of church govern¬
ment and discipline. From 1666 to 1686 he
laboured at Frankfort-on-the-Maine as senior pas¬
tor, with an enthusiasm and devotedness which
revived in Germany the decaying spirit of evan¬
gelical piety. In 1675 he published his " Pia
Desideria," which, according to Tholuck, is one
of the most important productions in the whole
theological literature of Germany. As a remedy
for the religious lukewarmness then too prevalent,
he urged that the laity should be taught to co-oper¬
ate in the work of the Christian church, and that
all the faithful, whether clerics or laics, should
realize their spiritual priesthood by union in
prayer, and by efforts for the well-being of their
fellows. Hence arose the collegia pietatis, or pri¬
vate meetings for prayer and bible-reading, which
originated the nickname of " pietists," bestowed
on those who attended them.
From 1686 to 1691 Spener officiated as chap¬
lain, or chief preacher, at the court of thfe Elector
George III. of Saxony, but discharged his trust
with a faithfulness which princely ears were unable
to endure, and the connection was terminated
abruptly, to the relief of both parties. Removing
to Berlin, he filled the offices of provost of the
church of St. Nicholas, and consistorial councillor,
until his death in 1701. His influence extended
over all Lutheran Germany, and he formed a
school of zealous and able disciples, Breithaupt,
58
Lange, Anton, Franck, and Freylinghausen, who
took up and continued the movement which
Spener had inaugurated, and infused a new life
and inspiration into the German church.
According to Tholuck, and no man is better
acquainted with the whole religious history of
that age, Spener, of all who have attained to
eminence in the Lutheran church, was the purest
and most unblemished in personal character, and
of all God's instruments in the seventeenth cen¬
tury the most signally blessed.
RAPPOLTSWEILER TO TUSENBACH.
A road lined with poplars conducts from Rap¬
poltsweiler to a place of pilgrimage in much favour
before the French Revolution, Tusenbach, so called
from the noise (tosen) of a " brawling stream "
which rushes past it. St. Mary of Tusenbach
was the patroness of the musicians in all Alsace.
These musicians formed a guild, which dated from
the romantic era of the troubadours, when the
singers and jongleurs wandered from castle to
castle, and relieved the dull life of feudalism with
flashes of poetry and song. The area over which
the guild extended their operations lay between
the Hauenstein and the Haguenau Forest, and
from the extremity of the Wasgau to the Rhine.
They placed themselves under the immediate pro¬
tection of the lord of Rappoltstein, who assumed
the title of King of the Jongleurs, constituting it
a separate office, in subordination, at first to the
Imperial, and afterwards to the French crown.
As late as the 10th of March, 1785, we find the
royal council renewing the statutes which Eber-
hard von Rappoltstein had bestowed on his musical
subjects in 1606.
Certain privileges, we had almost said prero¬
gatives, belonged to the king of the jongleurs, and
thej ongleurs, in their turn, could claim certain rights.
The former appointed a viceroy, or " piper king,"
who presided at the annual court. As the guild
was very numerous, it was subdivided into three
bodies, each of which had its separate rendezvous.
Thus, the musicians from Hauenstein to Ottmens-
biihl assembled at Alt-Thann on the 8th of Sep¬
tember ; those from Ottmensbuhl to Eppil came,
with pipe and drum, to Rappoltsweiler on the
same day ; while those from Eppil to the Haguenau
met at Bischweiler on the feast of Assumption.
On the 8th of September the musicians of the
Rappoltsweiler district gathered together as early
TOWNS OF ALSACE.
as nine in the morning, and set out from the Sun
tavern, in a radiant procession, with music and
banners, and the piper king at their head, and
each man carrying a silver medal in his button¬
hole, to hear mass at the parish church. Thence
they marched to the castle, played a symphony
in honour of their king, and drank his health in
good red wine. Returning to the inn, a court of
justice was held; complaints were heard, and in
cases of the infraction of the brotherhood's statutes,
suitable fines inflicted. The ceremonies of the day
concluded with dances and songs.
TO HOH-KONIGSBUKG.
After leaving Ribeauvillé, we pass Guémar
(population, 1400) on the right, and Bergheim
(population, 3100) on the left, and cross several
streams, before arriving at St. Hippolyte (popu¬
lation, 2241), the point whence travellers frequently
ascend the steep slopes of the Hoh-Kônigsburg.
On the summit are situated the extensive ruins
of a castle of great antiquity. It was erected in
1469 by the Counts Oswald and Wilhelm von
Thierstein. The view from the battlements is
very fine. It is not often, even in the Rhine
Valley, that so grand and striking a panorama,
one so bold in its grand outlines and so rich in
its details, is unfolded before the traveller.
At four miles from St. Hippolyte we reach
Schlestadt ; an important and prosperous town of
10,184 inhabitants.
Schlestadt was anciently a free town of the
German empire, but did not receive its full civic
privileges until the thirteenth century. The Frank
kings, according to an old tradition, had a palace
here, erected by Frederick II. In 775 Charle¬
magne spent his Christmas tide at Schlestadt. In
the fourteenth century it was twice besieged by
the warrior bishops of Strassburg. Alternately
occupied by the Swedes and Imperialists during
the Thirty Years' War, it fell, in 1634, into the
hands of the French. At the peace of Westphalia
it was again acknowledged as an imperial city ;
but in 1673 it was again captured by the French,
and Louis XIV. ordered its walls to be razed, and
new fortifications to be erected by Vauban. It is
a place of considerable strength, and both in 1814
and 1815 successfully resisted the attacks of the
allied armies. In the campaign of 1870 it was
besieged and captured by a Prussian army.
Above the small town of Dambach rises, hoary
h
and massive, the ruined castle of Bernstein, whose
rapid decay Nature seeks to conceal with her
freshest luxuriance. On the right is Ebersmiinster,
a village of 930 inhabitants, where Duke Athic
founded, in 667, the Apri Monasterium, or Mon¬
astery of the Wild Boar, in place of a chapel
built by King Dagobert.
And next, we arrive at Ebersheim (1900 inhab¬
itants) the explanation of this Apri Monasterium.
Here, according to tradition, Sigebert, the son of
Dagobert, was mortally wounded by a wild boar
(eber) • but through the potency of the prayers of
St. Arbogast, then bishop of Strassburg, was re¬
stored to life. In grateful acknowledgment of
the miracle, Dagobert erected in the vicinity the
Chapel of the Boar, or Ebersmiinster.
Benfeld is eleven miles from Schlestadt. It has
a population of 2745 inhabitants, and is situated on
the 111. It appears to have risen on the ruins of
the ancient Elcebus, the Hellkebos of the geogra¬
pher Ptolemy, which the Goths destroyed in the
fifth century. Here were interred the remains of
St. Materne, the apostle and evangelizer of Alsace.
It was one of the most ancient demesnes of the
bishops of Strassburg.
From Benfeld we proceed, by way of Matzen-
heim—leaving, on our right, the beautiful sixteenth
century castle of Osthausen, belonging to the Zorn
de Brulach family—to Erstein.
This quiet, old-world little town (population,
3705), pleasantly planted on the banks of the 111,
was anciently of some importance. The Frankish
kings had a palace here, in which at a later date
resided the two emperors, Otho I. and Otho II.
It was at that time surrounded by walls, which,
together with the castle, were destroyed by the
stout citizens of Strassburg in 1333.
From Erstein the reader will permit us to
diverge to Oberwin (population, 5150), an irre¬
gularly built but picturesque town, situated on
the Ehn, with a fine background formed by the
green acclivities of the Hohenburg. Formerly it
was a royal demesne, belonging to the Merovingian
kings ; afterwards it became an imperial free town,
of the sixth rank. It has four gates ; but the only
relics of its ancient importance are the remains
of the strong towers that formerly flanked its walls.
The town-hall, built in 1528, is rich in curious
wood carving and ancient pictures.
From this point we proceed to ascend the Otti-
lienberg, or "Mountain of St. Odille;" the scene
57
THE RHINE VALLEY.
every year, on Pentecost Monday, of a pilgrimage
famous throughout the length and breadth of
Alsace. The Ottilienberg, apart from its associa¬
tions, is worthy of a visit ; its scenery is more than
ordinarily picturesque and varied, and the prospect
from its summit might fill the heart of a poet witli
gladness! To the left rise the ruins of the Eath-
samhausen, which formerly belonged to a powerful
Alsatian family, and the Liitzelburg, which was
built in the twelfth century, and whose two shat¬
tered towers are surrounded by a girdle of dark-
green forest. To the south lies the Landsburg,
which was occupied by a family of the same name
down to the great Eevolution of 1789. Its remains
consist of two noble, cylindrical, five-storied towers,
at the angles of the western enceinte; a mass of
ruins on the eastern side ; and, in the centre, the
old, square, sandstone keep, with its grim eyeless
walls, looking blankly out on a changed world.
From Erstein a journey of two miles brings us
to Limersheim, a village with 500 inhabitants, and
another two miles to Fegersheim, which, with a
population of 1800, is situated at the confluence
of the Little Andlau with the III. It is said to
possess a spring whose waters are beneficial in
ophthalmic diseases. Almost opposite it, above
the old town of Eosheim (population, 3910), where
there is a remarkable Byzantine church dating from
the eleventh or twelfth century, rise the ruins of
the stately pile of Guirbaden, the ancient castle of
the Eohans, destroyed in the seventeenth century.
As we draw close to Strassburg we see on our
right, between the railway and the Ehine, which
here flows with a broad and noble current, the
agricultural settlement of Ostwald, founded in
1839 by the city of Strassburg; and on the left the
town of Entzheim (population, 1700), in whose
vicinity, on the 4th of October, 1674, the Impe¬
rialists were defeated by the French under Turenne.
The mountains of the Yosges, when seen from this
point, assume a character of singular beauty, and
the surrounding country is diversified by many
rich and agreeable landscapes. In several villages
the houses are decorated with double rows of
tobacco-leaves drying in the sun; tobacco being
cultivated here to a considerable extent.
THE BADEN BANK OF THE BHINE.
Basel to Kehl.
Having thus conducted the patient reader along
the left bank of the Ehine, and the valley of the
58
111, to the city of Strassburg, we now retrace our
steps to Basel, cross the " exultant and abounding
river," and proceed to carry him with us along
its right or German bank, a route not inferior in
interest or in beauty to the former.
The Ehine, in this part of its course, is fre¬
quently encroached upon by hills. It receives the
Dreisam, the Elz, the Schutter, and the Kinzig.
Its surface is literally strewn with islands, more or
less wooded, of various outline, and frequently very
charming in aspect.
About a mile and a half from Basel, on the so-
called Leopoldshohe, or Leopold's Height, stands
the Basel custom-house, to indicate that we have
quitted the territories of republican Switzerland.
Passing Hattingen and Efringen, through very
bright and beautiful scenery, and crossing the
small stream of the Kander, where we obtain a
glorious view of the islanded river and the moun¬
tainous landscapes of Alsace, with the snow-peaks
of the Jura rising beyond Basel, we penetrate the
limestone cliff of the Isteiner Klotz in a succession
of tunnels, and drawing near the river arrive at
Schliengen.
Continuing our course along the vine-clad slopes
of the Black Forest, we arrive at Miihlheim (popu¬
lation, 3000), the seat of an " amstadt " or juris¬
diction, and the nearest station for Badenweiler.
Miihlheim is celebrated for the " Markgràfler "
wine produced by the neighbouring vineyards.
It is a town of great antiquity, the abbey of St.
Gall having had possessions here as early as 758.
Badenweiler lies about three miles to the east.
Its springs were known to the Eomans, and the
baths erected by them were discovered in 1748, in
a state of excellent preservation. They consist of
four large and eight smaller baths, including
dressing and anointing rooms, a sudatorium, and
other appurtenances. They are probably the most
complete now in existence (out of Eome), and
measure 324 feet in length by 100 feet in breadth.
Badenweiler is now frequented by as many as
1500 visitors every season, and boasts of a hand¬
some Cursaal. The water is impregnated to a
large extent with common salt and gypsum, and
reputed beneficial in cases of gout, consumption,
rheumatism, hysteria, hypochondriasis, and in¬
termittent fever. The temperature is 20° E.
About six miles from Badenweiler is the Bel-
chen or Hochblewan peak, whose summit, 3597
feet above the sea, commands a fine view of the
/L WBlmore
IF fi& E D QB 01 1R ffi „
WILLIAM MACKENZIE. LONDON, EDINBURGH * GLASGOW.
ALT-BRISACH AND FREIBURG.
course of the Rhine as far as Strassburg, and
of the country inclosed by the mountain chains
of the Black Forest on the east, of the Vosges
on the west, and the Jura on the south. Beyond
the latter, on a clear day, may be seen the white
crests of the Bernese Alps.
To the west of Miihlheim, at a distance of one
mile and a half, and close to the rocky bank of the
Rhine, lies Neuenberg, besieged by the chivalrous
Duke Bernhard von Weimar, in 1633 to 1634.
Near Heitersheim, once the seat of the master
of the Maltese Knights, are the ruins of Staufen-
burg castle, which can also be reached from Krot-
zingen. It was formerly the seat of a race of
powerful nobles, whose line became extinct in
1602. From this point we may carry the reader,
for a moment, to a town already mentioned—Alt-
Brisach. Here the isolated volcanic mountain of
the Kaisersstuhl throws out, as it were, a buttress
of basalt, rising almost perpendicularly from the
waters of the rolling river to a height of 758 feet.
On the highest point of this singular eminence
is planted the Gothic minster of St. Stephen, a
notable example of thirteenth century architecture.
The town of Alt-Brisach lies on the sides of the
hill and in the valley beneath it. A flying bridge
connects it with the opposite bank. Though now
a quiet, lifeless place, with less than 4000 inhab¬
itants, it was once a most important frontier fort¬
ress, and the key of Germany on the west.
As late as the tenth century, the Rhine is said
to have flowed round the town, and isolated the
rock on which it stands. From 1331 it belonged
to Austria; but in 1638 was captured by Duke
Bernhard of Saxe Weimar, after a blockade of
twelve months, which inflicted the most dreadful
sufferings on the garrison and citizens. After his
death it was held by the French, to whom it was
formally made over by the treaty of Westphalia
m 1648. But it was impossible for Germany to
rest contented with this important fortress in the
hands of a hostile nation, and at the Peace of
Ryswick, in 1700, it was recovered by the Aus-
trians. In 1703 it was again taken by the French
under Tallard and Vauban, nor was it restored
until 1715. The Emperor Charles VI. greatly
improved the defences, and erected a new fort.
In 1743, when a new French invasion was appre¬
hended, the Empress Maria Theresa ordered the
Leopold and Charles forts to be destroyed, and the
military stores removed to Freiburg. These steps
were not taken too soon. In the following year
the irrepressible banner of the fleur-de-lis once
more crossed the Rhine, captured Alt-Brisach,
and destroyed the remaining fortifications. Sub¬
sequently the bridge was removed. An Austrian
garrison was not replaced in the town until 1768.
At the epoch of the French revolution the French
once more attacked Brisach. On the bank of the
river, opposite the unfortunate town, they had
erected Fort Mortier, and from this position they
bombarded the defenceless German town, on the
15th of September, 1793. A portion of the
buildings having been restored, they again occu¬
pied it in 1796. In 1805 Napoleon resolved on
converting it into a strong fortress, and the works
were already in a forward condition when the
treaty of Presburg gave Brisach to Baden.
About two leagues to the north of Brisach, on
a spur of the Kaisersstuhl, which, projecting into
the river, breaks up its regular flow into a swift
and whirling current, are the ruins of Castle
Sponeck. These owe more to their romantic posi¬
tion than to their extent or character, which is
comparatively insignificant; but they command a
fine view of the Rhine, the opposite bank, and the
undulating sweep of the Vosges.
FREIBURG.
Freiburg, the ancient capital of the Breisgau, is
situated about twelve miles from the Rhine, on the
outskirts of the Black Forest, at the mouth of the
romantic Hôllenthal, or Valley of Hell, and upon
the Dreisam, whose manifold ramifications extend
into all the principal streets. It is elevated about
860 feet above the sea, so as to enjoy an unbounded
view of the surrounding country, which is as bright,
goodly, and diversified as eye can desire. The rich
vale of the Dreisam, the boldly broken ground of
the Black Forest, the fertile plain, which carries
its stores of wealth and beauty up to the very foot
of the vine-clad Kaisersstuhl, and the picturesque
mountains, which raise their vapour-loaded crests
against the horizon, form a picture of infinite light
and loveliness.
Freiburg is the seat of a "jurisdiction" of the
Imperial Court of the Upper Rhine Circle, of a
university, and of the archbishop and chapter of
the Upper Rhine ecclesiastical province. It has
a population of 17,000, and is a busy and flourishing
town ; its prosperity being due in part to its posi¬
tion on the great German highways, and partly to
59
THE RHINE VALLEY.
its forming the centre to which the commercial
and manufacturing industry of the Black Forest
converges.
The history of Freiburg extends over about
eight centuries. As late as 1008, and probably
fifty years later, the area now covered by its well-
thronged streets was a dense luxuriant forest.
Gradually a clearing was made, and a few hunters
and fishermen planted their huts on the bank of
the Dreisam. The neighbouring hill was speedily
seized upon as a suitable site for a castle, and the
infant settlement began to extend under its pro¬
tection. Then came an auspicious patron in the
person of Duke Berthold III., of Zaringia, who,
having visited Koln, and learned to admire its
splendour, desired to establish a rival on the Upper
Rhine. Accordingly, he raised the village to the
rank of a town. From his brother and successor,
Conrad, the new town received a charter of rights
and privileges. It was under the rule of this
energetic prince that the minster was commenced,
and so diligently was it prosecuted that within its
walls, in 1146, St. Bernard was able to deliver an
eloquent harangue in favour of the Crusades.
In 1218 the male line of the dukes of Zaringia,
who had done so much for the prosperity of
Freiburg, became extinct. The town was then
claimed as an imperial fief, but soon afterwards
surrendered to Egon I., count of Hohenberg, who
had wedded Agnes, the sister of Duke Berthold
V., of Zaringia. His son, Egon II., called himself
von Freiburg, and for the defence of the town
erected the strong castle of Burghalden.
About the middle of the fourteenth century
Freiburg became involved in a life and death
struggle with Count Egon IV. She conquered,
but the tax on her resources was so heavy, that to
avoid any similar disaster she voluntarily parted
with her independence, and surrendered her rights
and liberties to the imperial house of Hapsburg.
Some of her bravest sons afterwards followed the
Austrian standard to the field of Sempach, and
perished in that murderous battle. In 1457 the
line of the counts of Freiburg ceased to exist.
In 1468 the Archduke Sigismund, whose extra¬
vagance had had its natural result, mortgaged all
his possessions in Alsace, Sundgau, Breisgau, and
the Black Forest, to Charles the Bold of Burgundy,
for the sum of 80,000 florins. Freiburg then did
homage at Ensisheim, and Peter von Hagenbach, a
man of unbridled lust and cruelty, was appointed
60
its governor. He was soon guilty of the most
abominable excesses. In vain the towns complained
to Charles ; he listened to them with indifference.
They then collected a sum sufficient to defray the
mortgage, and encouraged Duke Sigismund to take
up arms against the Burgundian tyrant. Hagen¬
bach retired to Brisach with a considerable force ;
but continuing his exactions, the citizens rose
against him, expelled his mercenaries, seized him,
tried him according to the law of the empire, and
beheaded him at night by torchlight. The towns
then made common cause against their oppressor,
who invaded Switzerland with a powerful army,
but was defeated at Granson and Morat, and killed
under the walls of Nancy, on the 5th of January,
1477.
During the famous Peasants' War, Freiburg was
surrounded with twenty thousand insurgents, who
were bribed to retire by a gift of 3000 florins and
several pieces of artillery. In the Thirty Years'
War, the Swedish army appeared before the gates
of Freiburg on the 19th December, 1632. They
were at first repulsed, but on the 26th of the same
month their compact battalions once more gathered
in front of the town, and Colonel Bernhard Schaffa-
litzki demanded its surrender in the name of Field-
marshal Horn. In this extremity the citizens
displayed no ordinary resolution. Supported by
the students and country people, they manned the
walls. For forty-eight hours the unfortunate town
was bombarded with redhot balls, effecting so
terrible a desolation that the Freiburgers found
themselves compelled to surrender. On the 29th,
Field-marshal Horn made his public entry, and
immediately proceeded to levy a requisition of
30,000 florins.
After a brief interval of peace, Duke Bernard
of Weimar appeared before the town (March 20,
1638). Under Escher von Biihningen it made a
gallant defence; but on the 11th of April Freiburg
surrendered. The Swedish colonel, Kanoffsky von
Langendorff, was appointed governor. He treated
its citizens with the utmost moderation ; but in
1644, on the approach of the imperial army,
ordered two of the suburbs to be razed. The
Imperialists, 15,000 strong, under Field-marshal
Mercy, invested the place, while Turenne, with
10,000 men, hastened to its relief. Mercy, how¬
ever, delivered his attacks so incessantly and so
furiously, that on the 28th of July the garrison
was forced to yield. In recognition of its gallant
FREIBURG.
defence, however, it was allowed to march out
with all the honours of war, and retire to Brisach.
Turenne, reinforced by 10,000 men under the
famous Condé, arrived on the scene soon after the
capitulation had been concluded. On the 2nd of
August he attacked the entrenchments which Mercy
had raised along the neighbouring mountain, the
Schinberg, but was repulsed with so severe a loss,
that he retired upon Denzlingen during the night
of the 5th of August. Mercy maintained himself
in the town for several days, and then, leaving a
strong garrison behind him, marched towards the
Black Forest.
Freiburg now enjoyed a period of peace. By
the treaty of Westphalia it was restored to Austria;
but Louis XIV., in pursuance of his scheme of
European supremacy, resolved to seize it. In the
autumn of 1677, its garrison having been impru¬
dently reduced, Marshal Créqui suddenly crossed
the Rhine on the 10th, and made himself master
of the place on the 16th, of November.
By the treaty of Nimeguen, in the following
year, the city, so craftily won, was formally ceded
to France. Louis XIV. proceeded to convert it
into a fortress, after the plans of Vauban. In
1697 the treaty of Ryswick restored Freiburg to
Austria ; but in the condition of the town no
improvement took place. On the 21st of Sep¬
tember, 1713, Marshal Villars, with an army of
150,000 men, advanced against Freiburg, which
was garrisoned by only 10,000 men under Field-
marshal von Harsch. In little more than a week
Von Harsch was forced to retire into the citadel,
leaving the unfortunate inhabitants to take what
steps they chose for their own protection. Villars
had given orders to storm the town, but at the
representations of the citizens he consented to
accept terms of capitulation. An armistice was
agreed upon until the garrison had communicated
with Prince Eugene, and on the 17th of November
the garrison marched out with all the honours of
war, while the town paid a sum of 1,000,000
francs as an indemnity. Freiburg, however,
quickly returned to its former allegiance, being
restored to Austria by the treaty of Rastadt, in
September, 1714. Harassed by these continual
sieges, it declined more and more rapidly, until,
with an expenditure exceeding its income by 5000
florins yearly, it owed a debt of 300,000 florins.
On the 17th of September, 1740, Marshal
Coigny, with a French army of 56,000 men,
crossed the Rhine, moved rapidly on Freiburg,
and invested it. The town was at that time
garrisoned by 8000 men under General von
Damnitz, and its bombardment took place under
the eye of Louis XV. The operations of the
besiegers were pressed so vigorously, that on the
26th of October a breach had been effected, and
on the 5th of November the garrison abandoned
the town to the French, and withdrew into the
castles. These, however, soon fell into the hands
of the French, who captured 212 guns, besides
eighty mortars and howitzers. They then razed
the fortifications, and blew up the three castles.
The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle again restored
Freiburg to Austria, when prosperity returned to
the town, and it has since persevered annually in
increasing its wealth and population. During the
French Revolution it suffered comparatively little.
By the peace of Presburg, in 1801, Freiburg was
annexed to the grand - duchy of Baden, whose
government used every exertion to promote its
interests. In 1848 it was once more exposed to
a partial bombardment. A body of revolutionists
marched into the town during Passion week, pro¬
claimed the republic, and barricaded the town
gates. But on Easter Monday it was invested by
the grand-ducal troops, by whom the insurgents
were speedily put to flight.
Freiburg consists of the town, properly so called;
of the Stephanie, formerly called the Schnecken (or
Snail) suburb; and of a new district dating from
1826, which seems to be generally known as the
Zaringian suburb. The cathedral, in boldness of
design and perfectness of execution, in solemnity
and grandeur of aspect, is inferior only to that of
Strassburg. We are speaking, be it understood, of
German cathedrals. Religious art has here pro¬
duced a masterpiece, which seems to be informed,
if we may venture on a somewhat fanciful expres¬
sion, with the enthusiasm of a devout and lofty
genius. It is surprising that an edifice, whose
gradual erection spread over a couple of centuries,
should everywhere exhibit so fine a harmony. Tt
was begun between the years 1122 and 1152, in
the reign of Conrad, duke of Zaringia. The nave,
the west aisle, the tower, and the porch date from
1236-72. The new choir was begun in 1354, and
not completed until 1513. In 1561 a portion of
the spire was destroyed by lightning, but it was
soon restored.
Built of red sandstone, which time and atmos-
61
THE RHINE VALLEY.
plieric influences have toned down sufficiently, the
cathedral of Freiburg is, unquestionably, a struc¬
ture of surpassing beauty. Its ground plan is
cruciform, and it occupies the centre of an open
area, in the direction of west to east. Its tower,
crowned by a pyramidal spire, is 340 feet in height.
The first stage forms a square ; the second, above
the gallery, a dodecagon, which quickly passes
into an octagon, the whole ending in an "octagonal
pyramid " of the most exquisite open work. The
western entrance, at the base of the tower, which
is of the same width as the nave, is enriched with
eight and twenty columns, each adorned with a
statue of admirable design and execution. The
gateway is divided into two by a solid column,
ornamented with a fine statue of the Virgin, and
covered with remarkable sculpture. Finally, a
bas-relief, inserted above the gate, represents, in
four tableaux, some Biblical incidents and scenes
from the life of our Saviour. The interior of the
minster, from end to end, is 460 feet in length.
The nave is divided from the aisles by six pillars
(each about six and a half feet in diameter) on
either side; and against these are erected, on
pedestals, statues of the Twelve Apostles. Nave
and aisles, taken together, measure ninety-five
feet across. These dimensions alone will enable
the reader to form some dim notion of the magni¬
ficence of the coup d'oeil which bursts upon the
spectator as he passes through the entrance door ;
but to realize the scene he must fill the windows
with richly painted glass, which sheds a " dim
religious light" on pavement and statue and
column, and embellishes each carved capital and
the sculptured balustrade carried along the side-
walls, with the rarest dyes, "gules and emerald
and amethyst."
The exterior of the cathedral, especially on the
south, is not less impressive than the interior. Its'
flying buttresses, its balustrades, its statues, its
niches and their Gothic dais, its curious and very
various spouts, its side doors, its atriums, its inter¬
minable rows of windows, its Gothic rosaces, its
carved pedestals, its abounding wealth of strange,
quaint, monstrous, and beautiful sculpture, all so
completely original, and, if we may use the ex¬
pression, individual, would furnish the stranger
with material for a whole day's investigation.
Worth visiting also, as Mr. Mayhew tells us, is
the Munster Platz, or Cathedral Square, for the
peculiarity of the costumes one sees congregated at
62
the spot. This, continues our authority, is the
principal market-place, and the head-dresses of the
peasants here are of the most peculiar character.
Most of the women wear two huge black ribbon
bows perched right on the crown of the head,
each bow being spread out fan-shape, and the
two together seeming like the enormous wings of
a gigantic black butterfly that has settled on the
top of the skull. This is the true Margravia,
or Breisgau fashion ; the Catholics wearing the
bows embroidered with gold at the back, and the
Protestants preferring them plain. Other women,
again, have straw hats of a most masculine shape,
poised as it were on the head, and bright red hand¬
kerchiefs tied over their ears, while long Swiss
tails hang down the back in double Chinese
fashion, and are tied with ribbon that reaches
literally down to the heels.
After the Cathedral, there are few buildings in
Freiburg which the visitor cares to see. The
Minster dwarfs as it were, and humiliates them.
Still the Ludwigs (Protestant) Church, built in
1827-38, is worth a visit. It occupies the summit
of a gentle elevation at the north end of the town,
in the Zaringian suburb.
Then, among the sights of the town are, the
archiépiscopal palace, east of the Kaufhaus; the
fifteenth century fountain, in the Kaiser-strasse; the
fountain - in the Fish Market, built in 1807, and
adorned with a statue of the founder of Freiburg,
Berthold III.; the university, erected in 1454,
and containing a valuable library of upwards of
120,000 volumes; the blind asylum; and the
palace of the grand duke. The university has
been rendered illustrious by the names of Capiton,
Erasmus, and Philip von Engen ; and in our own
day by those of Hug the orientalist, Rotteck the
historian, Welker the jurisconsult, and Beck and
Baumgarten the physicians. It has thirty-five
professors, and 228 students.
By way of the Hollenthal the traveller may pro¬
ceed from Freiburg to the Schauinsland or Erdkas-
ten, whose summit, 4200 feet above the sea-level,
commands the finest view in Baden; a view includ¬
ing not only the heights of the Black Forest, the
Kandel, the Feldberg, and the Belchen, and the
dim shadowy valleys which penetrate into their
recesses, but the rich plain of the Rhine, fertile,
sunny, and radiant, the Vosges, the mighty masses
of the Jura and the Alps, from the Glœrnisch and
the Tcedi to the Dent-du-Midi and the " monarch
FREIBURG TO
8TRASSBURG.
of the mountains," Mont Blanc. The centro of
this grand mountain chain is occupied by the white
peaks of the Bernese Alps.
FREIBURG TO OFFENBURG.
We may now resume our journey along the
Baden hank of the Rhine.
About three miles to the north lies the ruined
castle of the dukes of Zaringia or Zahringen, the
founders of the reigning family of Baden. It com¬
mands an attractive picture of the surrounding
■district of the Breisgau.
Passing Denzlingen, we soon come in sight of
Emmendingen, a town of 2170 inhabitants. The
only notable fact recorded in connection with it
is that the astronomer Kepler, and the antiquary
Schœpflin, were educated at its grammar-school.
From Emmendingen we make a detour to the
Hoehburg or Hochberg. The ruins are said to be
the most extensive in Germany. The castle was
founded by a family of the same name ; sustained
-a siege during the Peasants' War; was occupied
during the Thirty Years' War by the Margrave
George Frederick, fortified after the peace of West¬
phalia by Frederick VI., and dismantled by order
•of the great French war-minister, Louvois, in 1689.
Continuing our route, we leave on the left the
volcanic range of the Kaisersstuhl, and on the right
the undulating ridges of the Black Forest, as
we draw near to Riegel. From this station the
Kaisersstuhl—so called because the Emperor Ru¬
dolph of Hapsburg, in his hunting expeditions,
frequently rested on its summit—is usually visited.
The highest point is indicated by nine lime trees
(1950 feet). It lays bare to the eye the entire
•sweep of the Rhine, and of each side of its valley,
from Basel to Strassburg.
Crossing the Elz, we reach Kurzingen (popula¬
tion, 2313), which formerly belonged to Austria;
and crossing the Bleiche, we arrive at Herbolzheim
(population, 2063). Leaving Ringsheim on the
right, we come to Ettenheim (population, 2931),
at the mouth of the valley of the Undiz ; a place
of interest as the scene of the forcible arrest of the
young Due d'Engliien, on the 15th of March, 1804.
The summit of the steep conical Hohengerold
is crowned by the ruins of a castle, destroyed in
1697 by the French under the Marshal de Créqui.
The view from it is very beautiful, and the Rhine
valley is seen inclosed between the Vosges on
the west, and the Black Forest on the east, prior
to its escape into the fertile plains of Baden, Hesse
Darmstadt, and Rhenish Prussia.
Offenburg (with a population of 4408), is situ¬
ated at the mouth of the valley of the Kinzig, about
three miles above the junction of that river with
the Rhine. It was formerly a free imperial town,
but by the treaty of Presburg was ceded to Baden.
At the end of the principal street the English
visitor will be surprised to see a statue of the bold,
bluff, sturdy Elizabethan sea-king, Sir Francis
Drake, erected in 1583, apparently to commemorate
his introduction of the potato into Europe.
At the Appenweiler station, a mile beyond
Offenburg, a branch line strikes off on the left for
Kehl and Strassburg (we adopt the German ortho¬
graphy), while the main line descends the bank of
the Rhine to Carlsruhe, Mannheim, and Frankfort.
Kehl (population, 1903) attained a melancholy
celebrity in the late war, having been laid in
ruins by the batteries of Strassburg, during the siege
of the latter by the German army under General
Werder. It is situated at the confluence of the
Kinzig and the Schutter with the Rhine, and was
formerly an imperial fortress of some distinction.
The Rhine at this point is divided into two
branches by an island, on which stood the French
custom-house, and still stands the monument to
General Desaix. The island is connected with
the mainland on either side by a bridge of boats,
blown up in 1870. The railway is, or was, carried
across the river from Kehl to Strassburg by an
iron lattice bridge on four piers, erected in 1861.
This connecting line between the French and
German railways was opened on the 6th of April,
1861. It describes an immense curve around the
city, for it first proceeds towards Paris for three-
quarters of a mile, then connects itself with the
Baden Railway by a branch of 800 yards in length,
and follows up that of Basel for 2200 yards, as far
as Kœnigshofen. Beyond this village it assumes
a " separate existence," crosses the 111 and the
Rhone and Rhine Canal, and approaches the walls
of Strassburg. Skirting the cemetery of St.
Urbain, and passing the south side of the citadel,
it reaches the Porte d'Austerlitz station. On a
light girder bridge it traverses the Little Rhine,
opening up a view of the monument of General
Desaix on the Ile des Epis.
63
CHAPTER III.
THE CITY OF STRASSBURG, OR STRASBURG.
Strassburg, like most of the Rhenish cities, is of
Roman origin; like Kôln and Coblenz, Mainz,
Bingen, and Speier. It was the old Romano-
Celtic Argentoratum, and it is easy to understand
that to the warriors of Rome its position would
recommend itself as possessed of peculiar military
advantages. It is situated at the confluence of
the rivers 111 and Brieusch, about half a league
from the Rhine ; so as to hold the entrance to
the valleys of both rivers. Hence, its possession
has at all times been fiercely disputed by hostile
armies endeavouring to obtain command of the
Upper Rhine.
The strength of its fortifications, which were
designed by Yauban, may readily be inferred
from the resistance they offered, in 1870, to the
Prussian arms. The siege was gallantly main¬
tained; the defence was equally heroic; and the
inhabitants suffered terribly before General Uhrich
consented to relinquish the defence. The Prussian
artillery had not only reduced the outworks to ruins,
and effected a breach in the walls, but, at one time,
had poured shot and shell into the doomed city,
setting on fire the houses of inoffensive citizens, and
slaying women and children, the old and young,
the unarmed civilian as well as the soldier. For
six weeks Strassburg held out bravely ; but in the
end, General Uhrich having done enough for his
own fame, acted nobly in not prolonging a defence
by which the unarmed and feeble must have been
the principal sufferers. Happily, this terrible siege,
in all its wide-spread devastation, has left compara¬
tively uninjured the great pride, and boast, and
ornament of Strassburg; its famous Minster has
escaped the " storms of battle."
In outline as in details the cathedral of Strass¬
burg deserves nearly all the praise that has been
lavished upon it ; and it is certain that no man of
taste or fancy can look upon it without a very
powerful emotion of reverent admiration. The
spire rises 460 feet above the pavement ; that is,
one foot lower than the great Pyramid of Egypt,
104 feet higher than the cross of St. Paul's, 40 feet
higher than the steeple of St. Etienne at Vienna,
64
28 feet higher than St. Peter's at Rome, and 258
feet higher than the monument of London. A
doorway in the south side of the truncated tower
leads to its summit. The next chief point of inter¬
est is the western façade, whose delicate and yet
luxuriant beauty it would be difficult to overpraise ;
though we think it inferior to the corresponding
parts of the cathedrals of York and Exeter. The
effect has been compared to that of a netting of
detached pillars and arches thrown—we had almost
said spun—over the solid mass or body of the
cathedral. And delicate as are the mouldings and
sculptures, such is the hardness and excellent
preservation of the stone, that they preserve all
their original sharpness, and look " like a veil
of the finest cast iron." The window is circular,
and forty-eight feet in diameter.
After the spire and the west front, the principal
object of interest to the traveller is the clock, whose
origin dates as far back as 1352, in which year it
was set up in its place in the south transept, under
the auspices of Berthold de Buchek, then bishop
of Strassburg. It was divided into three parts,
of which the lowest exhibited a universal calendar.
In the middle was an astrolabe, and in the upper
section might be seen the figures of the Three
Kings and the Virgin, carved in wood. When the
hour struck the three kings bowed to the Virgin,
while a carillon chimed a lively air, and a cock
crowed and clapped his wings. In course of time,
however, this ingenious mechanism got out of order,
and in 1547 its repair was intrusted to Dr. Michael
Herr, Chretei Herlin, and Nicholas Prugnor, three
distinguished mathematicians. They died before
the work was finished, but it was continued by
Conrad Dasypodius, a pupil of Herlin, and com¬
pleted in four years. Thenceforth the clock went
merry as a marriage bell up to the year of the
great French Revolution, when it struck for the
last time, as if it felt it had been created in accord¬
ance with the " old order " of things, and was not
in harmony with " the new."
Nearly fifty years passed away before any
attempt was made to restore it to a working con-
WILLIAM MACKENZIE. LONDON. EDINBURGH & GLASCOW
STRASSBURG CATHEDRAL.
dition. Daring this time it fell into a state of
pitiable dilapidation, and when the mechanicians
came to examine it, they found that the works
were eaten up with rust and verdigris, and that
nothing could be done. At length, one Schwilgué,
an artist and mathematician of Strassburg—who
is still, or, at all events, was recently living—
undertook to repair, modify, and reinstate the clock;
which task, it is recorded, he commenced on June
24,1836, and completed in 1840. The mechanism
of the new clock was set up in the old framing,
the number of the figures having been increased,
and their appearance improved by jointed limbs.
The quarter chimes are struck by figures repre¬
sentative of the Four Ages of Man, which move in
a circle round the skeleton Time and his sweeping
scythe. The hour bell is struck by a winged
Genius, at the same moment that a figure of an
angel turns an hour-glass, through whose narrow
neck the sand continuously pours year after year.
Daily, at noon, a procession of the Twelve Apostles
wheels around a figure of the Saviour. Each one
in passing bends towards him, and he, when the
circuit is complete, extends his hands as if in the
act of blessing. During the procession a cock claps
his wings, opens his beak, and crows three times.
This singular and complex piece of mechanism
exhibits the month and the day of the month,
the sign of the zodiac, the Dominical letter, the
sidereal time, the Copernican planetary system,
and the precession of the Equinoxes; and the
works are elaborated with so much ingenuity, that
it also marks the 29th day of February in every
leap year. Moreover, the various phases of the
moon are shown, and the solar and lunar equations
for the reduction of the mean movements of the
sun and moon.
The façade of the cathedral is decorated by three
porticoes. The central, ornamented with columns
and with fourteen statues of the Hebrew prophets,
is both the grandest and the most beautiful ; though
its gate of bronze, covered all over with the richest
work, was melted down at the Revolution, converted
into coin, and is now replaced by one of wood.
The portico on the right hand is embellished with
statues of the Ten Virgins, the Bridegroom, and
Bride; that on the left, with figures of other
virgins treading under their feet the capital sins.
The tympana and pediments of all three portals are
filled in with the most exquisite sculpture; and
above, on the line where the second story com-
i
mences, are set the spirited equestrian statues of
Clovis, Dagobert, Rudolph of Hapsburg, and Louis
XIV. The latter is of modern workmanship, and
was not elevated to its present noble position until
1828. Also of modern workmanship and recent
erection are the statues, on a somewhat higher
level, of Pepin the Short, Charlemagne, Otho the
Great, and Henry the Fowler, each in his turn a
ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.
Above the central gateway shines the glorious
marigold window, which measures forty-three feet
in diameter, and is filled with glass restored by
Messieurs Ritter and Muller.
The north and south towers are each pierced
with a noble window, enriched by numerous
rosaces; and rosaces likewise embellish and beautify
the pediments of the side doors. Statues of the
apostles occupy a gallery raised above the great
central rose. Higher still stands the majestic
figure of our Lord, holding a cross and banner.
On each side of this same stage may be seen a
lofty ogival window behind a cluster of slender
shapely pillars.
The third stage is occupied, between the two
towers, by a massive belfry of late construction,
inclosing four bells, of which the heaviest, cast in
1427, weighs 9000 kilogrammes. This portion of
the façade was decorated in 1849 with a colossal
sculpture, representing the Last Judgment. The
entire story, except so far as the noble tower is
concerned, is surmounted by a platform, where a
small hut is erected for the keepers charged with
ringing the bells, and raising an alarm in case
of fire. From the north tower springs the miin-
ster, as it is called, or spire ; this is supported by
an octagonal tower; octagonal, yet, from a distance,
apparently square, because four of the sides are
concealed by winding staircases.
The spire is an eight-sided obelisk of the most
exquisite open work, consisting of six tiers of small
turrets, raised one above another in pyramid-fashion.
A miracle of art, from its surpassing delicacy and
admirable boldness! On the sixth tier or story
rests the lantern, to which eight open winding
staircases lead up ; and thence, by steps constructed
on the outside, the adventurous climber reaches the
crown. Higher still, above another opening, poeti¬
cally called " the rose," shoots the graceful spire in
the form of a cross, five and a half feet high ; finally,
this cross terminates in a bouton, 460 millimètres
in diameter, surmounted by a lightning-conductor.
65
THE RHINE VALLEY.
The south doorway consists of two semicircular
doors, and is ornamented with bas-reliefs and
statues. Two of these were carved by the firm
hand of Sabina von Steinbach, Erwin's daughter.
On the parvise in front stands a statue of Erwin,
executed a few years ago by M. Grass, the statuary
of the cathedral. The old north doorway is masked
by a façade, built in 1492 by Jacques de Landshut.
The nave, covered with a copper roof, which
suffered much during the great siege, is lighted by
great pointed windows, ornamented with rosaces.
Scarcely, indeed, is there a foot of stone which
does not exhibit some more or less conspicuous
effort of the carver's skill in statues, and gargoyles,
and shapely pinnacles.
We now enter the interior; and the imagination
recoils overpowered by the awful impression of
that lofty aisle, whose vaulted roof soars heaven¬
ward with all the elasticity and strength of a forest
arcade, and scarcely seems to lean on the double
row of clustered columns which supports it. Rich
glories dye the pavement ; streaming in through
many-coloured windows, which immortalize the
names of John of Kirchheim, John Markgraf,
Jacques Vischer, and the brothers Link. How
soft and sweet the light which shimmers through
each painted pane, and weaves a fine phantasma¬
goria of colour over wall and column ! The pulpit
is a masterpiece : it was carved in stone by Jolm
Hammern in 1406. The once-famous organ, built
by Andrew Silbermann in 1714, was destroyed in
the siege of 1870.
One of the columns supporting the roof of the
choir is composed of a sheaf or group of pillars.
It is known as the Angel's Column, and being of
comparatively recent date is popularly attributed
to Erwin of Steinbach. In the south transept,
opposite a statue of Bishop Werner, stands the
great clock which we have already described so
fully.
The apse, intended to serve as a sanctuary, is,
perhaps, too shallow. It is ascended from the
choir by a flight of steps. The crypt, restored
about eleven years since, contains a nave, a choir,
and two apses. At the entrance we pause to con¬
template a very ancient sculpture, representing our
Saviour seized by the Roman soldiers on the Mount
of Olives. The form of the pillars, the cubic capi¬
tals, the semicircular arches of the crypt, may be
accepted as proofs that it was erected early in the
eleventh century.
66
The chapel of St. Andrew, in the south aisle of
the choir, contains the tombs of several bishops.
Its columns and ornaments are very ancient.
In the chapel of St. John the Baptist, behind
the north aisle, is the superb Gothic monument
erected in honour of Bishop Conrad II., of Lich-
tenberg, who died in 1299. Near the entrance
to this chapel our attention will be arrested by the
baptistery, in stone, of Josse Dotzinger, of Worms;
died 1449.
The chapel of St. Catherine, in the right wing,
contains the tomb of a chevalier of Strassburg,
remarkable for the number and excellence of the
figures which decorate it, and for the singular
manner in which they are grouped.
The cathedral contains several paintings by
Strassburg artists ; among others, the Adoration of
the Shepherds, by Guèrin; the Entombment of
Christ, by Klein ; and the Ascension, by Heim.
In a little court behind the chapel of St. John
is the tomb of the sculptor Erwin, his wife, and
son. In the north side of the cathedral, the St.
Lawrence chapel is enriched with renovated sculp¬
tures, representing the martyrdom of the saints.
We now direct our steps to the Protestant
church of St. Thomas, which occupies the site
of a palace of the Frankish kings. After being
twice burned, and twice reconstructed, it was
completely rebuilt by Bishop Henry, in 1264.
Externally, its characteristic features are its towers ;
the west is partly built in the Byzantine style ;
the east, in the Gothic. In the interior we shall
find some admirable painted glass, and several
curious monuments ; among others, the celebrated
monument of the Maréchal de Saxe, the master¬
piece of the sculptor Pigalle, erected to the great
soldier's memory by Louis XV., in 1777. A
monument of very different character is the tomb
of Bishop Adeloch, with its curious sculptures.
It bears the date of DCCCXXX (830), but surely
this is somewhat apocryphal.
The other churches are those of St. Peter the
Elder (the most ancient in Strassburg, and easily
distinguished by the graceful Gothic spire which
crowns its dome); St.-Peter the Younger (built in
1030) restored in 1290); St. William, so named in
honour of William of Aquitaine, founder of the
monastic order of the Guillelmites (here are the
tombs of Counts Philip and Ulrich of Werden);
the Madeleine (the choir is surpassingly beauti¬
ful); and St. Stephen, a Byzantine building of
STRASSBURG.
the eighth century, which in its time lias played
many parts, having been a church, a storehouse,
a theatre, a tobacco manufactory, and again a
church.
The Académie Royale was founded in 1538 as
a Protestant school. In 1621 it was raised to the
rank of a university, but it was suppressed at the
Revolution. It was here that Goethe completed
his studies, and took his doctor's degree in 1771.
Indeed, the residence of the great German poet and
philosopher at Strassburg is one of the most inter¬
esting associations of the place.
The offices of the Prefecture are worth a word
of notice, on account of their own stately archi¬
tecture, and because they occupy the site of the
funeral pile on which ten thousand Jews were
burned, in 1349, because they refused baptism.
The founder of these buildings was François Joseph
Klinglin, and the date of their erection, the early
part of the eighteenth century.
Between the 111 and the south side of the cathe¬
dral stands the Château Imperial, formerly the
episcopal palace, and one of the stateliest piles in
Strassburg. Inthe same neighbourhood we find a rich
and striking Renaissance mansion, the Frauenhaus,
built in 1581. The chief object in its interior is a
staircase of singularly light and elegant construc¬
tion. Here are preserved the ancient plans, on
parchment, of the cathedral : the works of the old
astronomical clock ; fragments of the cathedral,
secured during its various alterations and repairs;
and a collection of plaster casts of the most re¬
markable sculptures.
Strassburg has long and deservedly been quoted
as a brilliant example of what may be done by
a liberal city for the education of its children.
Before the war it contained, besides its Academy,
an Imperial Lyceum,* a Protestant gymnasium,
thirty-six primary schools, and twenty-four chari¬
ties, supported by the town, and attended by 8000
pupils of both sexes ; a normal primary school for
schoolmasters ; a normal primary school for Protes¬
tant mistresses ; a municipal industrial school ; a
Jewish school; two institutions for the deaf and
dumb; Catholic seminaries: a Protestant semi¬
* The Lyceum was built in 1756, and occupies the site of the
hostelry of the Thiergarten, where Gutenberg made his first experi¬
ments in the art of printing.
nary ; schools of design ; a school of artillery ; two
schools to prepare young ladies for the work of
tuition; four intermediate schools, into which, at
a suitable time, the children passed from the char¬
itable asylums ; two evening schools for young
artisans ; a school of medicine ; and a conservatory
of music.
Our last journey conducts us to the Platz Kléber,
where the convent of the Cordeliers, and a tower
containing the archives and treasury of the city,
gave way in 1767-68 to a vast public edifice of
heavy design, formerly occupied by the governor's
staff. In the centre of the open area, on a pedestal
covered with inscriptions and vigorous bas-reliefs,
stands a bronze statue of General Kléber, executed
by Philippe Grass.
Besides Kléber, Strassburg gave Marshal Kel-
lermann to the French army. François Christophe
was born of an old and distinguished family, on
the 30th of May, 1735. Entering the army in
1752, he served with good repute in the Seven
Years' War," and in 1789, when the French revo¬
lution opened a career to men of talent, was a
maréchal de camp. In 1790 he obtained the mili¬
tary command of the departments of the Haut and
Bas Rhin, and early in 1792 attained the rank of
lieutenant-general.
Dumouriez, at the head of the main body of the
Frenoh army, was encamped at Grand Pré, in the
forest of Argonne, and gravely threatened by the
advancing Prussians. With a corps of twenty-
two thousand men Kellermann hastened to his
relief, and by a series of brilliant forced marches
gained Valmy, a strong position on the right of
Dumouriez. Here he was separated by a valley
or ravine from the heights of La Lune, on which
the Prussians were posted thrice as strong in
numbers. About eleven o'clock on the 20th of
September the latter assaulted in column, sup¬
ported by artillery, Kellermann's position. A fierce
struggle ensued, but the-brilliant manoeuvres of the
French general compelled the enemy to retire with
considerable loss. It is noticeable that this victory
was won on the day that monarchy was abolished
in France. Its importance was immense. It
saved the young republic from annihilation, and
strengthened the heart of the people in their reso¬
lution to defy the coalition of Europe.
67
CHAPTER IV.
STRASSBURG TO SPEIER.
left bank of the rhine.
There are no steamers navigating this portion of
the Rhine. The road from Strassburg is good, and
very agreeable. The railway lies further inland,
approaching very near the northern prolongation
of the Vosges, and connecting Haguenau and
Weissenburg, in France, with Landau, in Rhenish
Prussia. From Strassburg to Weissenburg the
distance is about forty-one miles.
At Vendenheim (population, 1362) we branch
off from the Paris Railway—which proceeds by
way of Nancy, Bar-le-Duc, and Châlons-sur-
Marne, to the " capital of civilization "—and strike
in a northerly direction ; passing Hserdt (popula¬
tion, 1700), and Bischwiller (population, 8780), on
the Moder. The latter is a busy and animated
town, with those tall shafts rising above its roofs
which invariably tell of commercial prosperity.
Traversing the " leafy shades " of the forest of
Haguenau, we arrive at Walburg, a village of 600
inhabitants, on the Eberbach. Here the church
is of great architectural interest. It belonged to
an ancient abbey of Benedictine monks, founded,
it is said, in the fifth century, and destroyed in
1525.
By way of Hoffen (population, 650) and Stunds-
bach (population, 750) we proceed to Wissembourg,
or Weissenburg, a town of 5000 inhabitants, on
the right bank of the Lauter, and at the base of the
last buttresses or spurs of the prolonged chain of
the Vosges. It was anciently one of the ten imperial
free towns of Elsass. Captured by Louis XIV.
in 1673, its possession was formally confirmed to
France by the peace of Ryswick. Here, in 1870,
the Prussians gained one of their earliest victories
over the French.
Beyond Weissenburg the railway crosses the
Lauter, an affluent of the Rhine, the " clear " river
which marks the boundary of Alsace, and enters
Germany in the territory of the Bavarian Palatinate.
Winden is the station for Bergzabern, a town
of 3000 inhabitants, and the junction point of the
68
branch-railway to Carlsruhe, which crosses the
Rhine at Maxau.
Passing Rohrbach, we quickly arrive at Landau
(population, 7500), on the Queich, a fortified
town and depot on the Germanic frontier. In
the thirteenth century it was an insignificant village.
In 1291 Rudolph of Hapsburg elevated it to the
rank of a town, which was soon, much to its mis¬
fortune, surrounded by fortifications. Thereafter
it became a military position of importance, and
from the fifteenth century its history has been aptly
described as a " succession of sieges, blockades,
bombardments, captures, and surrenders." During
the Thirty Years' War it was captured and pillaged
eight times by the troops of Count Mansfeldt, the
Spaniards, the Swedes, the Imperialists, and the
French. By the treaty of Westphalia it was made
over to France, who kept it for about three years.
In 1678 it fell into the hands of the duke of
Lorraine, but in the following year was recaptured
by the French, to whom it was confirmed by the
treaty of Ryswick. In the interval (1679-1691),
its fortifications had been strengthened by the
genius of Vauban, and the town nearly destroyed
by fire (1689). During the profitless War of the
Spanish Succession, its boasted impregnability was
disproved, and it capitulated on four different
occasions. In 1796 it was blockaded by the
allies; but the victory of Weissenburg, won by
Hoche and Pichegru, compelled them to raise the
siege, and thence, until 1815, it remained in the
hands of the French. By the treaties of Vienna
it was given, first to Austria, and afterwards to
Bavaria. Of late years its defences have been
greatly neglected. The view from the church
tower is extensive, and not deficient in the elements
of the picturesque.
From Landau we proceed to Madenburg and
Trifels, passing Arzheim, Ilbeseim, and Eschbach.
The Madenberg, or Madenburg, is the most
perfect castle in the Rheinpfalz, and notwithstand¬
ing its ruined condition impresses the mind of the
spectator by the singular dignity and magnificence
of its aspect. The date of its foundation is unknown,
RUINS OF THE MADENBURG.
and it first appears in history in the thirteenth
century as the seat of the count of Leiningen. It
was besieged, taken, and plundered by the Emperor
Frederick the Yictorious in 1470. In 1516 Ul¬
rich, duke of Wiirtemburg, sold it to the arch¬
bishop of Spires (or Speier), but its ecclesiastical
sanctity did not protect it from the insurgent
peasants in 1525. Though almost razed to the
ground, it sprang again into a splendid existence ;
again to be given up to the flames in 1552, by the
margrave of Brandenburg, surnamed Alcibiades.
Thrice, in less than a century, was the Madenburg
ruined and rebuilt. Next came the horrors of the
Thirty Years' War, and we read of it as alternately
in the possession of the troops of Mansfeldt (1622),
the French (1634), the Imperialists (1636), and
the French again (1644). By the peace of West¬
phalia it was restored to the archbishops of Speier.
It was once more restored, and on a very extensive
scale; but in 1680 the French attacked, captured,
and dismantled it. A stately ruin, it occupies the
crest of a considerable and well-wooded ascent,
and speaks with silent eloquence of the vicissitudes
it has undergone in the stormy past. From its
shattered battlements the traveller obtains one of
those wide, bright, varied, and historic pictures
which are met with nowhere else in such number
and splendour as along the banks of the German
river ; a picture including the grim mountains of
the Odenwald, the peaks of the Haardt, the irregu¬
lar summits of the Vosges, with all their changing
lights and shadows; the meanderings of the Rhine,
the cathedral spire of Strassburg, and the old his¬
toric cities of Mannheim, Speier, and Worms.
An extension of our journey as far as Trifels
will not fail to be of interest. The castle is now a
complete ruin ; it occupies, as its name implies, the
summits of three conical heights, the Hauptberg
(which is northernmost), the Anebos (to the south),
and Trifels (in the centre). The chief remains
now extant are those of a massive tower on the
Hauptberg, in whose subterranean dungeon, ac¬
cording to tradition, Richard Cœur de Lion was
imprisoned by Duke Leopold of Austria. In 1330
the castle of Trifels passed into the hands of the
Princes Palatine. It is situated about 1422 feet
above the sea-level. Even in its decay it is
gravely imposing, and it commands a prospect of
the richest and rarest character. On the adjoin¬
ing hill of Scbarfenberg rises a tower of 100 feet
in height.
After leaving Landau, and passing the stations
of Kerdningen and Edesheim, we arrive at Eden-
koben, an industrial town of 4500 inhabitants.
It is surrounded by extensive vineyards, but the
wine is of inferior quality. On an adjacent hill,
in the heart of vines and chestnut-trees, is situated
the modem royal villa of Ludwigshôhe, and above
it, on a higher eminence, bold and precipitous,
moulder the ruins of the old castle of Rippburg,
destroyed in the thirteenth century. To the
north of the town wells a mineral spring, the
Kurbrunnen.
From Edenkoben the traveller may repair to
the Kropsburg, the Maxburg, and the Kalmit ; or
may ascend, through the western valley of the
Modenbacher-thal, to the Steigerkoff, popularly
designated the Sclisenzel, whose summit, elevated
some 2100 feet above the sea, commands what
the guide-book calls a " magnificent panorama "
of the valley-plain of the Rhine, and the heights
which border on it.
The railway skirts the base of the Haardt
Mountains, whose peaks and ravines offer many
delightful vistas. On the opposite side, in clear
and sunny weather, the long blue line of the sum¬
mits of the Black Forest may be traced, like the
undulating crest of a distant wave.
Maikammer is a town of 3000 inhabitants. On
the right tower the massive and predominant
bulks of the Maxburg, tbe Kalmit, and the Krops¬
burg. All the land seems burdened with their
shadow, like a people lying under a great woe.
But as their noble outlines rise more and more
distinctly upon us, our heart seems to go forth
towards the mountains, and we become sensible
of their sublime associations of infinite silence and
solitude, of purity, and majesty, and power.
From St. Martin, a village about two miles
from Maikammer, the traveller most easily mounts
to the Kropsburg, i.e., the "fine view," a castle of
thirteenth century foundation, whose annals may
be summed up in a few pithy phrases ; it was fre¬
quently embellished and enlarged ; it escaped the
scourge of war; it did not escape the scourge of
fashion, for some caprice induced its ancient lords
to abandon and sell it, early in the present century.
Thereafter it was partly demolished to furnish
materials for the fortifications of Germersheim,
and now it is occupied as a workhouse or benevo¬
lent asylum.
Above Maikammer, where, let us note, the
69
THE RHINE VALLEY.
church contains a good altar-piece by some Ger¬
man artist, rises the Kalmit (2300 feet), the cul¬
minating point of the mountains of the Palatinate,
the Donnersberg alone excepted. An obelisk on
the summit was erected by the people of Maikam-
mer, in 1824, to King Maximilian Joseph.
The ascent of the wooded height of the Max-
burg (1020 feet) may be made either from Ober-
hambach, from Mittelhambach, or by a path which
skirts the southern acclivity.
The Maxburg, anciently known as the Ham-
bacher Schloss, the Kœstelberg, and Kestenburg,
is a stately, castellated pile, surmounted by a
square turreted keep, which owes its present name
to the circumstance that it was presented to King
Maximilian by his subjects, on the occasion of his
marriage to the Princess Mary of Prussia, October
12, 1842. It was then rebuilt on a magnificent
scale by the architect Voit, of Munich, and a
more splendid marriage-gift it would be difficult
to imagine. It is not only a noble and majestic
structure, with a richly-decorated interior, but it
commands a wide and richly-coloured view of the
mountains of the Haardt, and the beautiful valley-
plain of the Rhine.
When the ancient castle of the Maxburg was
founded, no German antiquary seems able to deter¬
mine. From the Roman remains which have
been discovered, it is allowable to suppose that
the site was once occupied by a Roman camp.
The castle afterwards erected on the same spot
belonged, from the year 1100 down to the epoch
of the French Revolution, to the cathedral-chapter
of Speier ; an instance of unbroken possession
very unusual in Germany, whose castles generally
changed hands once every half century. It was
taken and plundered by the peasants in 1525 ;
taken, plundered, and burned by the Margrave
Albert of Brandenburg in 1552. The bishop of
Speier showed no inclination to rebuild it, but
in the great war of the Spanish Succession the
French did what they could to complete its
destruction. At the date of the French Revo¬
lution it became national property; and in 1823
was sold, on condition that the purchaser should
not attempt to remove the ruins of the ancient
pile. Here, on the 25th of May, 1832, was held
the great popular demonstration of the Hambacher
Fest, when the enthusiasm of a crowd of German
students was fired by wild, vague ideas of consoli¬
dating German unity ; a task only to be success¬
70
fully accomplished, as we have seen, by "blood
and iron."
Returning to Maikammer, we continue our rail¬
way route to Neustadt, sometimes called Neustadt
an der Haardt, to distinguish it from other towns
of the same name. It is a busy commercial and
agricultural town, pleasantly situated at the foot
of the well-wooded and vine-clad slopes of the
Haardt mountains, and on the Rehbach, a small
affluent of the Rhine. It forms the key of a
valley which the conical bulk of the Kœnigsberg
apparently closes. On the height immediately
above the town rise the ivy-slirouded ruins of the
Castle Winzingen, or Haarsten Schloss, formerly
the residence of the Electors Palatine, but reduced
to decay in the Thirty Years' War and the War
of Succession. The ruins are now attached to a
handsome villa, and surrounded by blooming gar¬
dens, which command a view of the Rhine as far
as Heidelberg.
The church of Neustadt is a stately Gothic
structure, with massive towers, completed in the
fourteenth century. It contains some interest¬
ing monuments of the Pfalzgraves, especially of
Rudolph II. and Robert I., and some remains of
ancient mural paintings in the fore-court, called
the " Paradise."
In the neighbourhood of the town are the ruins
of several castles, bearing mute and yet eloquent
testimony to the desolation which a long series of
wars effected in this fertile and beautiful region.
The Wolfsburg was destroyed in the Peasants'
War. Elmstein recalls the bitter memories of the
Thirty Years' War. Some extensive quarries are
here excavated in the Bunter sandstein and Mus-
chelkalk ; the latter, it is said, is rich in fossils.
LEFT BANK OF THE RHINE—LAUTERBURGr TO
SPEIER, BY RAIL.
The reader will remember that the route we have
described in the preceding pages lies inland, at
some miles from the Rhine, but forming the direct
railway route from Strassburg to Neustadt. We
now proceed to notice briefly a course that hugs
more closely the bank of the great river.
From Strassburg the traveller makes his way to
Lauterburg, by road, passing Germersheim, Fort
Louis, Seltz, and Bernheim, and obtaining many
glimpses of the broad and freely flowing Rhine,
and of the picturesque wooded islands which
occasionally diversify its channel. At Fort Louis,
HANAUERL2ENDCHEN.
twenty-seven miles from Strassburg, a fino view
of the celebrated spire of the cathedral may be
obtained in clear weather. At a place called
Knielingen, the railway to Carlsruhe is carried
across the Rhine on a bridge of boats.
Below Lauterburg, a small fortified town of no
great importance, and of less interest, the Lauter
enters the Rhine.
À little lower down the river is crossed by
another bridge of boats, and we arrive at Germers-
heim, a town of even less interest than Lauterburg,
squalid, mean, and dirty, but surrounded by for¬
tifications of great strength, which have been
erected since 1834. This town was founded by
the Emperor Rudolph of Hapsburg, who died
here in 1291.
The country between Germersheim and Speier
calls for no remark.
EIGHT BANK OF THE RHINE.—KEHL TO SPEIER.
From Kehl it will be convenient for the reader
to return with us to Offenburg, and thence to
descend the right bank of the Rhine by railway,
visiting Rastadt (and Baden-Baden), Carlsruhe,
and Philipsburg.
Passing the Appenweiler Junction, and the sta¬
tion at Renchen, we cross the Knisbis, and arrive
at Achern, where there is a statue of Leopold,
grand-duke of Baden, in the market-place.
At Sarsbach, two miles distant on the left, an
obelisk of granite was erected by the French in
1829, to mark the spot where Marshal Turenne
was killed by a cannon-ball, while reconnoitring
the imperial army, July 27, 1675. Three pre¬
vious monuments erected to his memory had been
successively destroyed.
M. Charles Lallemand, in his elaborate work,
"Les Paysans Badois," says, the vast plain which
extends from the Rhine to the Black Forest, from
Kehl to Appenweiler, has preserved its traditional
costume and ancient manners. The Badish Hanau,
he adds, is a kind of preface to the Black Forest.
On quitting Kehl, and speeding along the branch
line which, at Appenweiler, joins the great Baden
railway, have you not a score of times admired
those fertile levels, covered with crops, and
meadows, and woods, which stretch afar on either
hand, some with pretty villages where the peasant
inhabitants move to and fro in a garb so picturesque
and so elegant, that they seem the actors in an
immense comic opera given by nature on this
charming stage? And on Sunday especially, oh,
then, nothing is wanting ! neither idylls, nor merry
ballads, nor harmonious choruses. So well defined,
so distinct, and so individual is this picturesque
country, in the heart of the uniformity which has
crept over the surrounding plain, that the Badish
people and writers preserve to it its ancient name
of Hanauer-Lseudchen, though it has been formally
incorporated into the Mittel-Rheinreis, or u Middle
Rhine-circle." Ilanauer-Laondchen (Laendchen
being the diminutive of Land) signifies, the " little
country of Hanau." The word seems to breathe an
atmosphere of purity, freshness, and tenderness ; it
testifies to a love of country which is worth its
weight in gold to artists, authors, and tourists.
We now come to Ottersweier, a town of nearly
2000 inhabitants, to the right of the railway, and
close to the mouth of the Neusatzerthal, a pleasant
and picturesque valley, watered by the Ambach.
At about two miles from Ottersweier is the Hubbad,
erected in 1811, after the plans of Weinbrenner.
The thermal spring here is said to be efficacious in
certain diseases of the stomach and bowels, in gout
and rheumatic affections. In the neighbourhood
lies the ruined castle of Windeck.
At Biihl, our next resting place, the most inter¬
esting object is the venerable church, the patriarch
of the Badish churches in this part of the plain.
The town has a population of 3000, and seems
busy and prosperous ; its fertile environs have been
poetically but not untruly designated, das goldene
Land. A stream called the Biihlotbach here flows
down from the romantic valley of Biihl, which, by
way of Herrenweise, communicates with the not
less romantic valleys of Geroldsau and the Murz,
and is famous for its vineyards and the " brave red
wine " known as the Affenthaler.
Behind Steinbach, the hill of Yburg is crowned
by the ruins of an old castle.
Leaving Sinzheim, a town of 2500 inhabitants,
behind us, we cross the Oos rivulet, and speedily
run into Oos junction, where we change carriages
for one of the liveliest, gayest, and most beautiful
of the German cities, the capital of the grand-
duchy, Baden-Baden.
BADEN-BADEN.
The population of Baden-Baden is about 8000 ;
that is, the permanent population ; for the visitors
in the season raise the total to 50,000.
Baden-Baden, the Aurelia Aquensis of the
71
THE RHINE VALLEY.
Romans, the queen of continental watering-places,
is situated in a fair and well-wooded valley,
watered by the Oos, at a distance of about six
miles from the Rhine. It lies, in the form of an
amphitheatre, on the slope of a mountain, whose
summit is crowned by the old castle of Baden. It
may not be, as some enthusiastic travellers assert,
the most beautiful spot in Europe; but, as a
French writer remarks, it offers the greatest number
of pleasant walks, especially for those who have
eyes to see, and who love the bright long vista of
fairy landscape and the deep shadows of wooded
masses. If the forest were less luxuriant, and the
waters more copious, the most enthusiastic of land¬
scape amateurs would find nothing to displease
them in this delectable region. And even as it is,
there is such a freshness in the meadows, such a
fulness and variety of vegetation, such a wealth
of glowing colour in the picture, such a splendour
and boldness of forms, that you can never weary
of admiring them. Every day reveals to you
a charm, a beauty previously unsuspected. In
whatever direction you bend your steps, some
secret surprise awaits and delights you.
And now for a glance at the history of Baden-
Baden.
Note, as a preliminary, that the Oos or Oes
(Oosbach), the comparatively insignificant stream
which waters Baden, formerly separated the country
of the Franks from that of the Allemanni. It still
gives to this part of the grand-duchy—now a
member of the North Germanic Confederation—
the name of Oosgau or Usgau.
The origin of Baden, we are told by a learned
authority, is referred to the most ancient times ;
and of all the towns on the right bank of the
Rhine it has the oldest traditions, extending even
as far back as the days of the Roman king, Tar-
quinius Priscus, when a Celtic colony is said to
have settled here. At all events, it is certain that
its sanative waters were soon discovered, and that
they grew into repute among the Romans. Ac¬
cording to an ancient monument which was dis¬
covered some years ago, its Latin designation was
Aurelia Aquensis; or, more correctly speaking, it
would seem to have been called Civitas Aquensis
by its founder, Augustus, and Aurelia by a later
benefactor, Caracalla. It was also visited by Tra¬
jan (who greatly improved it), Hadrian, and An¬
toninus. It was connected by a military road
with Argentoratum (Strassburg), Salatio (Selz),
72
and Pforzheim ; and was the headquarters, in suc¬
cession, of the third, fifth, eighth, and fourteenth
legions. Wine was first grown here in the reign
of the Emperor Probus.
Having been destroyed by the Allemanni, Baden
disappears from the page of history for some cen¬
turies. When we again hear of it, it is in the
reign of Dagobert I., king of the Franks. From
the Franks it passed to the monks of Weissen-
burg, the duchy of Suabia, the house of Zsehringen,
Henry the Lion (by marriage), and Frederick Bar-
barossa (by exchange). The red-bearded emperor
bestowed it as a fief on the Margrave Hermann
III. His successor, Hermann IV., was the first
who resided in the ancient castle. The town now
rose from its ruins, became the capital of the
margraviate, and in 1243 possessed, as we read, a
church. It was also surrounded by fortifications,
which proved of sufficient strength, in 1330, to
repulse the troops of Berthold, bishop of Strass¬
burg. In 1453 the church was converted into a
" collegiate foundation." The Margrave Christo¬
pher forsook the residence of his ancestors, and
in 1475 erected the new castle on the height
immediately above the town. By this time the
mineral waters had attained so great a renown,
that as many as three thousand bathers yearly
visited them. It is recorded that during the pre¬
valence of the plague in 1551, the waters were
allowed to overflow and course through the streets ;
and owing, it was supposed, to the beneficial in¬
fluence of their vapour, the pestilence never smote
the town. It was less fortunate in its efforts to
escape the plague of war. During the protracted
struggle of the Thirty Tears' War it suffered
severely. In 1689 it was burned by the French
under General Duras ; its walls were dismantled,
and the tombs of its margraves in the cloister
church sacrilegiously broken open. After this
event, the margraves retired to Rastadt, where they
built a castle. In 1771 the branch of Baden-Baden
became extinct in the person of the Margrave
Augustus, and the line of Baden-Durlack inherited
the ancestral territories.
The prosperity of Baden as a watering-place
really dates from the epoch of the French Revolu¬
tion, when numerous wealthy émigrés settled in its
pleasant environs, and the fame of its baths spread
among the higher classes of Europe. It was
largely benefited by the Congress of Rastadt, for
during the eighteen months its deliberations lasted,
BADEN-
-BADEN.
the different ambassadors gladly quitted the grim
fortress to take up their abode in this attractive
town. To meet the ever-increasing demand, new
edifices sprung "like exhalations" from the ground;
bath-houses, palaces, theatres, hotels. In 1822
was built the new " Conversation-house." At this
date rouge-et-noir began to flourish, and Chabert
paid 25,000 florins a year for the privilege of
keeping a gaming-table. Purafit, who succeeded
him in 1838, found it profitable to increase this
abominable tribute to 45,000 florins.
For the idler and the adventurer Baden will lose
its principal attraction when the public gaming¬
tables are suppressed throughout the new German
empire; but as it will still retain its delightful
scenery and its baths, it is reasonable to expect
that its prosperity will not be seriously affected.
The first visit of the " stranger in Baden " will
be paid, we doubt not, to the Conversations-Haus
and Trinkhalle. This splendid edifice is situated
on the left bank of the Oosbach, at the foot of the
Bentig, and the high hills of the Friesenberg, whose
shady woods and verdant leas have been disposed
in a kind of enchanted garden for the behoof of
visitors. The building was erected in 1824 by
Weinbrenner, but was considerably enlarged and
embellished in 1854. It is now 350 feet in length,
and has a portico of Corinthian columns. The
interior is very richly, and yet elegantly, decorated.
From the hall we pass into the assembly room,
which is 150 feet long by 50 feet wide. Another
magnificent chamber serves as the ball room (the
" Salon des Fieurs "), and on either side are several
smaller apartments, all decorated by Ciélli and
Séchan, and splendidly fitted up. The two wings
are occupied as follows ; on the right, by the Res¬
taurant; on the left, by several new and partly
private salons, namely, a ball and concert room, a
"gallery of flowers," a "Louis Quatorze" salon,
and a boudoir à la Loreis. ... At the end
of the left wing are Marx's library and reading-
rooms.
In front of the Conversations-Haus, beyond a
wide and open area reserved for promenades, and
furnished with seats, extends a beautiful verdurous
lawn, on either side of which a " shady lane,"
bordered with noble trees, leads into the Lichten-
thal road. The appearance of a fashionable bazaar,
or fancy fair, is given to this agreeable promenade
by the numerous shops, supplied with all kinds of
objets de luxe ou de nécessite, which you encounter
k
at every step. Of these objets, decidedly the most
curious and the most artistic are the wood-carvings
executed by the peasants of the Black Forest.
The Promenade, properly so called, stretches in
front of the Conversations-Haus as far as the left
bank of the Oosbach. At certain hours of the
day all the fashionable world of Baden gathers at
this rendezvous, where they can flirt and gossip to
their hearts' content, while looking out upon one
of the fairest prospects imaginable. The " season "
begins on the 1st of May, and ends on the. 31st of
October, but even during the winter Baden is not
wholly deserted.
North of the Conversations-Haus, and nearer the
Oos, rises the new Trinkhalle or Pump-room, be¬
gun in 1839, from the plans of Hiibsch, and com¬
pleted in 1843, at a cost of 229,000 florins. It
consists of a colonnade or portico, about 270 feet
in length by 40 feet in width, and of a main
building whose entrance is situated in the centre
of the colonnade; this colonnade, we may add,
being composed of sixteen Corinthian pillars of
white sandstone. Fourteen commonplace frescoes,
by Gœtzenberger, the director of the Pinacotheca
of Munich, form the principal decorations. They
represent certain Black Forest legends, but are
mean in conception and indifferent in execution.
Over the main entrance is a good sculpture, by
Reich of Hiifingen, representing the nymph of the
spring surrounded by a crowd of eager worship¬
pers. Above the north and south doors, inside,
the designs are intended to illustrate the subjuga¬
tion of Germania by the Romans, the Romans at
Baden, and their expulsion from the city; the
triumphal entrance into Rastadt of the Margrave
Louis, the conqueror of the Turks; and the original
sketch of Carlsruhe. The adjoining apartment
is the Pump-room properly so called ; the mineral
water is brought here in pipes from the natural
springs.
The temperature varies from 37° to 54° R. The
springs, thirteen in number, emerge from rocks at
the foot of the castle terrace, called Schnechengarten,
behind the parish church ; this part of the town is
known by the name of " Hell," and in the coldest
weather snow never rests upon the ground. A
building in the form of a temple covers the prin¬
cipal spring (" Ursprung"), one of the hottest
as well as most copious sources. The vault of
masonry inclosing it is of Roman construction, and
in the temple are preserved several relics of ancient
73
THE RHINE VALLEY.
sculpture, such as votive tablets and altars to Juno,
Mercury, and Neptune (the patron-god of Baden).
The Ursprung yields 7,345,440 cubic inches of
water in twenty-four hours.
The other springs are The Iloellensprung, or
Hell-spring, temperature, 52° R. ; the Briililquelle,
or Scalding-spring, temperature, 50° 5' ; the Jews'
spring, temperature, 54°; the "Ungemaeh," tem¬
perature, 52° 3' ; the Murrquelle, temperature,
50° 6'; the Fettquelle or "Fat Spring," tempera¬
ture, 51°. There are also eight hot springs called
the Biitte ; ten springs called the " cool fountain,"
37° 5' and 43° T R. ; and a 'chalybeate spring.
The Baden waters are recommended as beneficial
in rheumatic and neuralgic affections, diseases of
the skin and stomach, and sores and old wounds.
They are both diaphoretic and diuretic, laxative
and tonic; and are taken both externally and
internally.
Of late years a new attraction has been added
to the many attractions of this attractive watering-
place ; and Baden has its Races. It cannot be said
that the course is very good, that the horses are of
the best blood, that the stakes are hotly contested,
or that, in a word, the glories of Ascot and New¬
market are reproduced in this little German town ;
but the scenes accompanying or originating in
them—the outward procession and the homeward
progress—are singularly characteristic and enter¬
taining, and may be regarded as full-coloured
pictures of "Life in Baden."
The Grand-duchess Stephanie—that is, in the
Scottish peerage, the dowager duchess of Hamilton
—has a superb palace near the Leopolds-platz ;
it was erected in 1809 from the designs of the
architect Weinbrenner. In the Leopolds-platz
was raised, in 1861, the bronze statue of the late
Grand-duke Leopold, by Xavier Reich ; here com¬
mences a street called the Graben, ornamented
with a central row of chestnut trees, and lined by
splendid hotels and mansions. The Graben leads
to what the French call l'allee des Soupirs (the
Seufzeraller), and to the old Gernsbach road.
The parish church (Pfarr - Kirche, or Stifts-
Kirche) was reconstructed in 1453, destroyed by
the French in 1680, rebuilt in 1753, and restored
in 1837 and 1861. Here are buried many of the
margraves of Baden, and the choir contains their
monuments ; most of them in the rococo style, and
covered with elaborate but unmeaning ornaments.
They begin with Bernhard I., who died in 1631.
74
To the left of the high altar are the tombs of
Edward Fortunatus, died 1600; Bernhard III.,
died 1537: Friedrich, bishop of Utrecht, died
1515 ; Leopold William, died 1671, a great soldier
in an age of great soldiers, and the comrade of
Montecuculi and Stahremberg. Further off are
those of Christopher I., died 1527, and his consort
Ollibe; and of Jacob II., who died in 1511 as
elector of Trêves, and whose corpse was removed
hither from Coblenz in 1808. To the right of the
altar stands the tomb of the Margrave Louis
William, who died at Rastadt in 1707. He was
a fellow-soldier of Prince Eugene, Marlborough's
companion-in-arms, and commanded in twenty-
seven campaigns without sustaining a single defeat.
The monument is by Pigalle, the sculptor who
executed the monument of Marshal Saxe we have
mentioned at Strassburg. As a whole, it is heavy
and tasteless.
In the rear of the Trinkhalle stands a Russo-
Greek chapel, built by Prince Michel Stourdza as
a mausoleum for his son. The interior is lavishly
enriched with paintings. The building is rather
quaint than graceful.
Between the Conversations-Haus and the Lich-
tenthal road is situated the massive and richly
decorated pile of the theatre, designed by Conteau,
a French architect, and opened in 1862. Among
the ornaments of the interior, the best are the
busts of Auber and Rossini, by Dantan, and of
Beethoven and Mozart, by Perrault. The theatre
fills an important place in Badish sociology. The
representations are well attended ; the company is
good, the music excellent, and the plays are well
mounted.
We have now exhausted all the sights of the
town but one : the Neue Schloss, or New Castle,
the summer residence of the grand-duke of Baden ;
and called "new" for the same reason that America
is called the New World, to distinguish it from the
Old. The more ancient pile, which was inhabited
down to 1471, is situated on the very summit of
the hill ; the new castle occupies a lower, but still
commanding level. It was burnt and ruined by
the French in 1689, and it is to be regretted that
the grand-duke considered it necessary to rebuild
so hideous a structure.
We do not visit it, however, from any architec¬
tural or artistic propensities, or with any intention
of enjoying the prospect it commands, but simply
on account of the very curious and remarkable
CASTLE OF BADEN.
dungeons beneath it. To these we slowly and
painfully descend by a stair which winds under a
tower on the right-hand corner of the inner court,
through an ancient bath of Roman construction.
This entrance has been broken through in modern
times ; originally, the dungeons were only access¬
ible from above, by a perpendicular shaft running
through the centre of the building, and still in
existence. The visitor, in passing under it, can
scarcely discern the daylight at the top. The old
tradition asserts that prisoners, bound fast in a
chair and blindfolded, were lowered by a windlass
into these dim, chill, mysterious, and appalling
vaults and corridors, which it is not improbable
the Romans excavated out of the solid rock. Each
cell closes with a massive slab of stone, nearly a
foot thick, and twelve to twenty hundred pounds
in weight, moving on a pivot, and ingeniously
fitted.
In one chamber, loftier than the other, and
called the Rack Chamber (Fotter Kammer), stood
the dread instruments of torture; and a row of
iron rings, still rusting in the wall, suggests most
painful recollections of those dark and troublous
times when the power of the oppressor was as yet
unbroken. An adjoining passage contains the
trap-door called the " Virgin's Kiss " (baiser de la
vierge). The condemned was forced to kiss an
image of the Virgin, when the trap-door giving
way he fell headlong to a great depth below, on a
machine armed with knives and spikes, which,
slowly revolving, tore him to pieces. Not even
the Oriental imagination, we think, could conceive
of a punishment more diabolically cruel.
The last and largest of these vaults is the " Hall
of Judgment," where, on stone benches, sat the
members of the terrible Vehmgericlit, or Secret Tri¬
bunal, and pronounced the terrible sentences from
which there was no appeal. We have no space
to dwell on the dark romantic story of this secret
court ; nor is it necessary, since the reader will
find it dramatically related by Goethe in his
"Goetz von Berlichingen," and Sir Walter Scott
in his " Anne of Geierstein."
A road beginning behind the new castle winds
up the richly wooded hill to the ruins of the more
ancient pile [das Alte Schloss), the earliest residence
of the margraves of Baden, where they sat secure,
and looked down contemptuously on the toiling
and moiling world below. It is a complete ruin,
having been destroyed by the French during their
ravages of the Palatinate. The view from the
battlements of the square tower is simply a vista
into fairy land : on one side rise the darkly wooded
hills of the Black Forest, contrasting vividly with
the bright fresh verdure of the valleys they inclose ;
while the foreground is filled up with innumerable
villages, whitely-gleaming spires, convents, farms,
and mills, clustering on the banks of winding
streams; while, on the other side, the green de¬
clivities slope gently into the plain of the Rhine,
and against the dark-blue sky breaks the sharp
irregular outline of the Vosges.
Proceeding from the Alte Schloss, it is usual to
visit the ruins of Ebersteinburg, near the village
of the same name. These ruins are situated on a
kind of rocky promontory, and seem to occupy the
site of a Roman watch-tower, built, perhaps, in the
third century. The masonry dates from the time
of the Frankish emperors to the fourteenth century.
From this castle a powerful family took their name,
who afterwards, in the thirteenth century, removed
to Neu Eberstein (or the "Boar Stone"). In a
feud with Eberhard the Weeper, of Wiirtemburg,
in 1337, the castle was burnt. Half a century
later, the lands of the Ebersteins were sold to the
margraves of Baden.
The castle was then rebuilt and enlarged, and
for a century and upwards was the residence of
one or other of the principal vassals of the mar¬
graves. But since 1573 it has been deserted, and
nature has been left to embellish the ruined strong¬
hold writh her favourite growth of ivy and wild
flowers.
The prospect from the ruins is bold, extensive,
and animated; especially towards the rich and
radiant valley of the lower Murz, and the pretty
villages of Kuppenheim, Bischweier, Rothenfels,
Gaggenau, and Ottenau.
To the east of Baden rise the Great and Little
Staufenberg. The former, 2240 feet above the
level of the sea, is also called the Mercury moun¬
tain ; on its summit a Roman votive stone having
been discovered, bearing a rude sculpture of
Mercury with his caduceus and ram.
In 1837 a prospect tower, seventy-five feet high,
was erected here by the Grand-duke Leopold.
From' Baden some agreeable excursions may
be made in or about the Rhine valley, to which
we shall briefly refer.
It is usual for the stranger at Baden to wander
as far as Stephanienbad, where there are mineral
75
THE RHINE VALLEY.
waters and chalybeate waters, and to visit the
monument to the poet Schiller, a mass of rock,
surrounded by a pleasant shrubbery. He will
find something to see at Lichtenthal. In the
first place, its situation at the foot of the Kloster-
berg, and at the junction of the Oos with the
Grobach, which comes sparkling and splashing
down the pleasant vale of Geroldsau, is very
pleasant. Next, there is an old convent, a very
old convent, of Cistercian nuns, who renew their
vows every three years. The vicissitudes which
this convent has survived are remarkable. It
was founded by Ermengarde, widow of Hermann
V., in 1145 ; endowed by her sons and successors ;
and thus was raised into a position of repute and
influence. In 1689 the French, under Duras,
threatened to burn it, but it was saved at the
intercession of one of the nuns. When the total
suppression of monastic establishments took place,
it lost all its fair estates ; but a small annual
pension was granted to its nuns, which is shared
among about sixteen recipients.
There are two churches, and each has something
to boast of : the larger, of the relics of the
martyr-saints Pius and Benedict, with their skele¬
tons attired in the most magnificent costume : the
smaller (and more ancient), which was restored
some fifteen years ago, and embellished with richly
painted windows, of the tombs of several mar¬
graves of Baden-Durlaeh, and the quaint pictures
of Hans Baldung Griin.
The Baden margraves descend to Rudolph VI.,
sumamed the Long, who lies on a stone bed of
state, attired in full armour, in the middle of the
chapel.
On the Rastadt road, about six miles from Baden,
11 in the green obscurity of a little park," is situ¬
ated the grand-ducal summer palace, or lodge, called
" the Favourite." Dr. Gaspey, in his volume on
the " Upper Rhine," thus describes it :—It was
built, he says, at a very considerable expense, in
1753, by the Margravine Sybilla Augusta, a prin¬
cess of Lauenburg, and widow of Prince Ludwig,
renowned for his successes against the Turks. In
the evening of her days, when her eldest son had
attained his majority, she withdrew from the pomp
of a court life to this secluded residence." In the
centre of the château a richly ornamented circular
saloon, several stories high, is surrounded by a
gallery, and receives its light from above; the
design is not unlike that of the reading-room of
76
the British Museum. The various apartments are
cumbrously ornamented in the style of Louis
Quatorze. In one of the side rooms the walls
exhibit a crowd of the most curious fishes, flowers,
and birds—you would suppose them to have sprung
from the fancy of a Chinese artist!—and, in another,
you may see the portraits of the margravine and
her husband in seventy-two different dresses ; while
a third is more sensibly embellished with the minia¬
tures of artists and men of letters of every country.
A fourth apartment is wholly and truly in the
Chinese style, with mimic pagodas and other in¬
congruities; and a fifth bears witness, in its abun¬
dant embroideries, to the industry, if not the taste,
of the margravine and her ladies. Most remarkable
of all is the so-called " Show Kitchen," where a
vast quantity of antiquated culinary apparatus, and
a whole succession of dinner-services in Dutch
porcelain, in the form of stags, birds, fishes, and
garden fruits, never fail to interest the curious
visitor.
Opposite the villa, in the densest shades of the
park, stands a small quaint hermitage, and here,
during Lent, the builder of the Favourite was wont
to withdraw from her voluptuous life to undergo
her self-imposed penances. She wore a horse-hair
chemise and a prickly belt; and she slept on a
straw-mat. The peasants, therefore, looked upon
the margravine as a saint, though, in truth, she
drank of the cup of pleasure to the dregs.
We shall now carry the reader to the south of
Baden, and around the steep mountains of the
Yburg (1767 feet), whose summit is crowned
by the ruins of an old, old castle. Oh, what a
glorious prospect do we enjoy from this lofty
position ! Yonder flows the noble river, winding
through what is truly " enchanted ground "—
through fields and groves, orchards, gardens, and
vineyards, most pleasant to the eye, and dear to
the memory from their legendary and historical
associations. The ramparts of the castle over¬
hang the very brink of the abrupt ascent ; one of
the towers, and a gateway, are also in excellent
preservation. The story runs that the Margrave
Edward Fortunatus coined bad money here, a
most unprincely occupation ; but, mayhap, the
sole foundation for the story is the fact that his
chemists, Pestalozzi and Muscaletta, had a labora¬
tory in the castle, for the investigation, in all pro¬
bability, of alchemical mysteries. Innumerable
ghost stories, it is said, are connected with the
RASTADT.
ruins ; originating, most likely, in the circumstance
that all the storms coming from the direction of
Strassburg pour their fury in the neighbourhood
of the Yburg.
Yonder densely-wooded mountain, to the north
of the Yburg, is known as the Fremersberg, and is
only twelve feet lower than its castle-crowned rival.
Some years ago its summit was occupied by a con¬
vent ; on the site of the convent now stands, or did
lately stand, a small inn.
Many other places and buildings of interest,
many picturesque villages, and beautiful land¬
scapes, are to be found in the neighbourhood of
Baden ; but as they mostly lie beyond the valley
of the Rhine, we shall not introduce them into our
present description.
EASTADT.
We now proceed to Rastadt, one of the most
celebrated fortresses on the German frontier. It is
by no means a lively or picturesque town, and
unless the traveller has military proclivities, he
will find in it but few materials of interest. Its
defensive works have been completed since 1840,
under the direction of military engineers.
It is situated between Oos and Carlsruhe, at the
confluence of the Oos and Murg, and on a kind of
table-land which slopes gently towards the north¬
east. It is built with great regularity, most of its
streets forming compact parallelograms, and has a
population of about 7000 souls.
Rastadt was burned by the French in 1689, and
rebuilt by Louis of Baden in 1701 ; it continued
to be the residence of the margraves until the ex¬
tinction of their line.
To the north of the town, and on a commanding
height, rises the palace or castle founded in 1701
by the Margrave Louis William, the conqueror of
the Turks, and the Margravine Sybilla Augusta,
of whom we have already spoken. It was designed
on the same plan as Versailles, but never completed;
and a portion of it is now used as a barracks, while
the park serves as a parade and exercise ground.
It formerly contained a splendid collection of
Turkish arms, housings, saddles, and standards,
but this was pillaged and destroyed by insurgents
in 1849. The apartments are decorated in the
Louis Quatorze style. Above the main building
rises a belvedere, or prospect tower, surmounted
by a copper-gilt statue of Jupiter.
In this castle were held the two celebrated con¬
gresses of Rastadt; the first in 1713-14, and the
second in 1797-99. The former brought to a close
the great War of Succession, which had involved
nearly all Europe in" flames, and in which the
military glory of England was raised to a pro¬
digious height by the victories of Marlborough.
The second congress met in 1797, again with the
view of negotiating peace between France and the
imperial house. It began on the 9th of December,
and the conference was protracted all through 1798,
and into the spring of 1799 ; but with the lapse of
time the French demands increased to such an
extent that the emperor found himself unable to
satisfy them. At length, indeed, the two contract¬
ing parties waxed less and less inclined to an
agreement, and the congress finally declared itself
dissolved. The departure of the diplomatic body
was fixed for the 28th of April ; but the commander
of the Austrian garrison gave them orders to set
out on the 10th, as the town on the following day
was to be occupied by the imperial troops. An
escort was demanded, but refused on the ground
that it was unnecessary. Consequently, on the
evening of the 10th, the French plenipotentiaries,
Jean Debry, Ponnier, and Roberjot, set out for
Strassburg; but scarcely had they passed out of
the Rheinau gate when they were attacked by
some drunken hussars, who seized them, dragged
them from their carriages, murdered Ponnier and
Roberjot, in spite of the frantic efforts of the wife
of the latter to save her husband, and flung- Jean
Debry, severely wounded, into a ditch, where he
escaped destruction only by promptly feigning to
be dead. The assassins carried off all the papers
of the legation, but committed no other robbery;
and satisfied with the work they had accomplished,
disappeared in the obscurity of the night : where¬
upon Jean Debry, though suffering severely from
his wounds, contrived to crawl into Rastadt, and
present himself, bleeding and exhausted, at the
hotel of Herr Goertz, the Prussian ambassador.
In 1849 Rastadt was again the scene of a very
sanguinary event. Here, on the 11th of May,
began the Baden insurrection, and when, in July,
the outbreak had been in a great measure sup¬
pressed, the rebels still held possession of the fort¬
ress, which was surrounded by the Prussians. The
outrages which had disgraced the town in May
and June were worthy of a signal punishment;
and when the fortress surrendered on the 23rd of
July, the Prussians shot the leaders Tiedermann
77
THE RHINE VALLEY.
and Micswoski, and a number of tlieir principal
followers.
Passing Muggensturm (population, 1770) and
Malscli (population, 3261), We arrive at Ettlingen,
a town of 5100 inhabitants, situated on the Alb,
and famous for its paper manufacture. Near the
bridge, in the wall of the town-hall, is inserted a
Roman sculpture of Neptune, and other Roman
remains have been discovered in the vicinity.
The railway here leaves the mountains, and ap¬
proaches nearer to the Eider, which in this portion
of its course is remarkable for its curves and angles,
and is studded with numerous islands. We leave
the little town of Ruppen on the right, and cross
the Alb at Balueh, whose twin-towered church,
built by Htibsch in 1837, is adorned in the inter¬
ior with well-designed and well-executed frescoes
by Dietrich of Stuttgard. A journey of nine to
ten miles from Ettlingen, and of eighteen miles
from Rastadt, brings us to Karlsruhe (Carlsruhe,
or "Charles' Rest").
CARLSRUHE.
The population of Carlsruhe is about 28,000.
The town itself is distant about five miles and a
half from the bank of the Rhine, which is crossed
by a branch line of rail, connecting the town with
the railways to Paris, Strassburg, and the west
of France.
There are few towns in South Germany, says
Captain Spencer, which present a more cheerful
appearance than Carlsruhe, the Liliputian capital
of the grand-duchy of Baden. The streets are
broad, airy, and cleanly-looking, and being here
and there ornamented with public buildings of no
slight architectural pretensions, it bears about it
all the characteristics that usually distinguish a
metropolis from a purely commercial town. It is
the youngest capital in Germany, dating only from
the beginning of the last century. In 1717 the
site which it occupies was covered by the leafy
masses of the Hartwald. In the depths of the
woody solitude the Margrave William erected a
hunting-lodge, or château, which he appropriately
christened " Charles' Rest," or Karlsruhe. A
town soon sprung up around it, and the forest
annually dwindled in its proportions.
The present castle is a handsome pile of stone,
raised by the Margrave Karl Friedrich in 1750.
To this prince Carlsruhe owes its prosperity, if
it owes its foundation to his grandfather. He
78
encouraged by liberal concessions the erection of
new houses; so that in 1793 his little capital
numbered 630. In 1806 the margraviate became
a grand-duchy, and received soon afterwards some
accessions of territory, so that in 1814 it com¬
prised a superficial area of 278 square miles, and
a population of 1,000,000. Necessarily, its capital
exhibited a corresponding increase in importance.
Carlsruhe is the very model of a quiet, sleepy,
monotonous German capital. It is almost wholly
dependent on the ducal court and its officials. Of
late years it has essayed to become a manufacturing
town, but with little success.
On arriving by the railway from Rastadt, we
pass through the Ettlingen Gate, erected by Wein-
brenner in 1803. It is supported by twelve Doric
columns, and ornamented with sculptures illus¬
trative of the union of Baden and the Palatinate.
Following up the Carl-Friedrichs Strasse, we come
to an open square, the " Rondel," in whose centre
stands an obelisk, raised to the memory of the
Margrave William. To the right rises the stately
palace of the margraves, built by Weinbrenner; it
has a Corinthian portico of six pillars, and is two
stories high.
Entering the market, which forms a kind of
oblong, and may be considered " the handsomest
part of Carlsruhe," we may glance at the monu¬
ment of Duke Louis, who died in 1830; a statue
in sandstone, by Raumer. Beneath a small pyra¬
mid rests the remains of the founder of the city,
the Margrave Charles William. It bears the
following inscription: — "Here, where formerly
the Margrave Charles sought repose in the shades
of the Hardt Forest, and built the town which
perpetuates his name; here, on the spot where
he found his last resting-place, this monument,
inclosing his ashes, was erected in grateful remem¬
brance by Ludwig William Augustus."
In front of the castle stands the statue of the
Grand-duke Charles Friedrich, who died in 1811,
after a reign of sixty-five years in duration. It
was executed in bronze by Schwanthaler, and each
angle of the pedestal is enriched by a female figure,
representing one of the four circles of the grand-
ducliy ; viz., the Lake circle, the Upper, Middle,
and Lower Rhine circles.
The Schloss, or castle, was erected about 1750,
in the "old Frankish" style, and, externally, is
more remarkable for size than architectural splen¬
dour. It consists of a main building of three
CARLSRUHE.
stories, with right and left wings of two, and is
dominated over by the so-called "Lead Tower,"
which necessarily commands a broad and richly
varied prospect. This tower, in the last century,
was of scarcely less evil repute than the notorious
Tour de Nesle of Paris in the fourteenth ; being
the seraglio of the Margrave Charles William.
Internally, the Schloss is fitted up with a luxury
and a richness not unworthy of the palace of a
prince; but strangers wander "open-eyed," and
with admiring looks, through a series of superb
apartments. On these we shall refuse to dwell.
There is matter more to our taste in the court
library of 90,000 volumes, situated in the left
wing; in the small but admirable cabinet of
natural history ; and in the theatre, in the right
wing, erected by Hiibsch in 1851-1853. The
portico is embellished with well-executed busts of
Mozart, Beethoven, and Gluck; of Goethe, Schiller,
and Lessing ; and an allegorical figure, the Genius
of Dramatic Poetry.
Through an arcade in the right wing we pass
into the gardens, where a graceful little monument
commemorates the poet John Peter Hebel, born
1760, died 1826. He wrote some spirited and
popular lyrics in the Allemannic dialect. The
botanical garden is justly considered one of the
most extensive in Germany ; it owes its excellence
to the unwearied care of the celebrated botanist,
Charles Christian Gmelin.
Let us next conduct the reader to the Academy,
or Kunsthalle, unquestionably the finest edifice in
Carlsruhe. It is built of a cool gray sandstone,
relieved by horizontal layers of red brick. The
style is Byzantine, and the details have been well
worked out by the architect Hiibsch. The figures
at the entrance, Painting and Sculpture, Raphael
and Michael Angelo, Albert Diirer, Holbein, and
Vischer, are from the chisel of a native Badish
artist, Xavier Reich.
The apartments on the ground floor are crowded
with statues and plaster casts, Etruscan vases, and
Roman and German antiquities ; among which the
eye signals out, delightedly the exquisite Hebe
of Canova, the very embodiment of grace, and
mirth, and youth; a Nymph, by Schwanthaler ;
and a Victory, by Rauch.
The grand staircase is ornamented by the boldly
designed frescoes of Schwind, representing the
Inauguration of Freiburg Cathedral, by Duke
Conrad of Zaringia, and deriving a considerable in¬
terest from the number and fidelity of the portraits.
Of the Finance Office, erected by Hiibsch in
1828, enough to say that it contains 110 rooms,
and has 292 windows. The Polytechnic School,
also built by Hiibsch, is of very considerable ex¬
tent; the façade extending 157 feet in length, and
measuring 55 feet in height. Over the entrance
are two statues in sandstone, Kepler, as the
representative of science, and Erwin von Stein-
bach, as the representative of art. They were
executed by Remfer.
The school, which contains about 500 pupils,
was enlarged in 1863. It is very efficiently and
yet economically managed.
The only place of importance between Carlsruhe
and Philipsburg is Bruchsal, which has a popula¬
tion of 9500 souls. Philipsburg is a strong fortress
on the bank of the Rhine, situated at an abrupt angle
of the river, in a line almost due south of Speier.
The railway from Bruchsal strikes northward
to Heidelberg, where it joins the Mannheim and
Frankfort line. But we have now, in our descent
of the river, arrived at a point nearly opposite
Speier, and before we continue our journey that
famous historic city claims the attention.
79
CHAPTER Y.
SPEIER AND HEIDELBERG.
Speier (the Spire of the French, and Spires of the
English) is situated in a fertile plain, near the
confluence of the Speier bach with the Rhine. " The
tomb ot the German Emperors," and formerly a
free imperial city, it is one of the oldest, and, his¬
torically, one of the most remarkable towns on the
great German river. True it is, that of its pristine
magnificence few traces remain, but its associations
are imperishable. It now contains a population
of about 12,000, and it is still the capital of
the Bavarian Palatinate, the seat of the provincial
government, and of a cathedral chapter.
To the Romans it was known as Spira, and as
Augusta Nemetum or Noviomagus. It remained
under the sway of the Eagle until the breaking
up of the Empire, when it was twice destroyed
by the Northmen. The town soon sprung again
into prosperity, and under the rule of the Franks
abundantly flourished. At the partition of Ver¬
dun, in 843, it was awarded to Germany, " on
account of the wine ; " and passing under the
supremacy of the Salic emperors, who resided
at the castle of Limburg, within about eighteen
miles of the city, it continued to wax strong and
wealthy.
The German princes seem to have affected it
greatly ; and it was so adorned and aggrandized
by the Emperor Conrad II., that he obtained the
surname of der Speierer, the Speier-man. One of
his successors, Henry IV., bestowed on its bishop,
not only the title of count of the Speiergau, but
the rank and power of a secular prince. At a later
date Henry V. placed the administration of the
town in the hands of a municipal council, com¬
posed of twelve burghers. This step encouraged
the growth of a spirit of independence among the
citizens, and led to a series of struggles for suprem¬
acy between them and their bishops, terminating
in the discomfiture of the latter in 1192. The
bishops retired to Bruchsal, and Speier became a
free imperial city.
From this epoch until the close of the seven¬
teenth century its prosperity knew no check. Its
population, like that of some of the old Flemish
80
towns, was scarcely less versed in the arts of peace
than of war, and though not exceeding 30,000 in
number, were able to set on foot and maintain a
well-equipped force of 6000 men. Placed at the
head of the Confederation of Free Rhenish Cities
which was formed in 1247, in opposition to the
feudal nobility, it destroyed a considerable num¬
ber of the strongholds and mountain-fastnesses,
whence mediaeval knight and baron were accus¬
tomed to sally forth to pillage the defenceless
merchant. So signal was its success, and so great
its wealth, that its enmity was only less feared than
its friendship was courted. The feudal princes,
in 1315, in 1320, and again in 1422, armed
against it, but their battalions were in each case
repulsed with terrible slaughter. Protected by
the martial spirit of its inhabitants, its commerce
steadily increased ; and of a rich, strong, and inde¬
pendent mediaeval city it would be difficult to find
a more felicitous example than Speier. When the
Diet of Worms abolished, in 1530, the atrocious
right of private war, which had so long desolated
the fair valley of the Rhine, the Imperial Chamber,
or ReichsTiammergericht, instituted to watch over
the full execution of this edict, was established at
Speier, where it held its sittings for two centuries.
In 1689 it was transferred to Wetzlar.
This astonishing course of prosperity was scarcely
checked by the Thirty Years' War; for though
Speier was alternately occupied by Swede and
Imperialist, both parties seem to have agreed in
treating it gently. But a very different fate befell
it in the War of the Succession. It was then
completely devastated by an army of Frenchmen,
in the name of Louis XIV., and under the immedi¬
ate order of his minister, Louvois. For two years
Speier remained a heap of ruins; France would
not suffer it to be rebuilt. At the peace of Ryswick,
however, some of its former inhabitants returned,
and rebuilt their shattered houses ; but it never
recovered its former splendour. It was doomed,
moreover, to new misfortunes. In 1716, at the
instigation of Bishop Hartand of Rollingen, it was
plundered by a body of armed peasants. In 1734
IP E D E H a
WULIAM MACKENZIE, LONDON EDINBURGH 8 GLASGOW
THE CATHEDRAL AT SPEIER.
it was stormed by a French army; and in 1794,
another French army, commanded by the revolu¬
tionary general Custine, repeated the scenes of
1689. On this occasion the cathedral was again
plundered, and the tombs of the Emperors Rudolph,
Albert, and Adolph were desecrated.
By the peace of Lunéville Speier was annexed
to France, and became a sub-prefecture in the
department of Mont-Tonnerre. By the treaty of
Paris it was restored to Germany.
The chief building, in truth the only building of
interest in this ancient city, is the Dom, or cath¬
edral, founded by the Emperor Conrad II. in 1030 ;
continued by his son, Henry III. ; and completed in
1061 by his grandson, Henry IY. It is a remark¬
able and magnificent example of the Byzantine
style of the eleventh century, though it has suffered
severely by successive fires, as in 1165, 1289, and
1450, and by the depredations of the French in
1689 and 1794. The principal entrance is through
a porch called the Kaisersaal, or " Imperial Cham¬
ber," on account of the eight statues of the emper¬
ors which decorate it—the emperors buried under
the roof of the ancient Dom. They are executed
in white marble, of life size, and distinguished by
an aspect of sovereign dignity. They represent
Conrad II., Henry III,, Henry IV., Henry V.,
Philip of Suabia, Adolph of Nassau, Albert of
Austria, and Rudolph of Hapsburg.
The architecture of the interior is impressive,
though somewhat overloaded with ornament. The
broad and lofty nave is separated from the north
and south aisles by twelve square pillars. Four
stars of red marble, let into the pavement, indi¬
cate the place where St. Bernard preached a new
crusade, in 1141, before the Emperor Conrad and
his court.
At the entrance of the choir, to which we ascend
by a flight of marble steps, two statues are kneeling
on their tombs ; Rudolph of Nassau and Rudolph
of Hapsburg, sculptured in Carrara marble by
Schwanthaler. The imperial mausoleum, which
has been carefully restored, forms an immense
crypt. With torch in hand the visitor gropes his
way into the dim, cool shades; a score of columns,
rudely and roughly hewn, seem almost bent to the
ground by the low and heavy roof. A long series
of arches intersect each other in the obscurity.
Lamps of baked clay, of ancient form, hang sus¬
pended from hooks of iron. Stone slabs, serving
the purpose of altars, are planted on a couple of
I
pillars, which are scarcely cut out of the stone.
The mind involuntarily recalls those gloomy cata¬
combs in which the Early Christians worshipped
during the bitter days of persecution. Every year,
on Christmas night, the crypt grows alive; a hun¬
dred torches are kindled; and the bishop of Speier
repairs hither with all his clergy to celebrate,
according to the rites of the Romish Church, the
Nativity of Christ.
Over the crypt is the Kœnigschor, or " King's
Choir;" and to the south of it, the Baptismal
Chapel, containing the coloured sketches and draw¬
ings of Schrandolph for the frescoes with which
he has decorated the cupola, the choir, and the
aisles. They illustrate biblical personages and
biblical scenes, and are very literal, cold, and
inexpressive.
The Dom measures 480 feet in length, and 136
feet in width.
On passing from the Dom by the southern gate,
we enter a leafy, shady garden, the ancient ceme¬
tery, where the only conspicuous object is a pile of
stones, called the Oelberg, or "Mountain of Olives."
It dates from the sixteenth century, is covered
with figures and sculptures, and owes its curious
designation to the fact that it was formerly part of
a chapel, whose interior represented the Garden of
Gethsemane and the betrayal of our Saviour. It
was partly destroyed by the French in 1689.
To the east of the cathedral rises .the Eeiden-
thurmchen, or " Pagans' Tower," which, with other
Cyclopean ruins, tradition attributes to the Roman
general, Drusus. It is most probable, however,
that the tower was built by Bishop Riidiger, about
1180, and was included in the fortifications of the
city. It contains some antediluvian fossils, and
various mediaeval relics. A staircase leads to its
summit, from which a very bright and varied pros¬
pect may be obtained.
North of the cathedral stands the Hall of Anti¬
quities, containing a valuable collection of Celtic,
Roman, and Germanic antiquities, discovered in
the Palatinate. It is divided into three sections,
of which the central is the larger. An iron grating
reveals a number of milliaria, statues, altars, and
votive tablets. In the others, which are closed,
vases, urns, amphorae, weapons, medals, and a
legionary eagle, speak eloquently of the " brave
old times " of Roman domination.
Opposite this treasure-house of curiosities is
situated the chapel of St. Afra, the only one
81
THE RHINE VALLEY.
extant of the ten chapels which formerly surrounded
the cathedral. It is connected with one of the
most pathetic episodes in the history of Speier.
The Emperor Henry 1Y. having died in profound
distress, and under the ban of excommunication,
his remains were deprived of the last solemn rites.
Of all the priests who had flourished through his
bounty, not one durst bury him. The men of
Speier, more loyal and more grateful, collected his
bones, deposited them in this chapel, and assidu¬
ously watched over them until the pope was in¬
duced to recall the terrible sentence, and the
unfortunate emperor was permitted to sleep with
his fathers in the imperial crypt.
The modern edifices of Speier are deficient in
architectural beauty, and necessarily possess no
historical interest. The reader will, therefore, be
content with a simple enumeration—the Protes¬
tant church, the Episcopal palace, the government
house, the town-hall, the lyceum, and the cavalry
barrack.
From Speier we cross to the right bank of the
Thine, and by way of Scliwetzingen proceed to
romantic Heidelberg.
Schwetzingen is a comparatively insignificant
town of about 3500 inhabitants, two-thirds of
whom are Protestants. No one would spend an
hour here but for the superb gardens, constructed
at an amazing cost by the Elector Charles Theo¬
dore, and still maintained on a very sufficient and
satisfactory scale. They are embellished with
fountains and statues, Roman ruins, an orangery,
a lake, temples to Mercury, Apollo, and Minerva ;
and a seventeenth century château contains some
richly furnished apartments. A mosque, a theatre,
and a restaurant are among the very varied and
somewhat incongruous attractions offered to visitors.
The celebrated university town of Heidelberg is
situated on the left bank of the Neckar, at the
entrance of the fair Neckar valley, and at a short
distance above the confluence of the Neckar with
the Rhine. From its ruined castle a fine view is
obtained of a position almost unequalled in pic-
turesqueness of effect ; while the prospect extends
westward, across a plain so fertile and so fair that
it has been called the " Garden of Germany," to
the blue line of the Haardt Mountains in Rhenish
Bavaria.
The town is about one mile and a half in length
(population, 18,000), but exceedingly narrow in
proportion. It lies between two wooded emi¬
82
nences, "higher than hills, and not so rugged as
mountains." On a northern spur of one of these
acclivities, the Kœnigsstuhl, on the left bank, rise
the grand but gloomy ruins of the old electoral
castle. The Kœnigsstuhl is 1893 feet above the
sea-level, but the elevation of the castle does not
exceed 313 feet. On the left bank soars con¬
spicuous the vine-clad, "castled height" of the
Saint's Mountain, or the Heiligenberg, whose
summit has been crowned by the eagle of the
Roman legionaries. Some authorities assert that
the Romans fortified both the Heiligenberg and
the Kœnigstuhl. In the reign of Ludwig III. the
Saint's Mountain was made over to the convent
of Lorsch. Such Roman structures as were still
extant were then destroyed, their materials being
employed in the erection of religious edifices.
First, the chapel of St. Michael was built (about
863-870) ; and soon afterwards a Benedictine
cloister was added to it. Next, a chapel dedicated
to St. Stephen and St. Lawrence was built lower
down the mountain. A second convent sprang up,
whose rights and privileges were confirmed by
Pope Alexander III. and by the Emperor Henry
IV., in 1103. It was then the mountain acquired
its present designation.
When the great irruption of the Germanic
tribes swept away the Roman garrisons, their
camp afforded an asylum and a stronghold to the
barbarians. It is possible that some chieftain,
weary of plunder and fighting, planted himself
here with his followers, among whom he divided
the surrounding lands. Then was heard the sound
of the axe ; the old patriarchal trees were felled,
and golden harvests bloomed in the clearings
effected by the industry of man. Want of water
and of "free elbow-room" eventually brought them
down to the banks of the Neckar, and Heidelberg
was founded.
One day about the middle of the- twelfth cen¬
tury (1155-1157), Conrad of Hohenstaufen, the
count palatine, in the course of a journey through
his dominions, arrived in this romantic neighbour¬
hood, and resolved to build a castle here. Under
his patronage the village of Heidelberg grew up
into a town, which at the beginning of the thir¬
teenth century had its guild of citizens, its magis¬
trate, its governor, and its ramparts. Eventually
it became the capital of the rich and beautiful
Palatinate of the Rhine ; and so continued until
the last electors preferred to reside at Mannheim.
ANNALS OF
HEIDELBERG.
In the course of these five centuries, however, il
passed through many vicissitudes. In 1248 it
suffered from a dreadful famine: in 1278 it was
devastated by an inundation of the Neckar, and
so much as the gathering waters spared was soon
afterwards swept away by a conflagration, until
only one edifice remained extant, the church of the
Blessed Virgin. In 1288, we are told, the town
was visited by another conflagration ; from which
we must conclude that, in the ten years intervening
between the two visitations, the town had been
wholly or partially rebuilt. About the same date,
the great Neckar bridge broke down while a pro¬
cession was passing across it, and upwards of 300
persons were killed. About 1301, in the war with
the Emperor Albert, and soon afterwards, in the
war with the Emperor Ludwig, the country for
many miles around was swept with fire and sword ;
and in 1313 or 1314 the unfortunate town was
again blighted by plague and inundation.
It must have required all the tenacity and
robustness of the German character to withstand
such a series of misfortunes. Withstood they
were ; and in spite of all its sufferings, Heidelberg
grew prosperous. In the fifteenth century, the
Elector Robert III. commenced the erection of
a feudal château on the very site of the ancient
Roman walls, thus inaugurating that love of stately
buildings which became a characteristic of the
Palatinate family. It was the ambition of each
elector to continue and surpass the work of his
predecessor. Frederick the Victorious, Louis the
Pacific, Otho, Henry, and Frederick V., were
distinguished by their generosity and their love
of dignified magnificence.
In 1414, on his way to the great Council of
Constanz, the Emperor Sigismund was received
at Heidelberg with a splendid welcome. In its
castle the deposed pope, John XXIII., resided as
a prisoner until 1418.
In 1461 the first mutterings were heard of the
Palatine War. "Wicked Fritz," as his enemies
called him, or Frederick the Victorious, as he was
entitled by his partizans, when placed under the
ban of the Empire, erected a stronghold on the
height above the town, and boldly named it Trutz-
Kaiser, or " Defiance to the Emperor." The sur¬
rounding country was ravaged by the troopers of
Baden and Wiirtemburg. In preparation for the
gathering storm the ramparts of Heidelberg were
strengthened, and its garners filled; but the town
was spared the horrors of a siege. Frederick met
and completely defeated his enemies at Friedrichs-
feld, between Seckenheim and Schwitzingen, on
the 30th of June, 1462, making prisoners the
Margrave Charles of Baden, Count Ulrich of
Wiirtemburg, and Bishop George of Metz, whom
he conveyed in triumph to the capital.
In 1613 the ill-fated marriage of the Elector
Frederick V. (1610-1632), with Elizabeth, the
daughter of James I. of England, the heroine
of Wotton's beautiful lyric, and one of the most
amiable and intellectual of the Stuart race, was
celebrated with unusual magnificence. Nine years
later the city was stormed by Tilly, whose fierce
soldiers committed the most disgraceful excesses.
For three days rapine was uncontrolled, while
several of the public buildings and upwards of
forty houses were sacked and burned. The uni¬
versity library was sent to Rome. In the follow¬
ing year victorious Bavaria attained the electorate,
declared the Roman Catholic religion restored, and
expelled the Lutherans from the country. Both
town and castle remained in the hands of the
Bavarian soldiers until 1633, when it was recap¬
tured through an ably-conceived stratagem of the
Swedish colonel, Abel Moda. Again the wheel
of fortune revolved: in May, 1635, the Imperial¬
ists, under Count Clam Gallas, attacked and cap¬
tured the town; and on the 27th of July the castle
also surrendered, after an obstinate defence.
Few parts of Germany suffered more severely
during the last five years of the Thirty Years'
War than the Rhenish Palatinate, and on the
conclusion of the peace of Westphalia the Elector
Charles Ludwig (1632-1680) found his dominions
in a condition the most deplorable; the towns half
depopulated, the villages burned, the vineyards
and corn-fields destroyed, commerce extinct, and
industry almost at a standstill. The elector, how¬
ever, was a man of more than ordinary capacity,
and under his firm and enlightened rule the Pala¬
tinate was beginning to recover somewhat of its
former prosperity, when it had to endure a heavier
storm than ever, by Louis XIV. The French
army was under the command of Mélac, who ex¬
celled Tilly in cruelty, and whose name for years
was so hated in the country he ruthlessly ravaged,
that the peasants gave it to their dogs.
On the 26th of October Heidelberg was cap¬
tured, and occupied until the spring of 1689 by
a French army. The arms of France had been
83
THE RHINE VALLEY.
everywhere successful. They had overrun the
entire Palatinate, and from Heidelberg spread even
to the banks of the Danube. But an event more
disastrous to the French fortunes than any repulse
in the open field, occurred at a critical moment.
To the throne of England succeeded William of
Holland, the resolute and mortal enemy of F ranee;
and his ability and steadfastness united all Europe
in a formidable league against its common aggres¬
sor. France found itself called upon to combat,
not only on the Rhine, but in Holland, in Savoy,
in Spain, wherever the coalition formed at Augs¬
burg could put an armed force in the field.
The French government, confronted by so pow¬
erful a league, conceived, as a French writer says,
the most terrible resolution ever dictated by the
genius of war : namely, to destroy every town they
were compelled to evacuate, and to harry with fire
and sword the territory they were forced to restore
to the elector. This atrocious conception is gene¬
rally attributed to the Marshal de Duras, but it
was sanctioned, to his eternal infamy, by Louis
XIV., and carried out with savage fury by the
able and unscrupulous Louvois. The French
generals, Mélac, Montclar, Tessé, Boufflers, and
a score of others, were the executants, the hands;
but Louvois was brain and soul. It is to the
credit of the former that they occasionally exper¬
ienced sentiments of remorse and pity; that they
sometimes halted in their dreary course, and re¬
fused to proceed except under new and stringent
orders. Duras openly cursed the fatal counsel
which he had been evilly inspired to give, and
implored the king, in " the name of his glory," to
revoke the doom he had pronounced, and refrain
from inspiring all Christendom with " a terrible
aversion." But Louvois would not suffer him ;
not for one minute did this implacable statesman
relent.
Heidelberg, says M. Durand, was the first to
experience the consequences of the retreat of the
French. In the month of March of this fatal
year, Montclar received orders to burn the town,
and expel its inhabitants. He selected for this
mission the Count de Tessé, one of the heroes
of the notorious Dragonnades. But neither the
soldiers nor the generals were yet sufficiently
hardened for the proper performance of their bar¬
barous duties. The fire was not half kindled ;
and Tessé hastened to quit the town before it was
more than partially consumed. Its inhabitants
84
immediately returned, extinguished the flames, and
repaired their houses. They raised some palisades
around the castle, which was spacious enough to
accommodate 1000 imperial soldiers.
Four years later, and on the 22nd of May,
Heidelberg, which had been hastily rebuilt and
fortified, was stormed by the Marshal de Lorges,
and this time it was utterly destroyed. The
population were driven, foodless, without clothes,
without shelter, to the other bank of the Neckar.
The soldiery broke into the castle, plundered it
of its treasures, desecrated the tombs of the elec¬
tors, and scattered abroad their remains. Finally,
several thousand pounds of gunpowder were de¬
posited in the cellars, and all that remained of
the magnificent work of four generations was
blown to the winds of heaven.
Some years elapsed before any attempt was
made to restore this unfortunate city. At the
beginning of the eighteenth century, however,
the ruined buildings were rebuilt, and many new
ones erected. In 1712 the first stone was laid
of the new University; soon afterwards St. Anne's
Chapel and the Citizens' Hospital were commenced.
In 1735 Prince Eugene established his head¬
quarters here; but the town and its neighbourhood
escaped the usual ravages during the war of the
Bavarian Succession, in consequence of the cautious
neutrality observed by the Elector Palatine.
The Elector Charles Theodore (1742-1799), was
desirous of returning to the seat of his ancestors.
But an evil fortune pursued the château. On the
23rd of June, 1764j the walls being completed,
and the following day fixed for the triumphant
entrance of the prince, the tower was struck by
lightning, and in a few hours three-fourths of the
building were consumed. Thenceforth, the skill
of man has turned aside from what seemed and
seems to be "a house accurst;" and the ruined
pile, standing erect on the desert slope of the
mountain, reminds the traveller of those ancient
imperial diadems which are preserved in our col¬
lections as the relics, not as the signs of royalty.
In the winter of 1784, that is, on the 18th of
January, and again on the 26th and 27th of Feb¬
ruary, the town suffered greatly from an inunda¬
tion: the bridge was carried away by the drifting
ice; thirty-nine buildings were destroyed, and 290
greatly damaged.
During the long war of the French Revolution,
this unfortunate city was frequently visited by
MEMORABLE BUILDINGS IN HEIDELBERG.
hostile forces. Tiie Austrian headquarters were
established here, at frequent intervals, from 1794
to 1800. In September, 1799, it was occupied by
the French, under Baraguay d'Hilliers, but they
retired on the approach of the Imperialists. The
French afterwards returned, under Nansouty and
Sabbatier, and on the 16th October attempted to
carry the bridge, but were beaten off, though the
approach was commanded by only a single cannon.
In 1803 Heidelberg, with the Rhine Palatine,
was annexed to Baden, and the grand-duke,
Charles Frederick, immediately addressed himself
to the task of resuscitating the university, which
he endowed with new sources of revenue, and
whose organization he remodelled in a liberal and
enlightened spirit. Heidelberg is now one of the
most prosperous, one of the brightest and most
radiant, of the Badish towns ; and to the cultivated
mind its romantic beauty and historical associa¬
tions will ever endow it with the gift of immortal
youth.
Modern Heidelberg stretches along the left bank
of the Neckar, and at the base of the final escarp¬
ments of the Kœnigsstuhl, for a mile and a half,
from W. to E., or from the Mannheim to the Karl
gate. It consists in the main of two parallel
streets, the Haupt Strasse, or principal street, and
the Plock Strasse; behind which are found the
Anlagen. On this promenade, which is agreeably
planted, and lined with charming houses,, stands
a statue of bronze (by Brugger, in 1860) to the
Bavarian Field-marshal Wrede, who earned con¬
siderable distinction in the Napoleonic wars. He
was born at Heidelberg in 1767, and died at
Ellingen in 1838. The railway terminus is situated
near the Mannheim gate. The Haupt Strasse,
the Plock Strasse, and the promenade, all lead to
the castle, which is the great object of attraction
to all visitors.
As the reader will suppose from our historical
sketch, Heidelberg is a completely modern city.
Of its ancient houses man and the elements seem
to have spared but one, situated in the market¬
place, opposite the church of the Holy Ghost.
This was built by a Frenchman, Charles Belier,
of Tournay, a Huguenot who had escaped from
the massacre of St. Bartholomew's-day. It is now
an inn, Zum Ritter Sanct Georg.
The church of the Holy Ghost, which we have
spoken of as near this ancient mansion, is also of
great antiquity. In truth, who built it, or when
it was built, is not known ; but it was certainly
raised to the rank of a cathedral by Rupert
III. in 1393, and completed under his son Lud-
wig early in the fifteenth century. Here were
the tombs of numerous princes and electors
palatine, unfortunately destroyed by the French
in 1793. Divine service, after the Lutheran
fashion, was first celebrated on the 3rd of Jan¬
uary, 1546. Both Protestants and Catholics now
worship under the same roof.
For nearly two centuries the university library
was kept in the choir, and esteemed the finest
in Germany. But when the town was captured
by Tilly, Duke Maximilian of Bavaria despatched
the books to Rome, where they were deposited
in the Vatican.
The Jesuits' Church was erected from 1712 to
1751. It is a spacious and imposing edifice.
The oldest church in the town is St. Peter's,
also called the University Church. It suffered no
great injury in the wars, but in 1737 its tower was
greatly destroyed by lightning. Architecturally
the interior is not remarkable, but it contains some
interesting tombs ; especially those of Marsilius
von Inghen, the first rector of the university, and
the noble and learned lady, Olympia Fulvia Morata,
of Ferrara, who was appointed professor of the
Greek language at the university in 1554 and
died soon afterwards, in her twenty-ninth year.
The university, the celebrated Ruperta Carolina,
owes its reputation chiefly to its faculties of medi¬
cine and jurisprudence. Not a few of its professors
have acquired a European reputation. The num¬
ber of students, prior to the war, varied from 500 to
600. It is one of the oldest universities in Germany, •
its foundation dating from 1386. Its buildings,
however, are but of moderate extent, and of no
special architectural merit. The handsomest edifice
is the new anatomy school, in a street leading
to the river. The laboratory is situated in the
Academy Street; the botanical garden, outside
the Mannheim Gate. Near the hospital, that is, to
the east of the university, stands the library, a
three-storied building, which now contains 150,000
volumes, 50,000 dissertations, and 1880 MSS.
Some invaluable MSS., which from Rome had
been carried to Paris, were likewise restored after
the conclusion of peace. Among the bibliographi¬
cal curiosities we may enumerate :—a Greek An¬
thology ; a fine MS. of the eleventh century ;
MSS. of Thucydides and Plutarch, of the tenth
85
THE RHINE VALLEY.
and eleventh centuries; a translation of Isaiah,
in the handwriting of Luther ; his Exhortation
against the Turks; an edition of the Catechism,
annotated by the great Reformer ; the Electress
Elizabeth's Book of Prayers, ornamented with
miniatures by Dentzel, of Ulm (1499).
Attached to the university is a mineralogical col¬
lection, containing more than 15,000 specimens.
We now proceed to the pride and glory of
Heidelberg, its Castle, which from the distance
appears a complete mosaic of ramparts and towers,
and when seen more closely seems to deserve the
title so frequently given to it, " the Alhambra of
Germany." The story of its vicissitudes, recon¬
structions, and demolitions would fill a volume.
We shall content ourselves with adding a descrip¬
tion of the storm which destroyed the upper castle
on the 25th of April, 1537. Its violence was so
great that it tore up the trees in the neighbouring
forests by the roots ; and oaks which had braved
the tempests of a hundred years, were dashed with
surprising fury into the valley. The clouds from
.all points of the compass seemed whirling to a
centre, with a wind which swept everything before
it, and drew up the waters of the Neckar to such
a height, that a fearful inundation was moment¬
arily expected. Presently the most awful peals
of thunder reverberated among the mountains,
followed by heavy torrents of hail and rain, which
completely deluged the earth. Suddenly, a vivid
flash of lightning struck the tower of the castle,
whose vaults were filled with many tons of gun¬
powder. Then it seemed as if the earth had been
violently rent asunder, and the shock was like the
• simultaneous discharge of hundreds of cannons.
The doors of the houses were lifted from their
hinges ; the windows dashed out into the streets ;
whilst the huge stones, the beams, and the entire
roof of the venerable castle were precipitated into
the town, destroying the houses, and crushing
many of the wretched inhabitants. Even the valley
was strewn with rubbish. The lower castle also
was seriously damaged ; and the Elector Louis V.
narrowly escaped with his life. Of the venerable
pile itself, only one or two insignificant walls
were left standing.
We have already stated that the lower castle is
first mentioned in the year 1329, in the treaty of
Pavia. It was probably erected about the end
of the thirteenth century, under the Palsgrave
Ludwig the Severe, son-in-law of Rudolph of j
86
Hapsburg, who died in 1294. The palace was
afterwards embellished and enlarged by successive
electors, especially by the electors Otto Henry,
Frederick IV., and Frederick V., the latter having
erected the so-called "English Buildings," of which
the remains are few. Then came the desolation
of 1649, 1689, and 1692, and the splendour of
Heidelberg vanished for ever. For ever, because
when in 1764 the Elector Charles Theodore had
resolved on restoring the ancient castle, it was
struck by lightning, and the flames seized upon
everything that would burn.
On entering through the principal gate—the
Elizabeth Gate, built by the Elector Frederick V.
in honour of his English bride—we pass into the
Stiickgarten, or Cannon-garden, so named because
the Heidelberg artillerists were formerly drilled
within its precincts. This, the westernmost part
of the castle, commands an extensive and richly-
coloured picture of the town, the Harst Mountains,
and the valley of the Rhine. " Strictly speaking,
it forms a large terrace, irregularly planted with
tall lime trees."
Close" adjoining the Cannon-garden is the so-
called Theits Tower, of which only one-half is
preserved. It was erected by the Elector Louis
V., completed in 1533, and destroyed by General
Mêlas in 1685, notwithstanding the thickness of
its walls (twenty-two feet). In the ivy-shrouded
niches may still be seen the remains of the stone
statues of Frederick V. and his brother, Ludwig V.
In this vicinage stood the "English Buildings,"
erected in 1612 by Frederick V., in honour of
his consort, Elizabeth of England. It was noble
and majestic externally, and internally most sump¬
tuous; but in 1689 it was set on fire by the French,
and reduced to a heap of ruins.
On the east side of the castle court rise the two
lofty triangular pediments of the sombre palace of
Frederick IV., with its boldly-projecting entabla¬
tures, on which are erected, between four rows of
windows, the beautifully executed statues of nine
electors, two kings, and five emperors. To the
right stands the exquisite Italian structure of Otto
Henry, finished by that elector in 1566, ruined by
the French in 1659, restored in 1718, and destroyed
by fire in 1764. The plan is said to have been
furnished by Michel Angelo.
Above the entrance, which is decorated with
four statues, are the name, bust, and armorial
I bearings of the architect. The entire façade is
THE CASTLE OF HEIDELBERG.
adorned with niches, and these niches are filled
with admirable statues. Thus, in the first stage
we see Joshua, Sampson, Hercules, and David, a
motley collection, with rhyming inscriptions; in
the second, allegorical figures of Strength, Faith,
Love, Hope, and Justice ; and in the third,
Saturn, Mars, Mercury, and Diana. The gable-
ends are protected by Pluto and Jupiter, and near
the pediments of the first tier of windows are the
half-raised busts of Vitellius, Antoninus Pius,
Tiberius, Nero, and four more Roman emperors.
The oldest part of the ruins is probably the
Ruprechtsbau, or Rupert's Building, erected in
the fifth century by the Palsgrave Rupert, restored
by Ludwig Y. in 1540, and embellished by
Frederick II. Its hall contains a small collection
of curiosities. In the rear rises a dilapidated
structure, which is considered to be still older;
and close beside it stands the Old Chapel, which
Rupert I. erected in 1346, and amply endowed.
Under Frederick I. it was restored; but the new
castle chapel having been built by Frederick IV. in
1607, the former was converted into a throne room.
More recently it has served as a cooper's shop.
Let us now proceed to the palace of Frederick
IV., whose façade is overloaded with a profusion
of heavy ornamental sculpture. It was commenced
in 1603 by Frederick IV., and completed in 1607.
On the inner façade, towards the court-yard, are
sixteen statues, several of which bear the disfigur¬
ing traces of the Swedish bombardment in 1633.
On the ground-floor stands the new chapel, already
referred to.
The first-floor saloons are appropriated to the
Graimberg Museum, containing, among other trea¬
sures, numerous specimens of the porcelain of the
Palatinate; a picture, by Lucas Cranach; a manu¬
script diploma of Arnulph, grandson of Charle¬
magne, dated 896 ; a manuscript bull of Alexander
IV., 1255; the plaster cast of the face of Kotzebue,
taken immediately after he had fallen beneath the
dagger of Sand; the portrait, and a lock of hair, of
the murderer; portraits of Melanchthon, Luther,
and Luther's wife; costly enamels; plans and draw¬
ings of the castle; a sword found in the Neckar;
paintings by Wohlgemuth and his school; coins,
seals, ornaments, arms, and household utensils.
There is also an elaborate model of the castle in cork.
We now step into the broad balcony, raised by
the same elector on the site of an old wall, and
opening up a gorgeous view of the town of Heid¬
elberg and the valley of the Neckar. A door in
the west corner leads to the cellar containing the
Great Tun, one of the most widely-celebrated of
the curiosities of Heidelberg.
The first large tun seems to have been built
about 1591. It contained 132 tuns, or nearly
133,000 quarts of wine, was an object of much
popular wonder, and destroyed in the Thirty Years'
War. In 1664 a new one was built, by order of
Charles Ludwig, to hold 204 tuns, or upwards of
206,000 quarts.
In 1751 the present monster tun was constructed
by the Elector Charles Theodore. It measures
thirty feet five inches in length, and twenty-three
feet in height, is kept together by eight massive
iron and eighteen wooden hoops, and contains
236 tuns, or nearly 238,000 quarts. It was filled
with wine on the 10th of November, 1752, which
was subsequently repeated on three occasions, but
since 1769 has remained empty. On either side
a flight of steps leads up to it, while on the sum¬
mit, and round the bung-hole, a flooring has been
constructed, formerly reserved for the display of
the light fantastic toe.
With a few brief words we must pass over the
Octagonal or Bell Tower, completed in its present
form by Frederick VI., about 1666 ; the Masted
Tower, forming the Powder Magazine, erected by
Frederick the Victorious about 1455, and blown up.
with gunpowder in 1689 ; and the four granite
columns supporting a portico in the court-yard,
which the pope gave to Charlemagne; which in
the eighth century were removed from Ravenna to
the banks of the Rhine, and in the fifteenth from
the banks of the Rhine to those of the Neckar.
The castle gardens, at one time scarcely less
famous for beauty than the castle itself for magni¬
ficence, were laid out in the formal French style
by Solomon von Caux.
The finest views will be obtained from the
Altau, or platform, constructed in 1346, beneath
the château of Frederick IV. ; from the Stiickgarten;
and from the great terrace in the gardens.
It is customary for every visitor to pass from
the castle to the Wolfsbriinnen, passing on the
right bank of the river the monastery of Newburg,
and Zeigelhausen. In a little dell, under the
shade of lofty trees, flows the Fountain of the
Wolf: preserving the memory of a sorceress, named
Jetta, who, it is said, was torn to pieces by a
wolf while walking in this sequestered retreat
87
CHAPTER VI.
MANNHEIM TO MAINZ, VIA WORMS.
Between Heidelberg and Mannlieim there is a
railway, which strikes to the north-west, following
at an irregular distance the left hank of the
Neckar. On the right bank, nearly half-way, lies
the small town of Ladenburg, in a plain of great
fertility. It is conspicuous from its lofty church
tower, the venerable church of St. Julius.
The Romans formed a settlement here under
the name of Lupodunum. Next, the Franks got
possession of it,.and their kings built for themselves
a palace. In 636 both town and palace were con¬
ferred by King Dagobert on St. Peter's Abbey of
Worms, and in 1011 the bishops also obtained the
jurisdiction. In the twelfth century the bishops
made Ladenburg their place of residence.
In the Thirty Years' War it suffered severely:
in 1621 it was occupied by Tilly; in 1622, by
Mansfeldt; then came the Bavarians and Spaniards;
and in 1631, Gustavus Adolphus. In 1644 it was
seized by the French, who levied a heavy requisi¬
tion ; and in 1693 it was despoiled and devastated
by Mélac. Towards the end of the seventeenth
century the bishops of Worms quarrelled with the
Elector Palatine about Ladenburg. Eventually the
former gave way, and Ladenburg was awarded to the
Palatinate, with which it afterwards fell to Baden.
The town has a population of 3000 souls, who
are principally engaged in agricultural pursuits,
and in the timber and tobacco trade. It boasts of
a venerable Catholic church, which, in its turn,
boasts of numerous sepulchral memorials of the
barons of Sickingen and Metternich. A charity
founded by the barons of Sickingen exists here.
It is said that a young maiden of this family had,
on one occasion, lost her way, and must have
perished, but that, in her extremity, she was guided
to the town by the welcome chime of a bell. The
barons determined, therefore, that the bell should
be rung every evening, and bread baked every
week, so far as a bushel of corn would go, and
distributed among the poor.
Mannheim, the largest town of the grand-duchy
of Baden, has a population of nearly 30,000
inhabitants, and is situated on the right bank of
88
the Rhine, opposite Ludwigshafen, at the point of
junction between the stately Rhine and the rapid
Neckar. It is situated in a flat, fertile, but unin¬
teresting country. It has a circuit of about three
miles, and three gates—the Neckar, the Heidel¬
berg, and the Rhine gates. Like Washington, it
is laid out in regular blocks or parallelograms, of
which there are about 110.
Mannheim was founded in 1606 by the elector,
Frederick IV. Unhappily for the town, he had
scarcely begun to build it before he began to fortify
it, and by so doing made it an object of attack in
the various wars which have desolated Germany.
Partly destroyed in the Thirty Years' War, it had
risen from its ruins when the War of the Succes¬
sion broke out. In 1688, when the French again
invaded the Palatinate, it was under the command
of Baron von Seligenkron, and the Lieutenant-
colonels Strupp and Schenck. The works were
put in good condition, and a force for their defence
collected of 900 regulars, with cavalry and artillery,
and 1050 militia.
On the 1st of November the enemy appeared
before Mannheim. In less than a fortnight Seli¬
genkron found himself compelled to surrender.
The French immediately commenced the work of
destruction. The houses were set on fire, the
churches were blown up, and nothing was left of
the town or fortress but blackened ruins. Mann¬
heim seemed to have been swept from the face of
the earth ; and an old inhabitant, returning to its
former site after the departure of the French, could
with difficulty recognize the former position of
the streets.
At the close of the war the Elector John
William endeavoured to restore the town, and
caused the plan of the new fortifications to be
drawn up by the engineer Coehorn. In 1700 a
council-house was built; in 1701 the Capuchin
Church; about 1715 the Lutheran. To the Elector
Charles Philip, however, Mannheim is principally
indebted for its restoration. Had he not moved
thither the court from Heidelberg in 1721, it would
never have risen out of its insignificance.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS OF MANNHEIM.
Under Charles Theodore, on whose court enor¬
mous sums were lavished, Mannheim continued to
improve in appearance. In 1746 the lvauihaus,
or Hall of Commerce, was completed ; in 1754 the
infantry barrack; in 1756 the Jesuits' Church; in
1772 the Citizens' Hospital and the Observatory;
in 1777 the arsenal ; in 1779 the theatre. Charles
Theodore was no niggardly patron of the arts and
sciences, but spent on their advancement not less
than 35,000,000 florins. In 1754 was built the
Anatomical Theatre; in 1756 a surgical hospital;
in 1765 a maternity hospital. In the same year
was commenced a cabinet of natural history, and
in 1767 a botanical garden. In 1763 the Pala¬
tine Academy of Science had its beginnings ; and
in October, 1775, was founded the German Society
for the Culture and Advancement of Literature,
including among its members Lessing, Klopstock,
Wieland, Schiller, Kàstner. At this epoch, in
truth, Mannheim was the Athens of Germany;
it held among the German cities much the same
position as Weimar afterwards held. It had its
sculptor in Peter von Verschaffelt; its actors in
Beck, Biel, and Iffland ; its poet and dramatist in
Schiller.
In 1777 Charles Theodore had succeeded to the
throne of Bavaria, and his court and courtiers
followed him to the Bavarian capital, Munich.
The prosperity of the Badish city rapidly declined.
In 1784 an inundation caused very considerable
injury. Then, to complete its second overthrow,
came the horrors of the French Revolutionary
War. The Rhine entrenchments were captured by
the French in December, 1794 ; and in September,
1795, a French army, under General Pichegru,
appeared before the town. It was surrendered on
the 20th, through the infamous treachery of the
minister, Count Francis Albert von Oberndorf, and
the governor, Baron von Belderbusch. A month
later, and the Imperialists, under Clairfait, appeared
before the city, after a series of successful actions
along the Rhine, and in the vicinity of Coblenz
and Mainz. Pichegru had left in Mannheim a
garrison 10,000 strong, and taken up a position
which enable him to communicate with the place
by his right flank. So long as this communication
was maintained, the Imperialists had little hope of
reducing the city, and they resolved, therefore, to
dislodge the French from their position. For this
purpose Clairfait, having been reinforced with
32,000 men from the army of the Upper Rhine,
m
attacked Pichegru's forces, and after a gallant
action compelled them to retreat. He then pro¬
ceeded to press the siege of Mannheim, covered
by the main Austrian army under Wurmser. The
French, under Jourdan, made an attempt to relieve
it, but in vain, and the city capitulated on the
22nd of November.
By the peace of Lunéville, in 1803, it was given
to the grand-duchy of Baden. Of late years it has
grown into importance as a commercial town, and
the Rhine harbour lias assisted in developing its
new-born energies.
The castle, or palace, formerly the largest in
Germany, is more remarkable for its proportions
than its architectural excellence. The façade was
1850 feet long, and the whole building contained
500 apartments, but the left or western wing was
almost entirely destroyed during the bombardment
of 1795. Strictly speaking, it consists of three
courts or squares, of which the central and largest
opens towards the town. The western portion was
inhabited until lier death by Napoleon's adopted
daughter, the Dowager Grand-duchess Stephanie.
The east wing is appropriated to the governor. Its
picture gallery, since the removal of most of its
treasures to Munich, does not present many valu¬
able or interesting features.
The promenades of Mannheim are the terrace in
the castle garden, which overlooks the excellent
and abounding river ; the Rhine jetty, or Rhein-
damm ; the Neckarauer Wald; and the public
garden of Muhlhausschlasschen, which forms a
charming pleasure-resort on an island in the
Rhine.
We cross the river at Mannheim to the small
town of Luawigshafen, whose advantageous posi¬
tion on the Rhine, and on the railways from
Strassburg, Mainz, and Forbach, seems to insure
it a prosperous future. Prior to the period of the
French Revolution, it was a fortress called Rheins-
chanze, the tête-du-pont of Mannheim. In 1794,
1795, and 1798 it was the object of desperate
struggles, as it commands the passage of the
Rhine at an important point. In 1798 it was
razed to the ground, but the French reconstructed
it in 1813, to abandon it, on the 1st of January,
1814, to the advanced guard of the Russian army.
Until 1823 it held rank only as a fortress; but
since that date commercial establishments have
been founded here, new lines of streets erected,
and many handsome houses built. Its rise has
89
THE RHINE VALLEY.
been carefully watched over by the Bavarian
government, who made it a free port, and gave
it the name of Ludwigshafen. Its fortifications
have been demolished.
On the 15th of June, 18-47, and for several
days, it was cannonaded by the Badish insurgents,
after they had made themselves masters of Mann¬
heim, and several houses were set on fire.
From Ludwigshafen, or Mannheim, there are
two ways of reaching Mainz ; by the Rhine, and
by railway.
In descending the river, the following are the
principal points of interest on either bank:—On
the right, Sandhofen, which possesses two churches,
neither of any peculiar architectural interest. But
the situation of the village is charming. On the
left, Frankenthal, a town of 5000 inhabitants, to
which we shall duly refer. On the right, Lam-
pertheim, in Hesse Darmstadt, a small sleepy town
of 3500 inhabitants, with vineyards and orchards
all about it ; a town where any German Rip van
Winkle, returning after an absence of fifty years,
would find nothing changed. On the left, Rox-
heim, a town of 1000 inhabitants, situated on the
old and original channel of the Rhine, which here,
while winding and doubling like a snake in pursuit
of its prey, preserves the broad calm aspect of a
lake. On the left, the old historic city of Worms,
respecting which we shall have much to record.
On the same bank, Hernsheim, about two miles
from the river ; an old and lifeless town, encircled
by ramparts. The castle belongs to the Duc de
Dalberg. On the right, Gernsheim, a town of
nearly 4000 inhabitants, famous as the birthplace
of Peter Schoeffer, one of the first three printers.
He was the son-in-law of Faust, and in 1454
invented metallic types. A statue, by Scholl, was
erected to his memory in 1836.
Below Gernsheim a canal has been excavated,
to avoid one of the longest detours made by the
Rhine. Here, in the middle of the elbow formed
by the river, on the right bank, near Erfelden,
Gustavus Adolphus, the "Lion of the North,"
raised a monument to commemorate his successful
passage of the Rhine on the 7th of December, 1631.
The Rhine approaches the railway very closely.
We have on the left Oppenheim and Nierstein ;
then, on the right, Trebur or Tribur, where the
Carlovingian kings had a palace, of which no
remains are extant ; and after having passed (left
bank) Nakenheim, Bodenheim, Laubenlieim, and
90
Weissenau, and (on the right bank) Gierslieim,
near which point the Schwarz empties itself into
the Rhine, we have on the right the embouchure
of the Main, and beneath a railway bridge of very
handsome erection sweep into Mainz.
We have now to speak of the railway route to
Mainz. The first town we meet with is—
Oggersheim, with a population of 1500 souls,"
destroyed in the War of the Palatinate. Here, in
the inn Zum Viehhofe, Schiller wrote his " Versch-
wôrung des Fiesco." At the time he was living in
a condition of much distress, under the name of
Schmidt; but soon afterwards he was invited to
reside with the sons of Madame von Wollzogen, in
her estate of Bauerbach, near Meinungen.
The chapel, or rather church of Loretto, at
Oggersheim, is a centre of attraction to the sur¬
rounding country on Ascension Day. A convent
of Minorites, endowed by the king of Bavaria, was
founded here in 1845.
Our course now lies to the northward, across the
Isenach, and brings us to Frankenthal (population,
4800), which is connected with the Rhine by a
canal about three miles long. Both its origin and
prosperity are due to sixty families of Flemish
Protestants, who, expelled from the Low Countries
by the tyranny of the Spaniards, established them¬
selves here in 1562, in an Augustinian convent,
founded in 1119.
When the Thirty Years' War broke out, the
industrious little colony had increased to the num¬
ber of 800 families, who introduced into this part
of Germany industrial resources hitherto unknown,
such as the manufacture of silk and cotton. It
was then surrounded by walls, but its fortifications
did not prevent it from being successively captured
by the Spaniards, the Austrians, the Swedes, and
the French. It was occupied for some months
in 1622-23 by a small English force under Sir
Horace Yere, despatched by James I. to sustain
the failing cause of his son-in-law, the Elector
Palatine. But the troops were too few in number,
and their commander too deficient in military
ability, to avail anything against the large Spanish
army under Spinola, one of the first generals of
his age, and accordingly they were compelled to
surrender. When peace was re-established the
electors rebuilt the town, which became in due
time the great industrial depot; but it has since
fallen from its " pride of place."
On the site of the ancient convent, and after the
PIP: y ™
IsHi
11FIPIHIE11.
WILLIAM MACKENZIE, LONDON EDINBURGH & GLASGOW
TWO FAMOUS CITIES.
model of the church at Karlsruhe, was built the
Protestant church in 1820-23. The town, burned
down in 1844, has since been reconstructed. The
portico of the ancient conventual church is still
extant.
Beyond Bobenheim we cross the Leininger;
then we take leave of the Bavarian Palatinate, and
enter into the grand-duchy of Hesse ; cross the
Alt and the Eis, and pass near the cemetery of
Worms, where we may distinguish the monument
erected in 1848 to the memory of the old soldiers
of the Grand Army of Napoleon.
WORMS.
The present population of Worms is about
11,000; it formerly numbered 40,000. The city
is situated about a mile from the Rhine, which
at one time washed its walls.
The one man with whom Worms is inseparably
connected, and through whom it is something more
than a decaying and dying city, is Martin Luther.
The associations of Worms date from a venerable
antiquity. A Roman fort was built here by Drusus.
Here, too, in the Frankish era, were placed the
scenes of the great German epic, the "Nibelungen-
lied." Christianity was introduced at a very early
period, and Worms, in the fourth century, was a
bishop's see. In the fifth century it was taken
and plundered by Attila and his Huns; but it soon
sprang erect from its ashes, and became a frequent
residence of the Frankish kings. Dagobert I. built
a palace, whose site is now occupied by the Trinity
Church. Here Charlemagne declared war against
the Saxons, and here, from 770 till 790, the famous
May Assembly was held nearly eyery year. It
was succeeded in due time by the Imperial Diet.
At the Diet of Worms, in 1122, was concluded
the treaty between the Emperor Henry V. and
Pope Calixtus II., by which the bishops were
thenceforth allowed to assume as episcopal insignia
the sceptre, ring, and crozier. At the diet in 1495,
under the Emperor Maximilian I., the right of
private warfare was abolished, and public peace
introduced into Germany. And it was the Diet
of 1521 that summoned Martin Luther to answer
the charges preferred against him by his opponents.
The result of Luther's appearance before the Diet is
too much a part of history to need description here.
FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAINE.
In ancient German history there is no city,
perhaps, which figures more conspicuously than
Frankfort. It was an imperial city, a free city,
and a city opulent and grave. Its gravity in those
days became it, and was worthy of the sober
burghers, its inhabitants, who played the game of
life so decorously. And while it has lost its ancient
renown, it still retains this dull and decorous air.
At least so it seems to us, in spite of the newness
which reigns about us ; a newness due to its rich
hotels, its broad bright boulevards, its open squares.
But ancient Frankfort is no more; the narrow
streets through which Charles Y. and his cavaliers
took their way, and the peaked gabled roofs, and
the timber fronts of the houses, with all their
quaint and curious carving, have vanished before
that demon which reigns in every European town,
and does its work not wisely, but too well—the
demon of improvement. Whoever enters Frank¬
fort, fresh from the pages of the old chroniclers,
will be astonished how completely its past has
disappeared; how little is left of the grand old
mediaeval city.
Almost the only street which preserves what we
may suppose to be its original characteristics is
the Judengasse, or the Jews' Street. It has been
well said that between it and its neighbours inter¬
vene 500 leagues and 500 years. The traveller,
if he has wandered far, will be reminded of the
muddy and miry Ghettos of Rome and Prague.
It consists of two long rows of houses, black,
gloomy, lofty, evil-looking, parallel, and almost
alike. Between them runs a narrow, dim, and
dirty causeway. On either side there is little to
see but would-be doors, surmounted by an iron
trellis-work fantastically wrought ; and contiguous
to these a grated judas partly opens on a gloomy
alley. Wherever you turn you are greeted with
dust, and ashes, and cobwebs, and worm-eaten
crumbling timber, by a want and wretchedness
more affected than real. But improvement has
been in this street also—and, for once, let us own
it was just necessary—and its ancient character
will not be long in disappearing.
Here, on the right hand side, and in the house
No. 118, was born the learned writer, Louis Boerne.
Farther on, at No. 153, we come to the birthplace
of the Rothschilds. As they grew wealthy they
abandoned the old nest for more sumptuous resi¬
dences ; but their mother clung to it to the last,
and died there in 1849.
The old synagogue of the Jews stands at the
91
THE RHINE VALLEY.
southern entrance of the street ; at the northern
extremity, in the Schiitzenstrasse, a new one has
been erected in the Oriental style, and on a most
superb scale. It was inaugurated in 1853.
From the Judengasse we turn to the quay of
the Maine, and open up quite a different picture
of the past. There still stand erect the ancient
towers which strengthened the city walls, remind¬
ing us of the days when every man's hand was
against his neighbour. The two banks of the
river are connected by a narrow and high-pitched
bridge. What tales its stones might tell if they
could speak ! for they are very ancient ; we trace
them back from generation to generation. The
view from this bridge, and from the whole extent
of the quay, is exceedingly picturesque and
animated.
From the Main-Kai we turn up Neue Mainzer
Strasse, and diverging on the right into Grosse
Gallen Gasse, we soon find ourselves in the Ross-
markt, the largest open area in the town. Here is
placed the Gutenburg denkmal, or memorial: a
group of colossal statues representing the three
first inventors of printing—Gutenburg, Fust, and
Schoeffer ; the medallions along the frieze repro¬
duce the heads of the thirteen most celebrated
German printers ; and underneath the frieze are
carved the armorial bearings of Mainz, Frankfort,
Strassburg, and Verney, the four cities which most
actively devoted themselves to the improvement
and propagation of the new art ; and, finally, the
pedestal of the fountain is surrounded by alle¬
gorical figures of Theology, Science, Poetry, and
Industry. The memorial was erected in 1845, and
designed by Launitz.
In the Grosse Hirschgraben, close at hand, the
house, No. 74, is for ever memorable as the house
of Goethe, the greatest genius which Germany has
yet produced. There he was born on the 28th of
August, 1749, as the clock sounded the hour of
noon.
Frankfort might well be content with the glory
of having given birth to Goethe ; but she has had
other sons and daughters not unworthy of being
remembered ; as, for instance, Goethe's correspon¬
dent, Bettina von Arnim, the illustrious drama¬
tist Oehlenschlager, Vogt, the great harmonist,
Schlosser, Buttmann, and Feuerbach.
The handsomest, broadest, and liveliest street
in Frankfort is the Zeil, where are situated the
post-office, the residence of the grand-duke of
92
Hesse, the house of De Rothschild, and at its lower
end a foundry for bells and cannons. From hence
we can take any one of the many streets leading
into the other quarters of the town, and to the
Roemer (or town-hall), and the Dôm (or cathedral).
The Roemer is an edifice of much interest,
though it is difficult to say how much antiquity it
retains, so frequently has it been repaired, restored,
and reconstructed. It is said to have been origin¬
ally used (and hence its name) as a kind of mart,
or bazaar, where the Lombard merchants from
Italy displayed their merchandise during the great
Frankfort fairs. Others say it was erected on the
site of one of Charlemagne's palaces. At all events,
the city purchased it in 1403, and transformed it
into a guildhall. Its façade is very curious. From
a vast but low hall of the fifteenth century we
ascend a broad staircase with a balustrade of iron,
à la Louis XIII., and a lining of old tapestries,
which are unworthy of attention, to the Kaiser-
saal, or imperial chamber. This is an irregular
rliomboidal apartment, in which the emperors
banqueted, with kings and princes acting as their
attendants. The walls are covered with their por¬
traits, fifty-two in number, and in chronological
order, from Conrad I. to Francis II. These have
been recently painted by Lessing, Burdeman,
Rethel, and others, and are agreeable substitutes
for the caricatures which formerly aroused the
indignation of the visitor. Under nearly every
one is the motto which the emperor adopted at his
coronation. At the end of the hall is the Judg¬
ment of Solomon, by Steinde. In the Wahlzim-
mer, or election chamber, the senate of Frankfort,
instead of the electors of the Holy Roman Empire,
now hold their sittings. Here is preserved the
famous Golden Bull, promulgated partly at Frank¬
fort in the month of January, 1356, partly at
Metz on Christmas day in the same year, by the
august Emperor Charles IV., king of Bohemia,
assisted by all the elector-princes of the Holy Em¬
pire, in presence of the reverend father in God,
Theodore, bishop of Alba, cardinal of the Holy
Roman Church, and of Charles, eldest son of the
king of France, the illustrious duke of Normandy,
and dauphin of the Viennois.
This document, whose appearance caused in its
time a vast amount of excitement, is, after all, of
little real importance ; regulating, much less from
a political than from a ceremonial point of view,
the reciprocal relations of the electors and the head
THE GOLDEN BULL.
of the empire. In effect, it exalted the power of
the seven electors, as they were called, at the cost
of the imperial authority. It gave the king of
Bohemia a place among the said seven ; fixed
Frankfort as the place of election ; named the arch¬
bishop of Metz convener of the electoral college ;
gave to Bohemia the first, to the Count Palatine of
the Rhine the second, place among the secular
electors. In all cases a majority of votes was to
he decisive.
"Peace and order," says Dr. Bryce, "appeared
to be promoted by the institutions of Charles IV.,
which removed one fruitful cause of civil war.
But these seven electoral princes acquired, with
their new privileges, a marked and dangerous pre¬
dominance in Germany. They were to enjoy full
regalian rights in their territories ; causes were not
to be evoked from their courts, save when justice
should have been denied ; their consent was neces¬
sary to all public acts of consequence. Their
persons were held to be sacred, and the seven
mystic luminaries of the Holy Empire, typified
by the seven luminaries of the Apocalypse, soon
gained much of the emperor's hold on popular
reverence, as well as that actual power which
he lacked. To Charles, who viewed the German
empire much as Rudolph had viewed the Roman,
this result came not unforeseen. He saw in his
office a means of serving personal ends ; and to
them, while exalting by endless ceremonies its
ideal dignity, deliberately sacrificed what real
strength was left. The object which he sought
steadily through life was the prosperity of the
Bohemian kingdom and the advancement of his
own house. In the Golden Bull, whose seal bears
the legend—
' Eoma caput mundi regit orbis frena rotundi,' *
there is not a word of Rome or of Italy. To Ger¬
many he was indirectly a benefactor by the foun¬
dation of the University of Prague, the mother of
all her schools ; otherwise her bane. He legalized
anarchy, and called it a constitution."
Since the days of Austerlitz Charlemagne's
■crown, until the present remarkable epoch, has
rested on no imperial brow. Many of the losses
which Austria had suffered at Napoleon's hands
were repaired by the treaties of 1815 ; but the
■empire of Germany was not restored, and the
Hapsburgs were forced to be content with the new
* Eome, the head of the world, holds the reins of the circular sphere.
imperial crown of Austria. In August, 1863,
however, the present emperor made a bid, as it
were, for the old leadership of Germany, which for
some years had been divided between him and the
king of Prussia; and in the ancient Germanic
capital he convoked all the German kings and
princes, to discuss with him the future interests of
their fatherland, and the reforms required in her
constitution. But the hostility of Prussia checked
the move, and foiled the designs of the Austrian
statesmen.
But at all events Frankfort could rejoice that
for a moment the eyes of Europe were fixed upon
her, as in the old historic days. And she had
some reason to be proud with a civic pride when,
before the princes assembled at the banquet, under
the imperial roof of the Rœmer, the emperor of
Austria pledged it in a cup of wine. The wealth
of the old days once more poured into the treasuries
of the Frankforters. Fifty thousand strangers were
attracted from all parts of Europe by this gathering
of kings, princes, grand-dukes, princelings, states¬
men, soldiers, and courtiers. It was an imperial
revival on a grand scale, but " for this occasion
only." The emperor was lodged in the Rœmer,
as was the custom with his ancestors ; but he was
not to wield the sceptre of the Holy Roman Em¬
pire. It was a glorious dream, a dazzling mirage.
As for practical result, it had none, unless we look
for it on the field of Sadowa !
Amongst the ecclesiastical buildings of Frank¬
fort, the first and foremost is necessarily the D6m,
or cathedral, also called the church of St. Bar¬
thélémy. This is a cruciform edifice, which has
been erected at different epochs—the nave about
1238, the choir between 1315 and 1338, and the
aisles somewhat later. The effect of the whole is
certainly quaint and picturesque, but the details do
not harmonize thoroughly. The Dôm was restored
in 1855. It measures about 310 feet in length,
and 270 in width. On the right hand side of the
principal entrance is conspicuous an enormous clock,
with an astrolabe and a perpetual calendar, of the
fifteenth century. The interior contains a number
of objects more or less worthy of attention. The
ancient tombs of the Holzhausen, with their re¬
mains of colouring, must not be overlooked. In
the choir are some noteworthy frescoes of the sorrows
of St. Bartholomew and the graces of St. Mary
Magdalene, besides rude, bold wood-carving of
fourteenth century date. In the chapel on the
93
THE RHINE VALLEY.
left, a fifteenth century sculpture, representing the
Virgin on her death-bed, astonishes by its singu¬
larity of conception. The artist will find matter
for criticism in a Christ on the Virgin's knees,
attributed to Durer ; an Assumption (over the high
altar), by Veit, in the style of Rubens ; and a Holy
Family, after Rubens. For the simply curious
spectator the objects of interest are many and
varied ; the ancient armour hanging from the
walls ; the painting, on leather, of the interior of
St. Cecilia's tomb ; some fine copper lamps ; and,
among other tombs, that of Gunther von Schwarz-
burg, elected emperor at Frankfort in 1349, and
shortly afterwards poisoned. The monument was
erected in 1352. It stands close beside the door
leading to the old chamber of election. Observe,
that in the centre of the Dôm, and just at the
entrance to the choir—that is, at the point where
the nave intersects the transepts—the emperors
have undergone the ceremony of coronation since
the days of Maximilian II.
St. Leonhard's Church is memorable as occupy¬
ing the site of the ancient palace of Charlemagne,
who assembled, as the Chronicles tell us, the
bishops and princes of the empire here at Frank-
ensfurd, or the "Frank's ford." In the interior
are some interesting objects. The altar-piece is
by Stieler, a Bavarian artist.
The Sachsenhausen, founded by the Saxons
about the epoch of Charlemagne, is chiefly in¬
habited by gardeners and vineyard-labourers. To
the left, as we enter it, our eye rests on the Deutsche
Haus, the residence of the knights of the old
Teutonic order, but now degraded into a barrack.
94
The quay, which from the bridge runs along
the right bank of the river, as far as the Ober-
mainthor, is called the Schœne Aussicht, or
" Beautiful Prospect." At its further end is placed
the library, built in 1825. Among its biblio¬
graphical curiosities are a MS. Bible, purchased at
Rome about 1350, and formerly in the possession
of the Gutenberg family ; the Mainz Bible of
1462, on parchment ; and Gutenberg's Bible, the
so-called Mazarin.
The Stadel Museum (of pictures) is situated in
the Neue Mainzer Strasse, and named after its
founder, a Frankfort burgher, who bequeathed
all his paintings, drawings, and engravings to the
city, besides a sum of £83,000 for the erection
and maintenance of a public gallery. In the first
room there is Moretto's admirable Virgin and
Child, with the four Fathers of the Latin Church,
purchased at an expense of 30,000 florins. In the
second, the chef d'œuvre is Lessing's Huss before
the Council of Constanz. In the third, we re¬
member an ancient and curious altar-piece, and
a tasteless but cleverly composed Triumph of
Christianity in the Arts, by Overbeck. In the
sixth room, Schnorr, Schadow, and Steinle are
represented.
The Fresco-Saal contains an allegorical fresco
by Veit, representing Christendom introducing the
Arts into Germany ; and a terra-cotta composition
by Andrioli (1561) of the Virgin and Saints.
Sinkenberg's Museum of Natural History is
near the fine old Eschenheim Gate, and contains a
tolerably well-selected, but not very large, cabinet
of natural history specimens.
Rf A ¥ IE M © E „
WILLIAM MAfKEN/IE, LONDON, EDINBURGH & CLASOOW
CHAPTER VII.
FROM MAINZ
mainz.
Mainz (in French and English, Mayence), one
of the principal towns of the German empire, is
situated, at an elevation of ninety to ninety-five
feet, on the right bank of the Rhine, almost oppo¬
site the mouth of the Main. Its population
exceeds 40,000. With the left bank of the Ger¬
man river it is connected by a bridge of boats,
and by a strong iron bridge at some slight dis¬
tance from the city. This latter bridge was
opened in December, 1862.
The circumference of Mainz, including its mili¬
tary outworks, may be computed at three leagues
and a half. Three main gates, without including
those of the quay, opening on the Rhine, provide
a communication between the interior of the city
and the country; namely, Neuthor, on the Oppen-
heim and Worms road; Gauthor, on the Paris
road, viâ Algey and Kaiserslautern ; and Miinster-
thor, on the road to Bingen, Coblenz, Trier, and
Creuznach.
Now for a general description of the city.
A bird's eye view, could it be obtained—or an
aerostatic voyage, which is equivalent to it—would
show you Mainz in the form of a perfectly-defined
arc of the circle, the chord being represented by the
river, and the circle by the fortifications. These
fortifications are founded on Vauban's system, but
with many modifications, the fruit of modern engin¬
eering study. They are considered by the best
judges to be of a very formidable character; and
it will be observed that the river, on one side,
acts as a deep, broad, and comparatively impass¬
able fosse. In addition, a very powerful citadel,
in front of the town, commands its passage, and
threatens to overwhelm any assailant. Like a
gigantic star, it projects in four angles, and its
four bastions, bristling with artillery, bear these
heroic or sinister names : Drusus, Germanicus,
Tacitus, and Alarm. The latter, partly situated
in the suburb of the city, is strengthened by a
mine, and, from far or near, seems to say to the
passer by, "Who goes there?"
TO COBLENZ.
Mainz is another example of the folly of con¬
verting populous cities into great military posts.
It is literally choked within the strong grasp of
its walls. Hence its streets are narrow and muddy,
and its houses are carried to a great height to com¬
pensate for the want of superficial space. A busy
and numerous population seem, in their marts and
markets, to shoulder, to jostle one another.
The history of Mainz dates back to a period
anterior to the Christian era. Whether the Ger¬
mans had a settlement here, no antiquary seems
able to determine; but thirty.years before the birth
of our Saviour, Martius Agrippa, one of the lieu¬
tenants of Augustus, constructed here an intrenched
camp. This fortress, which was afterwards known
as Moguntiacum, was rebuilt, twenty years later,
by Agrippa's successor, Drusus Germanicus; who
also raised, on the opposite bank of the river, a
castellum (castle), and united the two by a massive
stone bridge, some remains of which are visible
to this day.
In a.d. 70 Moguntiacum was garrisoned by the
twenty-second legion, which had conquered Judea
and destroyed Jerusalem, under the orders of Titus.
The ancient tradition affirms that St. Crescentius,
who was one of the first to preach the religion of
Christ on the banks of the Rhine, and who suffered
martyrdom in 103, was a soldier in this legion
before becoming a soldier of the church militant,
and first bishop of Mainz.
In 235 Alexander Severus, while meditating a
campaign against the Germans, was here waylaid
by a small band of mutinous soldiery, incited, it is
said, by his rival Maximinus, and murdered, along
with his mother, in the thirtieth year of his age
and the fourteenth of his reign.
After the crashing downfall of the Roman
empire, Mainz successively fell into the hands
of the Allemanns, the Vandals, and the Huns.
Destruction had swept over it, and it was but a
heap of ruins when its bishop, Sidonius, with the
help and patronage of Dagobert II., king of the
Franks, began to rebuild it, but on a site nearer
the river bank. It was surrounded with walls in
95
CATHEDRAL OF MAINZ.
a man of talent, and in the house llofzum Sungen,
which still exists, he printed his Biblia Latina.
The finest building in Mainz is its cathedral ; a
red sandstone pile of great extent, begun in the
tenth, and completed in the eleventh century. It
has gone through so many conflagrations, however,
and suffered so much from the Prussian bombard¬
ment of 1793, and still more from having been
used as a barrack and magazine by the French,
that little is left of the ancient edifice except the
eastern apse, which is flanked by two circular
towers, one dating from 978, the other from 1137.
The Pfarrthurm, at the east end, is an octagonal
tower, surmounted by a cast-iron cupola, seventy
feet high, designed by Moller. Like the cath¬
edrals of Worms, Trier, and Speier, the church
has a double choir, with high altars both at the
east and west ends, and transepts.
The principal entrance is a low door in the side
of the building. But the leaves of the door are
eight centuries old, and on their bronze panels may
still be read the characters of the charter granted
to the city by Bishop Adalbert I., who ordered it
to be here engraved.
Two domes, of different styles and proportions,
crown the edifice. They might almost be called,
in allusion to their form and ornaments, two papal
tiaras. The older is the more severe and simple in
construction, and the more imposing ; the other,
the more enriched, the more elaborate, and " per¬
haps " the more pleasing.
There are three naves in the interior, or rather
a nave and side aisles, of which the central is
remarkable for the boldness of its lofty arches.
The great defect internally is the want of windows ;
they are few and narrow, and placed at too great
an elevation. Hence the light is insufficient, and
what there is falls in the wrong places, and injures
the general effect. This has been not unjustly
designated the capital vice of the Romanesque
style. On the other hand, the Gothic architect
delighted to open up windows wherever he could,
and to flood his buildings with light, moderated
and varied by the painted glass.
The cathedral was the place of sepulture of the
electoral archbishops of Mainz, of the princes of
the Holy Roman Empire, and of many other illus¬
trious and distinguished personages. We cannot
pretend to enumerate all these monuments. The
most interesting are those which belong to the last
years of the fifteenth and the earlier part of the
n
sixteenth centuries. Among these we may point
out Prince Albert of Saxony, 1484; the Canon
Bernard of Brudenbach, 1497 ; Archbishop Berth-
old of Stenneberg, 1504; Archbishop Jacob of
Liebenstein, 1508 ; and Albert of Brandeburg,
1545. In no case are the epitaphs more than
pompous and verbose descriptions of the honours
and dignities enjoyed by the deceased. A frag¬
ment of white marble, let into the wall, is all that
remains of the tomb erected by Charlemagne to
Fastrada, his third or fourth wife, who died in
A.d. 794.
Another monument of historic interest is that
of St. Boniface, raised to his memory in 1357. It
consists of red sandstone, and is situated on the
right side of the nave.
To the artist that of Frauenlob will also be
attractive. Frauenlob (that is, " praise of women ' ' )
was a canon of the cathedral, named Heinrich von
Meissen, who lived towards the close of the thir¬
teenth and in the early part of the fourteenth
centuries. He was one of the first Minnesingers,
or love-singers—the German troubadours ; and
he devoted his poetic genius to the laudation of
women, and especially of the Virgin.
The church of Saint Stephen, in the Gauthor,
is worth a visit. From the summit of its lofty
tower, which is situated in the highest part of the
city, the view is rich, extensive, diversified.
The old Electoral Palace, a stately red sandstone
pile of the seventeenth century, was down to 1792
the residence of the electors, The throne room
has been restored. Here are now collected, under
• '
a single roof, the library, the picture gallery, the
museums of coins, antiquities, and natural history.
The library possesses upwards of 100,000 volumes.
Among these may be particularized, a bible, 1462 ;
a catholicon, 1460 ; and a psalter, 1457. In the
collection of antiquities, the most notable features
are the Roman altars, the votive stone, and the
inscriptions discovered in the town and its envi¬
rons. But the gallery of pictures contains things
of beauty, which appeal to the heart and fancy of
the largest number of visitors. Among about 270
works of ancient and modern artists, there are good
specimens of Jordaens, Titian, Giordano, Albert
Diirer, Tintoretto, Guido, Domenichino, Rubens,
Murillo, Snyders, and others.
About a mile beyond the Gauthor are the
remains of a Roman aqueduct, nearly 3000 feet
long, which conveyed water to the Roman garri-
97
THE RHINE VALLEY.
son from a spring five miles distant. Sixty-two
piers, still extant, are admirable specimens of
Roman masonry.
From Mainz to Coblenz extends what may
aptly be called the " steamboat navigation of the
Rhine," and this portion of the river is certainly
best explored " by water." We enter now on the
fertile country of the Rheingau, whose general
aspect has been very faithfully described by a
recent French writer. " The Rheingau," says
Professor Durand, " is a region, half plain and
half mountain, sheltered from the rough north and
biting east by the thick masses of the Taunus and
the Niederwald, while facing the south with its
Rhine-washed hills. It is the vineyard of Ger¬
many. Places more poetical we may see; but
none more prosperous or more flourishing. The
intervals between the various villages are exceed¬
ingly short ; and in their site, their structures, and
the gleam of their lime-washed façades, there is an
air of gaiety which greatly pleases the spectator.
Most of them are planted at the very edge of the
river, and are separated from it simply by a path¬
way. Thus, in winter, the inhabitants are driven
from their homes by the floods. But as these
floods are of periodical occurrence, no one seems
to be disturbed by them. Everybody seems to
have made up his mind to live on good terms with
their regular visitor ; and rather than depart from
his paternal river, is willing to yield up to him
once a year his room and bed. In the first sixty
years of the present century, no fewer than thirty-
three inundations have taken place, some of them
of a terrible character. A church of greater or
less antiquity, and generally of a pleasant archi¬
tectural aspect, forms the central point of each
village, and around it gathers a group of brick-
built houses, adorned with vines."
The Rheingau's surest source of wealth is in
the bounty of the vine, and, consequently, its
cultivation has spread over every rood of ground.
Rocky precipices, declivities, and precipices where
it is a task to hold oneself erect, have been dug,
and turned over, and fertilized. In default of
vegetable soil, the cultivators have pulverized the
friable rock. Far out of sight the vines extend
their regular ranks, and all the outlines of the
mountain bristle with them. Out of this flood or
sheet of verdure rise at intervals large, gleaming
Italian villas, with flat roofs and square walls, or
Neo-Gothic castles, with crenelated turrets. These
98
are the pleasant summer resorts of the opulent wine
merchants of Mainz or Frankfort, erected in the
midst of the vineyards to which their proprietors
owe their wealth. Flags bearing the national
colours float from every summit, and, as in a royal
palace, indicate that the master is at home. But
round these splendid edifices blooms scarcely any
garden ground ; the ground is too limited, the pro¬
duct too precious, for the agreeable to take the
place of the useful. An oak, or a larch, gives only
a little shade ; but here, each foot of the vineyard
is covered in autumn with pieces of gold. At the
bottom of the terrace an elegantly decorated skiff
balances on the waves. To have an estate in the
Rheingau, and a boat on the Rhine, are the two
extreme points of human happiness in this country.
Of all the vineyards in this part of the Rhine
valley the most celebrated is the Johannisberg.
After having belonged for some centuries to the
abbey and convent of St. John, the original passed,
early in the present century, into the hands of the
prince of Orange ; but the all-dividing Napoleon
presented it as a gift to Marshal Kellermann. At
the close of the first empire, it was given by the
emperor of Austria to Prince Metternich to be held
as an imperial fief. " The ground around is too
precious as a vineyard to be laid out in gardens: no
trees are allowed, as they would deprive the vines
of the sun's rays ; but on the north side of the
houses there is a sort of vineyard planted with
trees. The best wine grows close under the
château, and indeed partly over the cellars. The
species of wine cultivated is the Riesling. The
management of it at all seasons requires the most
careful attention. The grapes are allowed to re¬
main on the vines as long as they can hold together,
and the vintage usually begins a fortnight later
than anywhere else. The vine-grower is not satis¬
fied with ripeness ; the grape must verge on rotten¬
ness before it suits his purpose ; and although mucli
is lost in quantity by this delay in gathering, it is
considered that the wine gains thereby in strength
and body. So precious are the grapes, that those
which fall are picked off the ground with a kind of
fork made for the purpose. The extent of the
vineyard is about seventy acres, and it is divided
into small compartments, the produce of each of
which is put into separate casks : even in the best
years there is considerable difference in the value
of different casks. Its produce amounts in good
years to about forty butts (called stiicks), and of
DESCRIPTION OF
THE RHEINGAU.
1\ ohms, and has been valued at 80,000 florinR.
The highest price ever paid was 18,000 florins for
1350 bottles, or upwards of thirteen florins a
bottle."
THE KHEINGAU.
Generally speaking, the course of the Rhine,
after leaving Mainz, is that of a river running in a
deep mountain channel. On the right the Taunus,
and on the left the Hundsriick, have neared each
other as if they would absolutely arrest the pro¬
gress of the waters. To the most superficial
observer it is evident that, in ages long ago, the
solid mountain mass must have been disrupted by
some formidable convulsion ; and in the chasm
then created now flows the mighty stream—far
mightier, it may be, in those days of earth's stir
and turmoil. On either side it now washes a wall
of rock, its narrow banks being covered with a
scanty vegetation of firs and reeds, whose gloomy
verdure communicates to the waters the colour of
bronze. Here and there some persevering labourer
has broken up the obdurate soil, and planted the
fruitful vine. The live rock, wounded by the
miner's pick, gnawed at by the waters, eaten by
frost and rain, exhibits its marvellous strata of
red and blue ; and day and night, says a French
writer, seem to encounter one another, without
ever commingling, in the cavernous hollows of
their declivities. At one point the eye is lost in
a deep darkness; at another it rests on a surface
flooded with light.
And mark how the river murmurs and plashes,
as it eddies round a rock rising in the centre of its
channel. Mark how it tumbles in a miniature
cascade over the ledges which its waters have
created. And now, behold, the mountains seem to
hem it in, and the waters rest tranquilly in their
sheltered basin, as in a far-off mountain tarn ? We
look in vain for its point of issue. When did it
enter? whence will it escape? Is not this the
termination of the Rhine? There is something
attractive, and yet melancholy, in this deception.
Were the heights loaded with snow, says Durand,
you might think that the river had turned back
towards its Swiss cradle, and had poured itself into
one of the great lakes of the Alpine regions.
Thus, then, we have seen the Rhine in its wilder
and gloomier beauty. There are no more villages
after Bingen, few human habitations, scarcely any
cultivation. An infinite grandeur is given to the
picture by their silence and solitude; and as we
gaze upon it our thoughts are raised to its own
high standard. And the spectator, carrying his
fancy back over the gulf of time, readily calls up
the images of the primeval world, and traces
through the ages the successive fortunes of the
stream.
All Christian that it is, and though the spires
and towers of a thousand churches are mirrored
in its waves, the Rhine still gives birth to un¬
numbered pagan fables, unnumbered phantoms, of
which it is both the cradle and the realm. Sylphs,
and elves, and gnomes, loreleys, nixes, and ondines,
spring into life along its banks, haunt its rocks,
inhabit its crystal caverns, and contend with the
priest for the empire of the river. The devil is
on their side ; the devil, who was ever-present to
the mediasval imagination, figures in at least one-
lialf of the legendary history of the Rhine. There
is not a hermitage whose saint he has not tempted
with his wiles ; not a monastery to which he has
not done some evil turn ; not a cathedral but he
has doomed it to remain unfinished for ever.
Simultaneously with the religious life, feudalism
seized upon this fair countryside, to leave the
indelible mark of its iron sway. The stir and
conflict of the early centuries rendered necessary
those innumerable burgs or fortresses which, from
Bingen to Coblenz, form along the Rhine a belt
of towers and battlements. Each summit, each
rock, each mountain gorge, had its master. En¬
trenched behind walls six feet in thickness, separ¬
ated from the commerce of men by draw-bridges,
and bastions, and precipices, these warriors only
quitted their falcons' nests to pounce upon a prey
or to attack one another. It was an age of un¬
restrained violence. In no other country was
mediasval history characterized by so much blood,
and rapine, and disorder ; by so much turbulence
on the part of the chief, by so much misery on the
part of the peasant. And nowhere else has the
image of those times been preserved with so much
fidelity. Yon keeps, yon platform, yon shattered
and crumbling walls, which, enthroned upon the
rock, have so valiantly endured the weight of
centuries—all these are the past, are feudalism,
are history. It is as if an ancient theatre had
remained erect, with the scenery almost uninjured
of the drama formerly enacted within it. But
where are the actors? where the movement, the
sounds, the accents of human speech ? Everything
99
THE RHINE VALLEY.
is alive in the past ; everything is dead in the
present. *
FROM MAINZ TO COBLENZ BY THE RIGHT BANK OF
THE RHINE.
Passing the long narrow islands of Petersau and
Jugelheimerau, we arrive at Biberich, a small but
pleasantly situated town of 5000 inhabitants, whose
single attraction is the château of the duke of
Nassau, a handsome structure of red sandstone,
built towards the early part of the last century in
the Renaissance style. Its richly decorated front
faces the Rhine, and forms a conspicuous feature
in the landscape. It consists of two main buildings,
terminated by a couple of wings, and connected by
a kind of circular projection or rotunda, ornamented
with a group of statues. The interior is furnished
with much taste and splendour, and the windows
open up a number of beautiful views of the Rhine
scenery.
Elfeld, or Eltville, bears the distinction of being
the only town in the Rheingau. Its name is a
corruption of Alta Villa, and indicates its con¬
spicuous and elevated position. From afar it may
be recognized by the lofty, four-turreted watch-
tower, which crowns the ridge of the acclivity,
and is a part of the castle erected here in the four¬
teenth century by the archbishops of Mainz. These
distinguished prelates were often glad of a safe
refuge from their turbulent citizens. It was here
that in 1349 Gunther of Schwarzburg, when be¬
leaguered by his rival Charles IV., resigned his
crown, and died, probably of poison. The castle
was destroyed by the successive efforts of the
Swedes and French. Of the town it may be
noted that it possessed a printing press as early as
1465, and that its environs are unusually pictur¬
esque and attractive. There is a beautiful chapel of
St. Michael in the Kedriel valley. It was built in
1440, and of the later Gothic is a valuable example.
The islands which here stud the expansive
bosom of the river are named Rheinau, or West-
phaelau, Langwertherau, and Sandau. Charlemagne
often resorted to them to fish, when he was resid¬
ing at Jugelheim (of which hereafter). And
upon one of them, probably Sandau, Louis the
Debonnair, hunted to the death by his cruel sons,
ended his wretched life in June, 840.
* Durand, Le Rhin Allemand. We apologize for our long quotation,
but M. Durand's sketches are both lively and accurate, and are interest¬
ing to English readers as taken from a French point of view.
100
A little below Hattenheim the Rhine attains its
maximum breadth, 2000 feet; and in the vicinity
of this town, on the Strahlenberg, grows the
celebrated Marcobrunnen wine, so named from the
small fountain of Markbrunnen. Count Schon-
bom's château, Reichartshausen, is situated further
down the river, in a pleasant but not very exten¬
sive park.
Through a country of vineyards, whose radiant
smiling aspect it is impossible to describe, but of
which one can never grow weary, we proceed to
Geisenheim, distinguishable from a distance by the
open Gothic towers recently added (1836) to its
fifteenth-century church. Here lies the dust of
John Philip, of Schoarbom, formerly elector of
Mainz.
Of far greater interest than any of the vintage
towns mentioned is Riidesheim (sixteen and half
miles by rail from Biberich), a place of great
antiquity, of much importance, and picturesque
situation. The neighbouring hills blush with the
vines which produce the famous Riidesheim liquor,
the essence of the precious grape. Tradition
ascribes the origin of these vineyards to Charle¬
magne, who, remarking from his palace at Jugel¬
heim that the snow disappeared from the heights
of Riidesheim sooner than elsewhere, and detect¬
ing the advantageousness of the locality for vine-
growing, ordered suitable plants to be conveyed
thither from Burgundy and Orleans. And the
grapes, we may add, are still called Orleans.
The great antiquity of Riidesheim is the pic¬
turesque quadrangular keep, seated close to the
bank of the Rhine, and known as the Brômserburg,
which dates from 1100. It is also called the
Neiderburg and the Oboeburg. It consists of three
vaulted stories, and its walls are from eight to
fourteen feet in thickness. It dates from the thir¬
teenth century, and measures about 110 feet in
length, ninety-five feet in width, and seventy-five
feet in height—a formidable mass picturesquely
adorned with ivy and shrubs. " What an admirable
feudal castle ! " cries Victor Hugo. " Romanesque
caverns, Romanesque walls, a hall of knights
illuminated by a lamp resembling that in Charle¬
magne's tent, Renaissance windows, iron lanterns
of the thirteenth century suspended to the walls,
narrow corkscrew staircases, frightfully gloomy
cells or oubliettes, sepulchral urns ranged in a
kind of ossuary—a complete accumulation of black
and terrible things, at whose summit expands an
E 0= F E 0= ID) TT D
WILLIAM MACKENZIE.. LONDON. EDINBURGH I GLASGOW
RUINED CASTLES
ON THE RHINE.
enormous crest of verdure and flowers, whence wo
may contemplate the magnificence of the Rhine."
At first, the Bromserburg belonged to the arch¬
bishops of Mainz ; next, to the nobles of Riides-
heim-Brômser (a family which died out in 1688) ;
and afterwards it passed through the hands of
various owners into those of Prince Metternich,
who sold it to the Count von Jugelheim.
From Riidesheim we always strike inland to the
beautiful Niederwald, or Lower Forest. Here are
Lagdschloss, a small hunting box ; the Bezaubertu
Haehle, or "Magic Grotto," affording three superb
tableaux of the castle and church of Falkenburg,
Rheinstein, and the Schweizerhaus. Thence we
ascend to the artificial ruin of the Rossel, and " under
the shade of melancholy bought, " to the Temple ;
which is situated on the very summit, 780 feet
above the Rhine. Both from the Rossel and the
Temple the views are grandly impressive; and
though many others equal, few, if any, surpass
them. They have a character of their own which
prevents them from being forgotten, and once seen
they are stamped upon the memory for ever.
Passing the confluence of the Nahe with the
Rhine, we mark the old quartz rock which rises
in the middle of the narrowing river, where the
latter seeks to force a passage between the Taunus
and the Hundsriick. The rock is crowned with
the ruins of an old tower, the Maeusethurm, or
Mouse Tower, or Bishop Hatto's Tower. Asso¬
ciated with it is a romantic legend, of which
Southey has given a version. The tower was
built in the thirteenth century, by Archbishop
Siegfried, for the accommodation of the guards
who levied the tolls inflicted on passing vessels.
Hence it was called the Mauth or Maus, that is,
the Toll tower. It was restored in 1856.
Continuing along the right bank, we come to
Ehrenfels, the romantic ruins of a castle built in
1210, and frequently occupied by the archbishops
of Mainz, when they and their treasures were in
danger from their turbulent subjects. It was
captured by the Swedes in 1635, and destroyed
by the French in 1689. The most delightful and
luxuriant vineyards embower these picturesque
ruins.
Below Ehrenfels we cross the Bingerloch, an
artificial canal excavated in a rocky dyke which,
at that point, obstructs the bed of the Rhine.
It was constructed by the Prussian government
between 1830 and 1832.
We arrive at Lorch, the Laureacum of the
Romans, situated at the confluence of the Wisper
with the Rhine. In medieval times it was in¬
habited by numerous nobles, whose mansions are
still extant. The church was founded in the
twelfth century, but has undergone considerable
reconstruction. It has a fine chime of bells,
whose melody, gliding over the waters and echo¬
ing through the vineyard alleys, has a singularly
impressive effect.
On the right bank of the Wisper rises, abrupt
and precipitous, the terraced rock known as the
Devil's Ladder—Teufelsleiter—crowned by the
crumbling ruins of the castle of Nollicht or Nol-
lingen. Even on this rude rock " the flower of a
legend blows."
Below Lorch, a fair and well-cultivated little
island breaks the waters of the Rhine. Below
Bacharach, which will receive attention hereafter,
the river plunges into a mass of rocks, with inces¬
sant clouds of spray and foam, and would be
impassable for ships but for the canal excavated
by the Prussian government in 1850. This Wilde
Gefcecht, however, is one of the most picturesque
points on the river.
At a bend of the stream, and on a rocky islet,
stands the romantic castle of Pfalz or Pfalzgra-
benstein, erected in the fourteenth century by
the Emperor Louis the Bavarian. It completely
commanded the passage of the Rhine, and levied
a toll on all passing vessels. Here Louis le
Debonnair died in 840, weary with the fatigues
of empire, and longing only for a thatched lodge
or leafy hut to shelter him in his last home. The
" soothing music of the gurgling waters " lulled
him to his rest. It was often used as a prison,
and its dark and horrible dungeons lie below the
level of the river. The castle is accessible by
means of a ladder, and the solitary entrance is
closed by a portcullis. The well which supplied
its inmates with water is filled from a source far
deeper than the bed of the Rhine. According to
an old belief, the princesses Palatine always came
here for their accouchements, and the mother and
babe took their first airing in a boat on the sur¬
rounding waters.
Opposite Pfalz on the right bank of the Rhine,
which, let us remind the reader, is the bank we
have been descending, is Caub, with its important
slate quarries. It was here, on the 1st of January,
1814, that the Prussian army, under Blucher,
101
THE RHINE VALLEY.
crossed the river, and commenced the invasion of
France.
To the north of this little hut remarkable town
rises conspicuous the castle of Gutenfels. We
hear of it as early as 1178, when the lords of
Falkenstein sold it to the Palatinate, along with
Caub, which, as was customary with the feudal
towns, had grown up silently at its feet. It is
said to owe its name—Guta's Rock—to the
beautiful Beatrix Guta or Guda, the sister of
Philip von Falkenstein, with whom our Richard
ot Cornwall, king of the Romans, became des¬
perately enamoured, and whom he afterwards
married. When the storm of the Thirty Years'
War raged down the valley of the Rhine, Gus-
tavus Adolphus attempted to dislodge a Spanish
garrison which had previously been stationed in
it; but the natural and artificial strength of the
position foiled all his efforts.
As we descend the river grows narrower, and
runs with pent-up waters in a rocky channel. A
rock on the right bank, singularly shaped, arrests
every eye. It looks, as if giants had been con¬
structing a staircase,; and had failed in, or grown
weary of, their task. The eeho here is turned by
the inhabitants to some account. It repeats every
sound which strikes upon it seven times. As the
steamboat passes, a man, stanching on the left bank
of the river, fires a few pistol shots, that the
passengers may be amused with their repeated
reverberations. It is a favourite jest with the
German students to ask the hidden nymph," Echo,
what is the burgomaster of Oberwesel ?" Echo
answers, Esel, that is, " an ass."
Much of the poetry of the Rhine centres in this
craggy rock. For ley means a rock, and lore is
an old word for song, or music. Lurlei or Lore¬
lei is, therefore, the " rock of song;" and the lore-
leys of the Rhine are singing maidens of great
beauty, who, like the sirens of old, beguile the
listener to his death. One legend relates that the
boatmen sometimes descry on the summit of the
rock a maiden of surpassing loveliness. She begins
her enticing chant. In spite of themselves they
are constrained to listen; and while they listen
their boat dashes against the rocks, is shattered
to pieces, and they are carried underneath the
waves to the crystal halls of the Lurlei.
A Count Palatine was desirous' of seeing this
siren, whose charms so far excelled all ordinary
human beauty. He, too, fell a victim to her arts.
102
His father immediately ordered his soldiers to
bring the young magician to him, alive or dead.
But just as they thought themselves on the point
of seizing her, she called upon the river to come
to her rescue. Immediately it obeyed. From its
foamy waves sprang two white horses, removed
the stone on which she was seated, and dragged
it down to the river-depth. On their return to
the castle, they found that the siren had restored
the young count to his home. Since this epoch,
she has ceased to show herself; but her soft voice
still awakens the murmurs of the evening breeze,
and at times she will sport with the boatmen by
mimicking their voices.
A small, and gradually decreasing fishery, is
carried on in the neighbourhood of the Lurlei-bay.
We now pass by the fearful whirlpool of the
Baik Bank, and the narrow and dangerous defile
of the Gewirra—the Scylla and Charybdis of the
Rhine. They prove no obstacle, however, to the
progress of the Rhine steamers.
Our course now brings us to Sanct Goarshausen,
opposite Sanct Goar. It is situated at the entrance
of the beautiful and romantic Swiss valley, between
the "Cat" and the "Mouse."
The "Cat" (die Katze) is an ancient castle,
founded by the Counts von Katzenelnbogen (" cat's
elbow") in 1392. It derived its name, perhaps,
not from its lords, but because it watched the
merchant vessels, in order to levy exactions upon
them, as a cat watches a mouse. After this family
died out, in 1470, it passed into the hands of
various Hessian princes, until destroyed by the
French in 1806. Its ruins command a view both
rich and rare.
Opposite to it, but also in a ruined condition,
stands the " Mouse" (die Maus), also called the
Thurmberg or Ivunoberg, built in 1363 by Kuno
von Falkenstein, in order to keep the " Cat" under
control. " Henceforth," said he, " I will be the
mouse which frightens the cat!" And he was
right, said Victor Hugo, for it is a formidable pile
even to this day.
There is another of these eloquent memorials
of feudalism far up the Swiss valley (which is
by no means Swiss, though very picturesque in
character). It is called the Reichenburg, and
its history is easily summed up. As thus :—
Built in 1280 by Count Wilhelm I. of Katzen¬
elnbogen; destroyed in 1302; reconstructed by
Baudoin of Trier in the Oriental style; destroyed
WILLI AM MACKENZIE, LONDON, EDINBURGH t OLASGOW.
E.I.Roberts-
E il IF,
î E 11
IT E D& M E M F E H,
WI LI IA M MACKENZIE. LONDON. EDINBURGH & GLASGOW.
A LOVELY
LANDSCAPE.
"by the ferocious Tilly in the Thirty Years' War;
inhabited until 1806; sold, for purposes of demo¬
lition, in 1818; and now in possession of Herr
Habel "von Schierstein. Such are the phases
through which a feudal castle seems generally to
pass.
On the right bank we pass the little Gothic
church ofWilmich, at the foot of the steep and
broken rock crowned by the ruined fortalice of
the Mouse. Lower down is Ehrenthal, with its
silver, its copper, and its lead mines ; and a short
journey brings us to one of the " hallowed spots"
of the Rhine—to the Castles of the Brothers,
Liebenstein and Sternfels, whose story has been
several times told by the poets.
" The mountains that inclose the river," says
Mr. Mayhew, " are finely rugged, and ribbed with
the schistose rocks that in some places protrude
through the green hill-sides, and that in others
apparently stream down from the top like à cas¬
cade of crags.
" Then there are the grand old ruins cresting
the summits, and lending a hoary historic life to
the neighbouring mountains—and the little bits of
vineyards, crammed in among the stones whereon
the sun can fall, and tinting the green-gray crags
with many a golden streak—and the lovely repose
of the valley openings, looking soft and cool in the
rich 'clear-obscure' of the shade that hangs over
them like a veil of dusky air, and with the steamy
cloud of smoke that rises, as if it were so much
morning mist, from the valley-hollows, telling of
the peaceful homesteads that lie cradled within
them; and the white frothy brooks streaming
under the little archways beside the Rhine, and
whispering of the many mills they give life and
motion to as they come tumbling down the steep
rocky dingles behind, and pouring over the walls
of crag there in such a mass of foam that the very
water seems no longer liquid, but to be a torrent of
powdery particles, like snow, showered down from
one ledge to another."
At Filzen the Rhine bends abruptly eastward,
and washes the town of Ostersperg, resting in the
cool green shadow of the Liebeneck. Then the
Rhine resumes its northerly direction at Denk-
hers, famous for its mineral spring; and flows past
Braubach and the grand castle of Marxburg.
Several hundred feet above the town of Brau¬
bach, on a rugged and rocky mountain height,
stands its noble castle, which has been described
as bearing some degree of likeness to that of Dover,
but seems to us more closely to resemble the Scoto-
I Gothic castles of northern Britain. At all events,
i it is one of the most complete examples of a feudal
castle along the whole course of the Rhine. Seen
from the river, or from the village street, it pos¬
sesses an indescribably grand effect, and one may
be forgiven for fancying it the work of some ancient
Titan, who, after piling rock upon rock, erected a
stronghold for himself on the wind-swept summit.
THE MAKXBUKG.
Through long, narrow, and climbing alleys we
reach the foot of the castled mountain, and then
by a zig-zag path undertake the laborious ascent.
It is right to add that the labour is much sweetened
by the delightful glimpses you catch ever and anon
of the flowing river and its wooded banks.
The first object to which your attention is
directed after you enter the castle is the gloomy
vault, the prison of the German Emperor Henry
IV. The walls are bare and ochred, and there is
only a "rude, little, conical chimney-place sunk in
one corner of the apartment," while opposite a loop¬
hole, rather than a window, is insefted in a very
small recess. On one side of this aperture a small
stone slab, projecting from the massive wall, serves
as a rude uncomfortable seat. Here Henry II.
was imprisoned, after the rebellion of the German
princes in favour of Rudolph, duke of Suabia.
From the prison-chamber you wind your way
through dim, dark, and mysterious corridors, and
across various apartments, and up steep and half-
broken steps, to the gloomy dungeon called the
Hundloch, or " dog-hole." After your eyes grow
accustomed to its semi-darkness, you make out a
beam slanted up on end, like a rude crane project¬
ing from the ground, with a windlass attached to
its base. This is the apparatus by which prisoners
doomed to perpetual captivity, or, more truly speak¬
ing, to a lingering and terrible death, were lowered
into the actual dog-hole, the pit below. The guide
lifts up a trap in the floor, and standing on the
edge and looking over, you see, by the glimmer of
light let in through a chink or slit in the wall,
that the pit resembles a well about thirty feet in
depth. Into this most miserable of dungeons the
poor wretch was lowered by the crane which we
have spoken of; lowered, perhaps, with a crash
which happily saved him from further suffering.
Otherwise, provisions were let down in the same
103
THE RHINE VALLEY.
way, as long as the doomed man dragged on his
wretched life.
From the dog-hole you ascend a narrow spiral
staircase, hewn out of the massive masonry of the
main tower, to the square platform which serves as
roof ; and from this elevated position you enjoy a
picture of the Rhine, so bright, so beautiful, so
rich in colour, that you forget at once the gloom
of the scenes you have been looking upon. From
this grand observatory we descend to the Fotter-
kammer, or Rack-chamber, another dark and dis¬
mal apartment, from which, however, the instrument
of torture to which it owes its name has been re¬
moved. Thence we pass into the Speis-kammer,
or Dinner-chamber; and the Ritter-saal, or the
Knight's Hall, now used as a prison. Adjoining
these another strong room is situated, whose white
walls are covered with rude frescoes, drawn by the
prisoners who, in the last century, were inmates
of the place. Some of these consist of figures of
warriors and princes, while others possess more
of a grotesque than chivalrous character : such
as wooden-legged fiddlers, peasants dancing, inn¬
keepers carrying frothy cups of beer. In among
these are scattered numerous inscriptions in prose
and verse.
It is said that a secret passage descends through
the live rock, connecting the Marxburg with a
tower on the borders of the river. The castle is
(or was until very lately) garrisoned by a corps of
invalids.
Continuing our survey, we come to a little chapel,
embosomed among trees, and nearly opposite the
Konigsstuhl (on the left bank), which calls for our
special attention as the place where, in 1400, the
four electors of the Rhine declared the deposition
of the Emperor Wenceslaus, and elected in his stead
the Count Palatine, Rupert III. This incident is
a signal proof of the decay into which the Holy
Roman Empire had by this time fallen, and of the
virtual usurpation by the electors of the imperial
power. The chapel, then, is literally one of the
landmarks of the history of the Holy Roman
Empire.
We next pause at Oberlahnstein (Upper Lahn-
stein), situated on a long bank of silted-up deposit
facing the Rhine, its shore sanguine with heaps
of red iron ore from the Nassau mines. 'Tis a
picturesque old town, with stone rampart walls
and old towers and turreted gates, and at the
further end the palace of the electors of Mainz,
104
rebuilt or enlarged. On the hill above moulder
the ruins of the Lahneckburg, a castle of great
antiquity, which figures in history as destroyed
by the French in 1688, and in poetry as sung of
by Goethe.
On the other side of the Lahn, which here comes
down a romantic valley to join its waters with
those of the Rhine, is Niederlahnstein (or Nether
Lahnstein), and close by stands the structure of
Johannis-lcirche (St. John's church), with the tall
lonely tower looking like the keep of some ancient
stronghold, and reflecting its gray hoary walls in
the silver mirror of the Lahn. It was destroyed
by the Swedes, and after remaining for many
years in a ruinous condition, was restored in 1857.
Stolzenfels, rising so grandly on the opposite bank
of the Rhine, will hereafter engage our attention.
On the right bank we pass Storchheim, the island
of Oberwerth (or Upper Island, lying in a sheltered
bay), and the village of Pfaffendorf. Opposite
Coblenz rises Ehrenbreitstein, the " Gibraltar of
the Rhine," the " Broad Stone of Honour." The
best view of the steep mountainous rock, and the
tremendous fortress which crowns it, is obtained
from the opposite bank, just below the bridge that
unites Coblenz with the Petersberg.
We now proceed to describe the left bank of the
river from Mainz to Coblenz.
TO COBLENZ. BY THE LEFT BANK OF THE RHINE.
During the early portion of our course from
Mainz to Coblenz, the railway closely hugs the
romantic bank of the river, which is here studded
with numerous islands. On the opposite shore all
the beauties of Biebericli and the Rheingau are
successively opened up to our gaze. Beyond the
small village of Bredonheim, the iron road starts
away from the river, and through a wood of mur¬
murous pines reaches Heidesheim ; of which I
know nothing more than that all about it cluster
prolific vineyards and not less prolific orchards.
The left bank is neither so romantic nor so
interesting as the right until we reach Nieder
Ingelheim, which lies about two miles inland from
the river, on the Seltz, one of its minor affluents.
It is a town to look at with curious interest, if it
be true, as most historians assert, that Charle¬
magne, the most imperial of emperors, was born
here. He seems to have regarded it with the affec¬
tion one generally feels for one's native town ; and
he erected within its walls, between 768 and 774, a
BINGEN AND
BACHARACH.
palace of more than usual splendour; a palace
embellished, it is said, with one hundred columns
of marble and porphyry whicli he had brought
from Rome, and with the costliest mosaics, which
Pope Hadrian had sent to him from Ravenna as
a gift. Not a vestige of its ancient magnificence
now remains.
It was here, on the 30th of December, 1105,
occurred one of the most remarkable incidents
in the history of the Holy Roman Empire. The
bishops of Mainz, Kôln, and Wurms pronounced
the deposition of the Emperor Henry IV. Ad¬
vancing towards him, they removed the " circle
of sovereignty from his head," tore him from the
throne on which he was seated, and stripped off
his imperial robes.
To conclude our catalogue of the associations
of this quiet little town, let us point to the small
obelisk at its extremity, whereon two immortal
names come into strange juxtaposition ; both of
them conquerors, and imperial founders, and great
administrators, but how unlike in their fate, and
in the fate of their work ! This is the inscription
on the obelisk :—
"Route de Charlemagne, terminée en l'an 1er
du régne de Napoléon, empereur des Français."
(The great road of Charlemagne, completed in the
first year of the reign of Napoleon, emperor of the
French.)
Through a beautiful country we make our way
to Bingen, where the Nahe pours its waters into
the Rhine. Confined on the left by the Nahe, on
the right by the Rhine, it has developed itself in a
triangular form around a Gothic church, set back
to back against a Roman citadel. In the direction
of Mainz sparkles the famous plain called Paradies,
opening up the rich wine-garden of the Rheingau.
On the side of Coblenz the sombre summits of
Leyen rise against the horizon.
Bingen is the Roman Bingium, and its bridge
across the Nahe is still called, as Tacitus called
it, the " Bridge of Drusus." It was built by the
Archbishop Wittigis in the eleventh century (1013),
probably with the materials and on the site of the
Roman bridge, which the Treviri had destroyed
in A.D. 70. It was again rebuilt in the seventeenth
century, and has been frequently repaired. The
ruin called Klopp, on an eminence above the town,
though of no greater antiquity than the days of
feudalism, was probably raised on the site of one
of the Roman forts built by Drusus. Bingen,
o
commanding both the Nahe and the Rhine, was
necessarily a military post of much importance
before the invention of artillery. In the middle
ages it belonged to the archbishops of Mainz and
Trier. Its prosperity dates from its colonization
by some Lombard merchants from Asti, in Pied¬
mont—the Ottini, Pomario, Broglio, and others.
In 1302 it was successfully defended against the
Emperor Albert ; but in the Thirty Years' War,
and the War of the Succession, its position having
ceased to prove formidable in defence, it passed
from one of the belligerents to the other with
admirable facility. It was included in the French
territories from 1797 until 1813, and three years
later was annexed to Hesse Darmstadt.
There is not much to be seen in Bingen, but
around it the interesting features are very numer¬
ous. One of these is the Rochus Kapelle, or
chapel of St. Roch, situated high up the hill—in
truth, on its very crest, almost opposite Rtides-
heim on the other bank. The ascent to it is neither
very long nor very difficult ; and were it both long
and difficult, you would still be repaid for your
labour by the magnificent prospect from the sum¬
mit. The completeness of its beauty, its exquisite
atmospheric radiance, its ever-changing effects of
light and shade, its combinations or contrasts of
colour, render the spectacle to the eye as if seen
through a kaleidoscope. The Sunday following
the 16th of August is St. Roch's day, when hun¬
dreds of pilgrims congregate from every quarter to
pay their vows to the saint, who is famous as an
averter of plague and pestilence.
There is a hill called the Scharlachkopf, which
is easily accessible from Bingen or from St. Roch's
chapel, and whose declivities are thickly planted
with vines of good quality. From the terrace of
this hill, too, the view is charming.
We resume our descent of the river, but do not
halt again until we arrive at Bacharach, the medi¬
aeval Ara Bacchi, long celebrated for the superior
excellence of its wines. The true Bacchi ara is a
rock in the bed of the river, adjoining the island a
little below the town. Usually it is covered with
water, but in very dry seasons its bare surface
rises above the river-level, much to the gratifica¬
tion of the lord of the vineyard, who hails it as a
sign of an auspicious vintage. It is said that
Bacharach wine was of so delicious a flavour that
Pope Pius II. imported a tun of it to Rome every
year, and that the freedom of the city of Nurein-
105
THE RHINE
VALLEY.
berg was purchased by the annual gift of a few
casks of it to the Emperor Wenceslaus.
Victor Hugo's description of Bacharach is amus¬
ing. You would say, he remarks, that a giant,
who dealt in bric-à-brac, wishing for a show-room
on the Rhine, seized upon this mountain, cut it
up into terraces, and piled upon these terraces, from
top to bottom, and with all a giant's taste, a heap
of enormous curiosities. In truth, he began under
the very waters of the Rhine ; for there, just
beneath the surface, lies a volcanic rock, according
to some authorities, a Celtic pulven, according to
others, and a Roman altar, according to the few.
There, on the bank of the river, moulder two or
three old, worm-eaten hulls of ships, cut in two, and
planted upright in the earth, so as to make decent
cabins for fishermen. Next, behind these cabins,
we come to a portion of the city wall, formerly
crenellated, and supported by four square towers,
the most ruinous and shot-battered that ever human
eye beheld. After this, against the very enceinte
itself, where the houses are all pierced with win¬
dows and galleries, and beyond, at the foot of the
mountain, an indescribable pellmell of amusing
edifices, fantastic turrets, preposterous façades,
impossible pignons, whose double staircase carries
a belfry pushed forward like a holy-water sprinkler
on every stage, heavy timbers designing upon
cottages most delicate arabesques, barns in volutes,
balconies open to the day, chimneys fashioned like
trains and crowns philosophically full of smoke,
extravagant weather-cocks ; but why need we con¬
tinue the enumeration ?
Amidst this most admired disorder there is an
open area, a twisted space or place, made by blocks
of mountains which have fallen from the sky hap¬
hazard, and which has more bays, islands, reefs,
and promontories than a Norwegian gulf. On one
side of this place stands a couple of polyhedrons,
composed of Gothic constructions, overhanging,
bent forward, grimacing, and impudently holding
itself erect in defiance of all the laws of geometry
and equilibrium. On the other side, observe the
beautiful Byzantine Church of St. Peter, with its
handsome gateway and lofty belfry, and the host
of tombs in the Renaissance style which crowd its
interior. It was formerly a Templar church, and
is interesting as an early example of mixed Round
and Gothic.
Above this church, and on the road to the old
castle of Stahleck, lie the ruins of St. Werner's
106
church—windowless, roofless, doorless—yet a
magnificent specimen of later Gothic, built of hard
red sandstone in 1428. " It was demolished by
the Swedes in the Thirty Years' War, but still
shows in its east end a lantern, the highest and
most elegant lancet style existing."
We come next to Schœnberg, the cradle of the
family so named, whose most illustrious offshoot
seems to have been the Marshal Schomberg who
closed a long military career at the Battle of the
Boyne, fighting for William III. Below Schœn¬
berg is situated the picturesque town of Oberwesel,
the Vesalia of the Romans, with its ivy-shaded,
crenellated towers, its old, narrow, and quaint
streets, and its two superb Gothic churches. The
walls are in many places curiously romantic, and
in the lower part of the town is the lofty round
tower of the Ochsenthurm.
The church of Our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche), at
the upper end of the town, is a simple but grace¬
fully proportioned church, erected in 1331-38.
Its roof is eighty feet in height, and rests upon
plain square piers. Its porches are richly sculp¬
tured, and the vaulting of the cloisters is singular.
In a side chapel are many monuments of the
Schomberg family, bearing rudely carved effigies
of knights in armour, ladies in ruffs and stomachers,
and babies in swaddling clothes, like mummies or
the larvse of insects.
The church of Saint Martin is still older, and
its architectural details are full of interest. The
altar-piece represents the Lowering of Our Saviour's
Body from the Cross, by Diepenbeck, one of the
pupils of Rubens.
Sanct Goar is opposite Sanct Goarshausen. The
Hinter Rhein-strasse, which is the High Street of
St. Goar, and the principal one of the two making
up the long narrow town, has so few shops in it,
that you would almost believe the simple villagers
dealt with one another according to the primitive
mode of barter. The church here is not a very
interesting edifice, but the Protestant church is a
well-looking structure near the centre of the town.
It was built in 1468, contains some monuments of
the Hessian princes, and stands over the crypt of
the ancient church of St. Goar. It was restored in
1482. In this crypt Saint Goar was buried.
Above Sanct Goar towers the lofty castled crag
of the Rheinfels, 368 feet high, the most extensive
ruin on the banks of the Rhine. The earliest
stronghold was founded by a Count Diesher of
WILLIAM MACKENZIE, LONOON, EDINBURGH & GLASGOW.
VIEW FROM THE STOLZENFELS.
Katzenelnbogen, in 1245, for the purpose of u
residence, and as a toll-tower, where he could levy
toll on passing vessels. The appetite grew by
what it fed on, and the bandit's exactions grew
so colossal, that the citizens of the neighbouring
towns plucked up spirit to rebel against him, and
finally, to besiege the robber in his lair. The
struggle was prolonged over fifteen months. Then
was formed, on a broader base, the great Confeder¬
ation of the Rhine, which destroyed so many of
these robber-fastnesses, and set free the navigation
of the river. Among the castles which the con¬
federated burghers captured was the Rheinfels ; it
afterwards came into the possession of the Land¬
grave of Hesse, who converted it into a modern
fortress of such strength that, in 1692, it suc¬
cessfully resisted a French army of 25,000 men,
commanded by Marshal Tallard, though the latter
had promised it as a New Year's gift to his sove¬
reign. In 1794, however, it surrendered, before
a shot was fired, to the French revolutionary army,
who, about three years later, blew up its formidable
defences.
Passing Salzig and its cherry orchards, we come
to Boppard, the Roman Baudobriga, which in
mediaeval times was an imperial free city. In
1312 the Emperor Henry VII. yielded it to his
brother Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, who united
it to the electorate. An attempt was made by
some of its inhabitants to reconquer their liberties,
but it failed. It now belongs to Prussia.
It is a pleasure to arrive at Rhense, for it is
one of the most picturesque towns on the Rhine,
and retains its mediaeval character with delightful
freedom from modern improvements. Few of its
houses, as the guide-book tells us, are newer than
the sixteenth, while many are as old as the four¬
teenth century ; a statement which, in itself, is
sufficient to stir any true archaeologist's imagina¬
tion. But Rhense has something more to boast
of. Just outside of it is the Kônigsstuhl, or
" King's Seat."
Here, says Victor Hugo, four men, coming from
four different directions, assembled at intervals near
a stone on the left bank of the Rhine, and at a
few paces from a grove of trees between Rhense
and Kapellen. These four men took their seats
upon the stone, and there they made, or unmade,
the emperors of Germany. The place selected by
them, Rhense, is nearly in the centre of the Rhine
Valley, and belonged to the elector of Koln. In
an hour, each elector could repair from Rhense to
his own territories.
While Napoleon held the mastery of the Rhenish
provinces the Kônigsstuhl fell into decay. In 1807
it was destroyed, and some of its materials used in
the construction of a new road. But happily it
was rebuilt in 1843 on exactly the same plan as
the original, and to a great extent the original
materials were employed.
Still pursuing the left bank of the river, we
arrive at Kapellen, splendidly dominated over
by the castle of the Stolzenfels, or the " Proud
Rock," as it is appropriately named. The rocky
promontory on which its walls and towers are
planted rises about 330 feet above the Rhine.
Destroyed by the French in 1688, the Stol¬
zenfels remained in decay until 1823, when the
city of Coblenz, which had become its owner,
presented it to the present emperor of Germany,
then crown prince of Prussia. From 1836 to 1845
the emperor expended upwards of £50,000 in
restoring it, from the designs of Herr Schenkil.
Looking southward from the Stolzenfels, at our
feet we see the ruined Marxburg and the red
roofs of Braubach ; near Oberlahnstein, the white
gleaming chapel of Wenceslaus; directly opposite,
by the side of the picturesque town of Rhense,
the Kônigsstuhl is barely visible through its
screen of trees. Like thë outstretched wings of a
bird of prey, the shattered battlements of Lahn-
eck still dominate over the ancient town of
Oberlahnstein, where the palace of the elector of
Mainz naturally attracts the eye. Farther away,
in the remote and lonely valley of the Lahn, rises
the Mountain of All Saints—the Allerheiligen-
berg—whose chapel is visited by numerous pil¬
grims. Before Niederlahnstein, and near the
mouth of the Nahe, stands conspicuous the church
of St. John. Northward, the woody isle of Ober-
werth stretches itself at full length on the bosom
of the Rhine. To the right, in the green cool
shadow of verdurous mountains, rise the rocks
of Ehrenbreitstein, or the " broad stone of honour,"
facing the formidable walls of Fort Alexander.
Between the rocks and the fort a bridge of boats
serves as a communication between Coblenz and
Ehrenbreitstein. Finally, against the remote
horizon are outlined the heights of Vallendar,
the town and the church of the same name.
107
CHAPTER VIII.
COBLENZ.
Ehrenbreitstein, a lofty rock, steep and abrupt
on three sides, and on its fourth, or weakest, the
north-western, protected by no less than three
formidable lines of defence, is armed with upwards
of 400 heavy guns. To the non-military observer
it seems as if military science had here done its
best and worst ; and that no force could possibly
advance in the face of the tremendous fire the
garrison could pour upon them. The great plat¬
form on the summit of the rock is not only used as
a parade ground, but artfully serves as a roof or
cover for cisterns of ■ immense capacity, which can
hold a supply of water for three years, furnished by
springs without the walls. Moreover, there is a
well, sunk 400 feet deep in the rock, which com¬
municates with the Rhme ; but then, Rhine water
is unwholesome, and would quickly lay low a
garrison with disease.
We may conclude then, that Ehrenbreitstein
could never be reduced by-ordinary military opera¬
tions, unless Coblenz was. in the hands of an
enemy; but that it might-possibly surrender to a
close and persistent blockade.
Ehrenbreitstein, the "broad stone of honour,"
seems to have been occupied for military purposes
since a very remote period. In 1631 the Elector
Philip Christopher, of Sœtern, gave it up to the
French, who retained possession of it for five years.
In 1688 it was unsuccessfully besieged by Marshal
Boufflers ; in 1795 and 1796 by General Marceau ;
but in 1799 it surrendered to the French after a
long and rigorous blockade. By the treaty of
Lunêville the French were compelled to restore it
to Germany : but before abandoning it they blew
it up, and converted it into the ruins so graphically
commemorated by Byron.
Through the town of Thal-Ehrenbreitstein, and
across the Rhine, we pass into Coblenz.
Coblenz owes its name to its position at the
confluence of two great rivers—the Rhine and the
Moselle. The Romans, who formed a camp here
about 30 b.c., called it Confluentia, or Conjluentes.
Coblenz is situated on a triangular or wedge-shaped
piece of land between the Moselle (north) and the
108
Rhine (east). It may be divided into the Old
Town and New Town. The former lies nearest to
the Moselle; its streets are narrow and tortuous,
and not unlike the wynds of Edinburgh. The
New Town, or Clement's Town, lies behind the
imperial château, built in 1778-86 by Clement
Wenceslas, last bishop-elector of Trier; its streets
are regularly laid out, its houses of good size and
well built.
Here is a lively picture :—" The banks of the
Moselle, opposite to Coblenz, are low, and a long
plain stretches far away behind them towards
Andernach, that has been, from Caesar's time, the
scene of many a fierce battle ; while close in front
of them the river is floored with the rafts, which
are here to be pieced together into one 1 float '
before descending the broader part of the Rhine
on their way to Holland : all along the shore, too,
there are huge, square stacks of planks, and the
air pants again, as it were, with the grating of the
saws from the neighbouring timber yards.
" The Coblenz houses along the quay beside the
Rhine are very different from those along the quay
beside the Moselle; for the buildings facing the
Ekein-strom are parts of the New Town, and con¬
sist chiefly of large white-fronted hotels, with their
names painted all along them in gigantic letters ;
and the banks immediately under these are beset
with many a landing-pier, beside which are grouped
the steamers, with their piebald funnels; while
beyond the dumpy round tower, with the Rhine
crane, like a giant fishing-rod, projecting through
its roof, and the square yellow-ochre turret of the
Government House rising behind it, at the end of
the quay, we can just catch sight of the tall red
sandstone of the palace portico, as high as the
building itself, and breaking, with a bold simplicity,
the great length of the otherwise plain façade.
" The buildings, however, on the side of the
city next the Moselle, are all of an antiquated
character, and there the gables of the narrow houses
are huddled together, one above another, till the
roofs look like so many black billows ; and beyond
these, the odd, old Exchange is seen, with its
ï JJRoberts.
EiIEKl®lED.ÏSTEI]Wc
WILLIAM MACKENZIE, IONOON. EDINBURGH 4 GLASGOW
DESCRIPTION
OF COBLENZ.
battlement-like turrets projecting from the upper
corners of its walls ; while farther on still, at the
end of the quay next the bridge, the eye rests upon
the ancient palace of the archbishop of Trier, with
the lighthouse-like towers at either angle of its
ochre-coloured front, and seeming more like the
gate to some fortress than the residence of a Chris¬
tian prelate.
" Then the Rhine-stream is crossed by a bridge
of boats no higher than a floating pier, and whose
platform stretches along the line of barges like an
enormous lengthy plank, reaching from one side
of the river to the other, and linking the valley
village with the city. This is now all in pieces,
for we can see large slabs of the floating roadway
standing out in the river, far away from the bridge
itself, and with two or three white-hooded peasant
women upon them, as if they had been carried
adrift in the hurry of crossing. Then, at either
end of the gap in the " Schiff-briicke" we can dis¬
tinguish the crowd of passengers dammed up, the
brass-tipped helmets of the cluster of soldiers
looking as if on fire in the sun, the market-women,
with their baskets poised upon their heads, together
with the white awning of the tilted carts, all
brought together into one pretty group ; while
between the glittering opening in the platform we
perceive in the distance some heavy, lazy-looking
barge, with the yellow load of planks stacked high
above its deck, and without a sail set, drifting
down with the stream slowly towards the bridge."
In the Old Town, very close to the actual junc¬
tion of the two rivers, is the church of Saint Castor.
The church is associated with some memorable
events. Beneath its roof the three sons of Louis
le Debonnair—Lothaire and Louis of Germany
and Charles the Bold—met to divide amongst them
the grand heritage of Charlemagne's empire. And
here, in the platz in front of the building, Edward
III. of England, in 1338, had an interview with
the Emperor Lewis of Bavaria, who installed him
Yicar of the Empire, to enable him to secure the
assistance of the imperial vassals on the left bank
of the Rhine in his campaign against France. As
a pledge of his honour, Edward deposited his
crown in the church, where it was guarded night
and day by an equal number (fifty) of Teutonic
and English knights. To few Englishmen, we
imagine, is this romantic incident known, which
links English history with a quaint old church in a
quaint old fortress-city on the bank of the Rhine!
In the New Town may he visited the Palace
of the Government; the Hauptsteueramt (or tax
offices), and the Royal Palace (Konigliche Schloss),
erected in 1778-1786 by the last elector of Trier,
Clement Wenceslas. The Prussian government
undertook its restoration some thirty years ago ;
and since 1845 it has frequently been inhabited
by the present emperor of Germany and his wife.
It commands a fine view of the Rhine, and the
interior contains some really precious works of art.
The service of the Church of England is performed
here twice every Sunday, by permission of the
emperor of Germany.
It has been well said by a recent French travel¬
ler, and must he apparent to every visitor, that
Cohlenz plays in the world a double part. Hap¬
pily situated at the junction point of two rivers—
the central ring of the vast chain of which the
two extremities are formed in Kôln and Mainz—
it necessarily serves as the focus of all the com¬
mercial industry and agricultural wealth for thirty
leagues around.
On the other hand, it is equally destined to the
rôle of a military city. Its position is not less
valuable to the defenders of Germany than for¬
midable to its enemies ; it commands the valley
of the Moselle, it overawes the passage of the
Rhine. It is one of the keys of Germany, and
its conquest would be one of the first tasks im¬
posed on an enemy invading the Prusso-Rhenish
provinces. Hence it is doomed to see itself con¬
fined and imprisoned within a threefold line of
forts and bastions.
There are many pleasant spots in its vicinity.
The Petersberg contains within its wall a plain
marble slab, with four corner stones, indicating
the grave of the French revolutionary general,
Hoche. Near at hand is the monument, a stone
pyramid, erected to the memory of Marceau,
another of the heroes of the Revolution. Trans¬
lated into English, the inscription runs thus :—
"Here rests Marceau, bora at Chartres, in the
department of Eure-et-Loir, a soldier at sixteen
and a general at twenty-two. He died [at Alten-
kirchen] fighting for his country, on the last day
of the fourth year of the French Republic [Sep¬
tember 21, 1796]. Whoever thou art, friend or
foe of this young hero, respect his ashes."
THE EIGHT BANK OF THE EHINE TO BONN.
Along this bank extends a range of " smiling
109
THE RHINE VALLEY.
hills," never of any considerable elevation, but
always of a very pleasant and picturesque aspect.
Upon their slopes and at their feet are situated
many little villages, which to the passer-by seem
perfect Areadias of peace, prosperity, and loveliness.
The first place, of any considerable importance
in regard to population, at which we arrive, is
Neuwied, a neat and cleanly town, with streets
crossing each other at right angles ; a town of
10,000 inhabitants, the capital of the principality
of Wied, but now belonging to Prussia.
A writer speaks of it as " a pretty little town
on the right bank of the Rhine, between Mainz
and Bonn. The situation is agreeable, the air
very healthy, and the country fertile. It lies in
a plain of considerable dimensions, terminated by
hills arranged in the fashion of an amphitheatre,
and presenting to the eye a charming variety of
fields, meadows, vineyards, and well-cultivated
orchards." All the religions of Europe (Moham¬
medanism excepted) have found a meeting-place
in this little town. In its factories, the Quaker
and the Moravian work side by side, recognizable
only by the different colour of their vestments.
The next place of interest is Andernach, the
Antenacum—that is, the statio ante Nacum, or
"advanced post of the Nette"—of the Romans.
During the supremacy of Napoleon, Andernach
was annexed to the French ; it now belongs to
Prussia. The neighbouring plain is one of the
great historic battle-fields of Germany. Here
Charles the Bold was defeated, in 876, by his
nephew Louis the Younger. Here, after a
bloody strife, the Franks prevailed over the
Normans in 850. Here Otho the Great success¬
fully withstood the freebooters of Duke Eberhard
and Philip of Hohenstaufen. Here the Arch¬
bishop Frederick of Kôln repulsed the soldiers of
the Emperor Henry Y. in 1114. And here, too,
various battles were fought in the Thirty Years'
War, the War of the Spanish Succession, and the
French Revolutionary War. At present it is the
scene, every three years, of the manœuvres of a
portion of the Prussian army.
The streets of Andernach are narrow and dirty,
but these demerits are of little importance, as they
are almost unfrequented. The great ornament
of the town is its parish church, the Pfarr Kirche.
The two tall towers, at the end of the nave, are
pierced all the way up with light Romanesque
arches, while in other parts the arches are Byzan-
110
tine. There are in all four towers, with Byzantine
belfries, which from a great distance serve as
conspicuous landmarks. Beautiful sculpture en¬
riches the south entrance to the transept. A bas-
relief of curious design, but exquisite workmanship,
represents the Adoration of the Lamb; another,
the death of " some lady in a painted green dress,
amid a crowd of priests and choristers, with arch¬
bishop-angels looking down upon her from the
clouds above."
The shore of the Rhine, in the neighbourhood
of the Crane Tower—which is lower down the
river than the Watch Tower, and was built in
1554—abounds with dark-gray millstones, made
of hard porous lava, and looking not unlike " so
many cheeses " piled one against another. These
are obtained from the curious basaltic lava quar¬
ries of Nieder Mendig; were well known to the
Romans; and are now exported in considerable
quantities to England, Russia, the East and West
Indies, and all parts of the world. Andernach
also produces a volcanic cement, or trass, from the
quarries of Brohl and Krup ; and a species of
pumice, called oven-stone, from the Bell quarries,
about five miles west.
Our course next brings us to Linz, a busy little
town of 3500 inhabitants, surrounded by walls
of basalt, and lying in a fruitful vineyard region.
Charles the Rash captured it in 1475, the Swedes
in 1632, the French in 1688. The tower near
its Rhine-gate was erected in 1365 by the arch¬
bishop of Koln, for the exaction of a toll from
boats ascending or descending the river ; and
also to defend the town against the burghers of
Andernach, who cherished a bitter hatred against
the Linzites. Linz lies opposite the mouth of
the Ahr, and commands a charming view of the
Ahr valley.
Below Linz we may visit the singular basaltic
quarries of the Drattenberg, and the still more re¬
markable ones of the Minderberg, by way of the
copper mine of the Sternhiiter. In the latter,
the columnar arrangement of the basalt is scarcely
less beautiful than in Fingal's Cave or at the
Giant's Causeway. The summit of the Minderberg*
is 1200 feet above the Rhine, and the prospect
which it commands is magnificent and extensive.
The castle of Ockenfels, on the river side, is now
a picturesque ruin.
The basalt again appears on a grand scale in
the precipices called Erpeler Lei, which rise to an
THE SIEBENGEBIRGÉ.
elevation of 700 feet above the river. "The in¬
genuity of man has converted those barren rocks,
which are almost inaccessible, into a productive"
vineyard. The vines are planted in baskets filled
with mould, and inserted in crevices of the basalt.
By thi3 means alone can the earth be preserved from
being washed away by every shower."
Carrying our gaze back to the bank of the
Rhine which we are traversing, we find ample
material for admiration and wonder. Here, at
Konigs winter, we obtain a fine view of the Dra-
chenfels.
The Drachenfels (1056 feet) which, in con¬
junction with the island of Nonnenwerth and the
Eolandseck, forms the most celebrated, and, per¬
haps the most perfectly beautiful of all the Rhine
landscapes, is one of the volcanic group—remark¬
able not for height but for variety of outline—
called the Siebengebirge, or Seven Mountains;
the other six of which are, the Stromberg, 1053
feet; Niederstromberg, 1066 feet; Oelberg, 1453
feet; Wolkenberg, 1055 feet; Lowenberg, 1414
feet; and the Hemmerich, 1210 feet. There are"
several other, but less elevated and less conspicuous,
summits. The general aspect of the whole group
is singularly impressive ; and seen from different
points they break up into the wildest combinations,
which fleeting lights and shadows invest with
a mystical kind of air. Each peak is crowned
with some old ruin, and commands a glorious
prospect ; but the view from the Drachenfels is
considered the richest, as that of the Oelberg is
the most extensive.
As you ascend the broken acclivities of the
Drachenfels, your guide takes you aside to see,
first, the quarry from which the blocks of trachyte
were taken to build the cathedral of Kôln, and
hence called Dombruch ; and, secondly, the " cave
of the dragon" (whence the mountaiu is named),
killed, according to the legend, by Siegfried, the
hero of the national epic, the Niebelungen.
LEFT BANK OF THE EHXNE. COBLENZ TO BONN.
After passing the " castled height " of Peters-
berg, and the pyramid marking the resting-place
of Marceau, we traverse the plain of Andernach,
and visit the château of Schônbomhist, which
formerly belonged to the archbishop-elector of
Trier. At the epoch of the great French Revolu¬
tion it became the headquarters of the Bourbon
princes and their partizans.
The village of Weissenthurm is so called from
the square "white tower," erected by the arch¬
bishops of Trier to mark the boundary of their
domains. Here the French forced the passage of
the Rhine in 1797, in the face of an Austrian
army. On an eminence behind it an obelisk has
been raised to the memory of General Hoche, who
accomplished the passage by throwing a bridge
across to the island in the middle of the river.
The plain of Andernach is succeeded by a belt
of undulating ground lying between the mountains
and the river, which, from this point up to Bonn,
forms a majestic lake, filling nearly the whole area
of its valley.
Passing Oberbreisig and Niederbreisig we tra¬
verse the low, rich plain between the rail and the
river, known as the "Golden Mile." We pause
at Sinzig, an old walled town, about a mile and a
quarter distant from the Rhine, in one direction,
and the Ahr, in the other. It was the Roman
Sentiacum, but Roman remains are scanty. Here,
according to a more than doubtful tradition, Con-
stantine the Great saw the luminous cross in the
sky, and the legend, In hoc signo viuces, which
indicated his coming victory over his rival Maxen-
tius, and finally converted him to Christianity. A
rough painting in the parish church, a curious
semi-Byzantine, semi-Gothic building of the thir¬
teenth century, commemorates the event.
Remagen is the Regiomagum of the Romans,
and a valuable collection of Roman antiquities has
been made here. The well-wooded hill which
rises above this ancient Roman settlement is
called the Apollinarisberg. Its summit is crowned
with a modern church of very indifferent design,
in which the head of the saint after whom the hill
takes its name is duly preserved.
Below Remagen the Rhine makes a bold and
abrupt curve. As we descend, and its course
becomes less sinuous, we catch our first glimpse
of the Eolandseck on the left, and the Drachenfels
and its sister hills. On the right bank, Unkel
forms the centre of a romantic landscape, which
is matched on the left bank by the picturesque
scenery of the Unkelstein, a mass of beautiful
basaltic columns, which stretches far into the bed
of the Rhine, and seriously obstructed its naviga¬
tion, until a portion of the rock was blown up by
the French. The current here flows with an
almost dangerous rapidity.
Passing through Obenvinter, and by the sweet
111
THE RHINE VALLEY.
wooded island of Nonnenwerth, we arrive at
another of the legend-haunted spots which have
given so enduring a celebrity to the Rhine : the
basaltic rock of Rolandseck, 340 feet high, with
its feudal stronghold securely planted on its rugged
summit. The Rolandseck is an everlasting monu¬
ment to the memory of the famous nephew of
Charlemagne—the Roland of song and story, the
Roland of many a tradition and many a myth. In
the old Frank ballads he is gay, brilliant, dashing,
chivalrous ; Germany has surrounded him with
her own sentiment and mysticism.
In battle, on the banks of the Rhine, Roland
fell grievously wounded, and the rumour of his
death spread far and wide over many lands. Hil-
degund, his betrothed, took the veil in a monastery,
feeling that she could never love again, and that
the sole consolation in her overwhelming grief
would be the strict performance of her religious
duties. Meanwhile, the knight, being healed of
his wound, hastened to obtain the reward of his
valour from the sweet lips of his betrothed. He
found her dedicated to heaven, and out of grief or
emulation turned hermit. With a robe of sage
about him, and his loins girt with a rope, he
ascended the Rolandseck; not that he might be
nearer, so to speak, to heaven, but that he might
gaze from thence on the convent walls which im¬
prisoned his Hildegund. And so his life flowed
on in contemplation and earnest prayer. . . .
But one day the convent walls are covered with
black ; the knell resounds ; on the brink of a new-
made grave a company of veiled women deposit a
coffin, wherein the dead is lying, with face un¬
covered, according to usage. Roland recognizes
the death-calm features of his beloved. Falling
on his knees, he follows with tearful eye every
detail of the mournful ceremony; he sees the
holy water sprinkled on the corpse; hears the
ropes creak with the weight of the bier ; as each
spadeful of mould is thrown upon it a groan
issues from his bosom ; and when the grave is
finally filled, he himself falls prone upon the
earth—dead !
Bonn is pleasantly situated on the side of a
moderately steep hill, -which slopes down to the
very margin of the Rhine. Its houses are built
in tiers, the lowest of which is washed by the
waters, while the highest commands a magnificent
perspective. The ascent from its base to the
summit is, however, a difficult task for asthmatic
112
visitors ; and some of the streets are so steep that,
if your foot slip, you must roll from top to bottom
without hope of checking yourself in the facilis
descensus. In this respect the town resembles
Clovelly, in Devonshire, several times multiplied.
Yet carriages ascend and descend, by some miracle
of skill on the part of their Jehus. Bonn is a
delightful place of residence. Not that this little
city of 20,000 souls exhibits any extraordinary
gaiety, or offers many objects of curiosity or interest.
Its monuments scarcely rise above mediocrity.
But its environs are " enchanting," and its walks
are things of beauty. Life at Bonn is so smooth
and easy; it glides along in such a transparent
flowing stream. The good people of Bonn, more¬
over, are good-tempered and hospitable. Both
mind and body are bewitched by an indefinable
something in the air, the aspect, the habits of the
country. Then, again, its university, the second
in Germany in reputation, renders it a studious
and " engaging " abode, from which you have no
desire to tear yourself. We feel almost inclined
to say, once at Bonn, always at Bonn.
One thing there is at Bonn which every Eng¬
lishman will regard with pleasure; the care with
which its inhabitants honour the memory of the
celebrated men who have lived within its walls.
In almost every street a marble tablet or an
inscription calls upon us to do homage to the
illustrious dead. Would so good an example
were followed in London !
F or example : in the Rheingasse, and close upon
the quay, a tablet attached to the wall of an old
house informs us that it was Beethoven's birth¬
place. Beethoven has sometimes been accused of
having forgotten his country and his native city.
It is true that three-fourths of his life were spent
outside the walls of Bonn ; but the following
quotation will show that he was not wanting in
patriotism :—" My country, my beautiful country,
in which I first saw the light of day, is always
present to my eyes, as full of life and beauty as
when I quitted it. Happy will be the moment
when I can see it again, and salute our father, the
Rhine ! " At all events, Bonn has not forgotten
her wild, wayward, but Titanic genius. She has
raised in his honour a statue of bronze.
We pass on to another house of interest to the
English traveller, the house in which the late
Prince Consort resided while a student at the
university of Bonn.
WILLIAM MACKENZIE. LONDON, EOINBURGH & GLASGOW.
BONN AND ITS ENVIRONS.
It stands just within the university's gates, near
one end of the Minster Kirche, and opposite a little
grassy oval, called Martin's Platz. It is a homely-
looking building, of a pale, green colour, set among
tall fir-trees, and inclosed within a wall. The
most noticeable thing about it is its steep slate
roof.
You cannot help, says Mayhew, as you gaze at
the humble dwelling, thinking of the wonderful
change which occurred in the fortunes of the young
student not long after he had drunk his " Bairioch
Bier " (Bavarian beer) in the city of Bonn. Little,
too, did he dream that a life of great usefulness to
his adopted country, and a life of much domestic
happiness, would be prematurely cut short at a
moment when his queen-wife seemed most to need
his counsel, and that the student of Bonn would
die in the castle of our English kings.
Bonn is a clean and wholesome town. Its
better streets and houses are all kept in excellent
order. The present prosperity of Bonn is due to
its healthiness, quietness, and agreeable situation,
which draw thither a large number of English
families, and, more particularly, to its university.
The university buildings occupy an area of nearly
a quarter of a mile in length. On the east they
extend to the Coblenz-thor ; on the south they
occupy or include the palace of the electors of
Koln, built in 1723 to 1761. They are situated
at one end of a fine and well-wooded park, which
originally belonged to the electoral palace, and
where, according to tradition, Henry "the Fowler"
was found bird-catching in the year 919, when
the ambassadors arrived to announce his elec¬
tion to the imperial throne. The palace itself is
now known as the University Museum of Natural
History.
The various buildings comprise, according to
the Guide-books:—A library of about 200,000
volumes, ornamented with a great number ot
busts ; a Museum of Arts, or Plaster Casts, rich in
about 500 copies of statues in plaster, bas reliefs,
medals, and the like; a Gallery of Medals, remark¬
able for its fine Greek and Boman specimens ; a
grand Academical Hall, decorated with frescoes by
Cornelius, and Iris pupils Harmann, Fôrster, and
G ôtzenberger, which represent the four faculties
Philosophy, Jurisprudence, Medicine, and Theo-
P
logy; Anatomical Theatre; and, finally a Museum
of National Antiquities, discovered on the banks
of the Rhine or in Westphalia, and comprising
numerous memorials of the past.
At no great distance from the University Park
blooms the magnificent chestnut avenue called the
Poppelsdorfer Allée, leading to the old Electoral
Palace, Lustschloss Klemensruhe, which King
Frederick William III. presented to the university,
and which now holds the University Museum of
Natural History.
Hither it was, we are told, that the archbishop-
elector of Koln, Engelbert von Falkenberg, re¬
moved his electoral court when the Koln burghers
rebelled against his rule in 1268 ; and here it was,
three centuries later, that a very different prelate,
Count Gebkard von Truchsess-Waldburg, cele¬
brated his marriage with the beautiful nun, Agnes,
Countess von Mansfeldt, whom he had carried
off from the noble convent of Gerresheim, near
Dusseldorff.
Passing the village of Poppelsdorf, we proceed
to ascend the Kreuzberg, a finely wooded hill, 750
feet high, whose summit was formerly occupied
by a convent of Servites, but is now surmounted
by a church, erected in 1627 by the Elector Fer¬
dinand. The pillared portico and commonplace
façade are due, however, to the Elector Clement
Augustus, who built it in 1725, as a screen or
shelter for the Scala Santa, or Holy Steps, of
Carrara marble, constructed about the same time.
They were modelled after the Scala Santa at
Rome—the sacred stairs (it is said) up which our
Saviour was conducted into the presence of Pontius
Pilate. Their ascent is permitted only on your
knees.
Among the public edifices of Bonn, we do not
feel called upon to direct the stranger's attention
to any other than the Cathedral. Its foundation
is attributed to the Empress Helena, mother of
Constantine the Great; and it contains a bronze
statue of the saint, characterized by no special
beauty of workmanship. The present building
was erected in 1270, and restored in 1845. The
interior is very plain ; but there are two bas-reliefs
of more than ordinary merit; a Nativity and a
Baptism of Christ by St John. Both are in white
marble.
113
CHATTER IX.
COLOGNE.
From Bonn to Cologne, «is the French, or Koln,
as the Germans call it, the banks of the Rhine
are low, flat, and devoid of the picturesque. The
traveller becomes aware of the fact that he is
drawing close to the frontiers of Holland; the
Rhine has entered upon a plain extending to the
sea, which grows duller and drearier the further
you advance, and finally terminates in an immense
morass. It has been well said, or it may be said,
that the mode in which the traveller hurries over
the latter portion of his Rhine-journey is a striking
indication of his temperament and disposition. If
he be restless and impatient, he escapes the inflic¬
tion of a monotonous navigation by taking to the
train. If he be an enthusiast, he continues his
protracted voyage. Well : of whatever fatigue he
may be sensible on the way, he feels himself amply
repaid when he arrives in the magnificent port
of Koln. The "city of the Eternal Cathedral,"
as a poet has called it, is accumulated, so to speak,
on the river bank, and reflects itself in the broad
mirror of the Rhine, which curves at its feet in
a noble basin, incessantly furrowed with the tracks
of busy keels.
The destiny of cities, says Durand, is singular.
A colony of Ubians, situated on the right bank of
the Rhine, being unable to oppose successfully the
incursions of their predatory neighbours, sought
the assistance of Rome—an assistance always
readily given, but dearly purchased. Marcus
Agrippa invited them to cross the river, and threw
open to them the fortified asylum of the Roman
camp. The change decided for awhile the course
of history. The right bank fell into the occupation
of barbarous peoples, and possessed neither towns,
nor commerce, nor established societies : the left
touched at every vantage point the Romanized
Gaul, then in the full flush of civilization—a posi¬
tion admirably adapted to the necessities of com¬
merce, and the interchange of so much as was then
known of economical relations. Glance at the
map, and you will see that nearly all the great
cities of the Rhine are seated on its left bank.
A few years afterwards a daughter of Germanicus,
114
the imperial and shameless Agrippina, who lived
to become the mother and victim of Nero, was
born within the walls of the Ubians. Their city
then assumed, as a politic compliment, the name
of the Roman commander's daughter; it called
itself Golonia Agrippina, a name which is better
preserved in the French Cologne than in the Ger-
m«in Koln.
Koln preserved for several generations the tra¬
ditions of its infancy; they were effaced neither
by the fall of the empire, nor the great flood of
barbarian invasion, nor the genial influences of
Christianity, nor the complicated system of feudal¬
ism. For many centuries it called its nobles,
patricians ; its magistrates, senators ; its burgo¬
masters, consuls ; its huissiers, lictors. It had
even its capitol. Its inhabitants preserved the
Roman costume as well as the Roman manners,
and on its municipal banners were long inscribed,
after the Roman usage, S.P.Q.C., Senatus Populus-
que Coloniensis.
Early in the fourth century Koln was captured
and plundered by the Franks. Julian the Apostate
(how history delights in nick-names !), recovered
it, but they again made themselves its masters,
and took care to keep it. Here the illustrious
Clovis, the son and successor of Childeric, was
crowned king. When at his death the empire he
had laboriously built up was partitioned among
his children, Koln remained one of the principal
cities of Austrasia, a kingdom of which Metz was
the capital. When, in their turn, the sons of
Louis le Débonnaire divided the mighty realm of
Charlemagne, it was comprised within Lotharingia,
or the territory of Lothair, whence comes the well-
known word Lorraine. Passing rapidly down the
stream of Time, we find it ravaged by the Nor¬
mans in 881 and 882. But escaping, without any
serious injury, from all the turmoil of these early
centuries, it was reannexed to the German Empire
by Otho the Great, was endowed with extraordi¬
nary privileges, and placed under the special pro¬
tection of his brother Bruno, duke of Lorraine,
archbishop and elector of Koln.
€ © IL ® © M E □
WILLIAM MACKENZIE, LONDON, FOINBURCH « CLASÛOW.
ANNALS OF COLOGNE.
Thenceforth it grew rapidly in importance, and
increased wonderfully in population. Its safety
became the peculiar object of the German em¬
perors, and when it was threatened by Frederick
Barbarossa, its ruler, the Archbishop Philip of
Heimsberg, who had already enlarged it consider¬
ably by connecting it with its suburbs, surrounded
it with solid walls, and with moats filled by the
water of the Rhine. Its present fortifications are of
a later date ; belonging to the fourteenth, fifteenth,
eighteenth, and even nineteenth centuries.
In 1212 Kôln was declared a free imperial city.
At this time it was one of the largest, most popu¬
lous, and most opulent cities in Northern Europe
and the Hanseatic League. She could put into
the field, and maintain, an army of 30,000 soldiers.
In 1259 it obtained permission to levy a most
extraordinary impost. Every ship entering its
waters could only disembark its cargoes through
the agency of boats or barges belonging to its
merchants. These same crafty, wealth-amassing
burghers enjoyed very great privileges in England.
Its relations were scarcely less advantageous with
France, Spain, Portugal, the North of Germany,
and especially with Italy, which exported thither,
not only its architecture and arts, but some of its
characteristic customs, such as its wild gay Carni¬
val, and its puppet theatres. Hence it acquired
the distinctive name of the "Rome of the North "
and " Holy Kôln ; " and hence it was induced to
form in its own bosom a school of painting, the
first with which Germany was enriched.
A traveller, whose Italian birth and culture
were unlikely to dispose him to deal too favour¬
ably with the Germans, was astonished at the
splendour of Kôln, when he visited it in 1333.
"1 arrived there," he writes, "at sunset, on the
eve of the Feast of St. John Baptist, and immedi¬
ately betook myself, in obedience to the advice of
my friends, to the bank of the Rhine, where a
curious spectacle awaited me. A crowd of ladies
had assembled ; oh, such a gathering of beauties !
How could one have avoided falling in love, if
one's heart had not been already captured? I
placed myself on an eminence to obtain a better
view. Their heads were garlanded with fragrant
branches ; their sleeves were tied back to the
elbow ; in turn they dipped their white arms in
the waters, uttering some words which had a sin¬
gular charm. I asked, as in Virgil :—
1 Quid vult concursus ad ammm ?
(What means this concourse on the bank of the
stream !) I was told it was an old national cus¬
tom ; that the populace, and especially the women,
were persuaded, that by washing themselves in the
river on this particular day, they turned aside, they
warded off, all the evils which threatened them,
and secured a year of good fortune. The answer
made me smile. ' Happy people of the Rhine ! ' I
cried, 'if the river carries away all your sorrows;
oh, that the Tiber and the Po would do as much
for us ! "'
Kôln had now attained the climax of her great¬
ness, and thenceforth her wealth and power began
to wane. The discovery of America opened up a
new channel to the commerce of the East ; but,
perhaps, the chief cause of its decay was its inces¬
sant civil commotions. The Jews of Kôln, who
had done so much for its opulence, were cruelly
massacred ; the industrious and ingenious Protes¬
tants were banished; and a riot breaking out
among the weavers, they were hung by the score,
and 1700 looms were burned in the public place.
The survivors carried elsewhere, to more tolerant
and equitable countries, the precious secrets of their
industry ; and so the harbour was no longer filled
with ships, nor did the hammers ring in the de¬
serted workshops. Workmen, without employ¬
ment, wandered begging through the streets, and
finding the trade of mendicancy productive, never
again abandoned it. It became a scourge ; one
half the city lived on the alms of the other half,
and thus they preyed upon the beautiful city which
Petrarch had admired, until it became a wreck of
what it was. And finally, to complete its ruin, the
Hutch, in the sixteenth century, closed up the
navigation of the Rhine, which was not again thrown
open until 1837.
In 1794, when Kôln was captured by the French,
it still held the rank of a free imperial city, but its
population did not exceed 40,000 souls. At that
time a third of its population still lived by men¬
dicancy. The French government, it must be
owned, took prompt measures to repress this abuse;
it secularized the convents, suppressed a great
number of churches, and opened workshops and
factories for the employment of the poor.
France held Kôln until 1814. For twenty
years it was the chief town of one of the arron¬
dissements of the department of the Rôer, of
which Aix-la-Chapelle was the capital. The
Russians occupied it militarily for a few months,
115
THE RHINE VALLEY.
after which the Treaty of Paris handed it over to
Prussia. Let us admit that if the rule of Prussia
be somewhat rigorous, it is also healthy and
sagacious; and Kôln, since 1815, has thriven
greatly. The establishment of a steam-boat service
on the Rhine, the reopening of the navigation of
that river, and the construction of numerous im¬
portant lines of railway which all find a terminus
at Kôln, have given a new impetus to its industry
and commerce.
Kôln is famous as the birthplace of Agrippina
and St. Bruno.
The electorate of Kôln, formerly one of the
states of the German empire, and one of the three
ecclesiastical electorates, was included in the circle
of the Lower Rhine, and comprised numerous
provinces and territories now belonging to Prussia.
It was suppressed in 1794.
We shall borrow a general description of the
city from the animated pages of M. Durand.
He will not allow that it is a beautiful city,
at least in its present condition. It has all the
inconveniences of the Middle Ages, but none of
their picturesqueness. It is muddy, irregular,
dull, badly laid out, and insufficiently paved.
The best view of it is obtained from the river.
There, indeed, its aspect is fair and pleasant; but
both the fairness and pleasantness vanish when
you plunge into its labyrinthine streets.
The truth is, everybody visits it for the sake of
its cathedral, that immortal, that priceless, relic of
the loftiest art.
The present edifice was preceded by two other
cathedrals ; one erected by St. Matema, the other
founded in 784 by Hildebold, the first archbishop
of the city, consecrated in 876, and set on fire in
1248. On the 14th of August in the latter year,
Archbishop Conrad of Hochstetten laid the first
stone of the present glorious building at a depth
of 55 feet. Even before this event, the Archbishop
Engelbert, count of Altona and of Berg, assassin¬
ated in 1225, had formed the idea of constructing
a cathedral of unsurpassed grandeur. This idea
was now realized, but strange to say, the name of
the architect who designed the building and who
laid down the plans which the labour of six cen¬
turies has failed to carry out, is wholly unknown.
This labour, however, was greatly impeded and
delayed by the constant feuds in the thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries between the city and its
archbishops. A certain degree of progress was,
116
nevertheless, accomplished, and on the 27th of
September, 1322, the choir was consecrated by the
Archbishop Henry II., count of Birnenburg. In
1437 the south tower had already been raised to
the elevation which it now attains. But the work,
so frequently impeded and interrupted for two
centuries and a half, ceased completely in the
year 1509.
Long forgotten and neglected, the cathedral of
Kôln was shamefully mutilated in the eighteenth
century by the unintelligent and inartistic canons
who then composed the chapter. For its beautiful
altar a kind of Greek pavilion was substituted;
its four bronze angels were transformed into rococo
candelabra ; heavy fauteuils replaced its beautiful
stalls of sculptured stone; the stone chancel was
demolished, that the choir might be surrounded
with an iron railing; common glass was substituted
for exquisite painted windows, which the canons
pronounced too dark ; and finally, the tabernacle,
a masterpiece of sculpture, was destroyed and. cast
into the Rhine.
The French Revolution inflicted further injuries
on this magnificent building. At last, the ravages
of time which were added to those of man, not
having been repaired for centuries, the general
decay and dilapidation began to inspire serious
fears for the solidity of the finished portions.
The roof sunk in. A sum of 40,000 francs asked
for the restoration of the edifice was refused by
Napoleon. The French bishop of Aix-la-Chapelle,
Berthollet, actually on one occasion congratulated
the citizens that they possessed so fine a Gothic
ruin, and advised them to plant it round with
poplars to increase the effect. When, after the
events of 1814, Kôln was annexed to Prussia, a
voice was raised on behalf of its cathedral in the
Mercure du Rhin ; no one listened to it. At last
it happened that the old crane which from the
summit of the incomplete tower had called fruitlessly
on generation after generation to complete the work
of their forefathers, fell to the ground through
sheer decay. The incident awoke a tender interest
in the heart of the citizens, who had not even been
mindful of Berthollet's suggestion of a grove of
poplar trees. They had been accustomed to see
this crane every day; they could not dispense
with it; and the municipal council, in 1819, voted
the necessary funds for its re-establishment.
Meantime, the then Crown Prince of Prussia,
afterwards Frederick William IV., visiting Kôln,
CATHEDRAL OF COLOGNE.
was powerfully impressed by the spectacle of the
ruined cathedral. At his request the Prussian
monarch resolved to undertake the most urgent
restorations, which between 1820 and 1840 ab¬
sorbed no less a sum than 300,000 thalers. And
after Frederick William IV. came to the throne, a
society named the Dombanverein was formed under
his royal patronage, not merely for the maintenance,
but for the completion of the cathedral. Donations
for an object so laudable flowed in from every
quarter. The king promised an annual subscription
of 50,000 thalers ; and on the 4th of September,
1842, the second foundation of the cathedral was
celebrated with the most imposing ceremonies.
From that date to the present time, the works
have been carried on under the direction of Herr
Guirna and his successors, in strict harmony with
the original plan, at an outlay already exceeding
a million and a half of thalers. To sum up : the
choir is completed ; so are the transepts ; the inner
pillars of the nave, consecrated in 1648, have been
raised to their full elevation ; and strenuous exer¬
tions are being made to finish the vaulted roof and
lofty towers, each of which will be about 500 feet
from base to capital.
The cathedral is built on a cruciform plan, and
rises about 60 feet above the Rhine, on an em¬
inence, which, since the days of German supre¬
macy, has formed the north-eastern angle of the
fortifications. Its total length is 511 feet, its
breadth at the entrance 231 feet ; the former corre¬
sponding with the height of the tower when finished;
the latter, with the height of the western gable.
The choir consists of five aisles, is 161 feet in
height, and, internally, from its size, height, and
disposition of pillars, arches, chapels, and beauti¬
fully coloured windows, resembles a poet's dream.
Externally, its two-fold range of massive flying but¬
tresses and intermediate piers, bristling with airy
pinnacles, strikes the spectator with awe and
astonishment. The windows are filled with fine
old stained glass of the fourteenth century ; the
pictures on the walls are modern. Round the choir,
against the columns, are planted fourteen colossal
statues : namely, the Saviour, the Virgin, and the
Apostles, coloured and gilt; they belong, like
the richly carved stalls and seats, to the early
part of the fourteenth century.
The fine painted windows in the south aisle of
the nave were the gift of King Louis of Bavaria ;
those in the north aisle were executed in 1508.
The reredos of the altar of St. Agilolphus, a quaint
old combination of wooden carving and Flemish
painting, is worth examination.
The apsidal east end is surrounded by some
chapels. In the chapel immediately behind the
high altar is placed the celebrated Shrine of the
three kings of Cologne, or the Magi who were led
by the star, loaded with Oriental gifts, to worship
the infant Saviour. Their supposed bones were
carried off from San Eustorjis, at Milan, by
Frederick Barbarossa in 1162, and were presented
by him to his companion and counsellor, Rainaldo,
archbishop of Kôln. We read in the invaluable
Murray : " The case in which they are deposited
is of plates of silver gilt, and curiously wrought,
surrounded by small arcades, supported on pillars,
inclosing figures of the Apostles and Prophets.
The priceless treasures which once decorated it
were much diminished at the time of the French
Revolution, when the shrine and its contents were
transported for safety by the chapter to Amsberg,
in Westphalia. Many of the jewels were sold to
maintain the persons who accompanied it, and
have been replaced by paste or glass imitations;
but the precious stones, the gems, cameos, and
rich enamels which still remain, will give a fair-
notion of its riches and magnificence in its original
state. The skulls of the three kings, inscribed
with their names, Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar,
written in rubies, are exhibited to view through
an opening in the shrine, crowned with diadems
(a ghastly contrast), which were of gold, and
studded with real jewels, but are now only silver
gilt. Among the antiques still remaining are two
of Leda, and Cupid and Psyche, very beautiful."
Durand describes the choir as the consummate
ideal of the Christian tabernacle. Columns slender
as lances spring aloft to the very roof, where their
capitals expand in flowers. All the rest is a
splendid mass of glass-work [verrière), whose
lancets are tinted over their whole surface with a
rich colouring of azure, gold, and purple. The
artist who constructed this magic wall must have
remembered the words of the Psalmist, " My
God, Thou art clothed with light," and has made
for the Holy of Holies a dwelling-place not less
resplendent than Himself.
There are numerous archiépiscopal tombs in the
lateral naves. Like those of Mainz, they are
overloaded with cumbrous epitaphs. The tomb
of Conrad of Hochstetten, the founder of the
117
THE rhin:
cathedral, is regarded with special veneration.
" In the year of our Lord 1248, Bishop Conrad
finding himself superabundantly rich in gold, in
silver, and precious stones, and deeming his treasure
inexhaustible, undertook the construction of the
cathedral of this immense and costly edifice, on
which we -are labouring at the present moment."
I take this extract from the "Chronicle of Cologne"
for the year 1499.
Another bishop lies in a tomb fashioned like a
fortalice, with a laurel at each angle. He reposes
at their base in a semi-military, semi-ecclesiastic
costume. Each archbishop of Kôln kept his grave
open throughout his archiepiscopate, to receive his
dust, when needed. A fantastic custom, more
honoured in the breach than the observance, de¬
manded that every year of his rule should be
marked by means of a small staff of white wood
suspended to an iron hold-fast.
We follow M. Durand from the cathedral into
the ancient Romanesque church of Saint-Martin ;
a church to be visited upon market-day, at the
hour when the peasants of the neighbourhood
abandon their fruits and vegetables to hear mass.
In their temporary seclusion from worldly affairs,
these rude and angular figures, with their fixed
serious gaze, and solemn, stiff, and almost awkward
air, seem to have stepped out of some old wood¬
work, or ancient German engraving, like those of
Martin Schœn.
Verily, Kôln, metropolis as it is of the banks of
the Rhine, is still the city of the apostles and the
princes of the Church, and even in these days
of German Rationalism, the capital of Roman
Catholic Germany.
What shall I say of its town-hall, which is
situated between the Giirzenich (custom-houses)
and the cathedral? I cannot do better than imi¬
tate my predecessors, and quote from Victor
Hugo :—It is one of those enchanting harlequin¬
like edifices, he says, built up of portions belonging
to all ages, and of fragments of all styles, which we
meet with in the ancient communes, the said com¬
munes being themselves constructed, laws, manners,
and customs, in the same manner. The mode of
formation of these edifices and of their customs is
curious to study. It is an agglomeration rather
than a construction, a successive development, a
fantastic aggrandizement, or encroachment upon
things previously existing. Nothing has been laid
out on a regular plan, or digested beforehand ; the
118
VALLEY.
whole has been produced au fur et à mesure,
according to the necessity of the times.
The general effect of this ancient structure is,
however, very imposing. It was begun in 1250,
and terminated in 1571, and is therefore a record
of three centuries of architectural progress. Its
portico is in the Renaissance style, and the second
story is embellished with small triumphal arches
made to serve as arcades, and dedicated by quaint
inscriptions to Ctesar, Augustus, Agrippa, Con-
stantine, Justinian, and Maximilian. Among the
sculptured bas-reliefs, you may remark a man
worrying a lion. This man, named Gryn, was
a mayor of Koln. The archbishop Engelbert III.
had, to rid himself of a troublesome opponent,
exposed him to combat with a lion. His courage
brought him safely through the perilous experience.
The inhabitants, rendered furious by his perfidy,
avenged their mayor by hanging to a gate, which
at this very day is called Pfafarther, or the Priest-
gate, the first priest who fell into their hands.
The large and splendid hall in the interior,
where the Hanseatic League formerly held its
sittings, is adorned with nine large statues of
knights.
Beside the town-hall stands the " Chapel of the
Council," which formerly enshrined the Dombild,
now preserved in the St. Agnes chapel of the
cathedral. The Dombild, I may remark, repre¬
sents, when thrown open, the adoration of the
three kings, in the middle, and on the flaps (volets)
St. Geryon with his companions, and St. Ursula
with her virgins ; when shut up, the Annunciation;
it bears the date of 1410. The author of this
remarkable picture is unknown ; but it is generally
attributed to Master Stephen Lotheren, of Kôln,
the pupil of Master William.
The "Chapel of the Council" contains a fine
Roman mosaic, discovered when digging the foun¬
dation of the new hospital; and, also, a small
collection of ancient pictures. In its fine tower,
ornamented with many statues, and constructed in
1407, the municipal council was wont to assemble ;
at present it meets in the adjacent building, erected
in 1850.
Near the Jesuits' church and not far from the
quays of the Rhine, stands the church of Saint
Cunibert, commenced, and consecrated in 1248, by
the Archbishop Conrad. It stands on the site of
an older church, built in 633 by the prelate whose
name it bears. In its architectural character it is
MEMORABLE CHURCHES OF COLOGNE.
Romanesque ; two portions only belong to the
ogival style. Its small side-door presents a most
remarkable combination of Oriental art and Gothic
form. The front lias been restored. The two
Romanesque towers in the rear were formerly of
a much greater height. The principal tower,
having fallen into ruins, was rebuilt in 1850 in
the ogival style ; it has no other merit than that
of magnitude. The most noticeable feature of the
church is the thirteenth century stained glass in
the apex ; this is very rich and beautiful. There
are also several small pictures on wood, by artists
of the early German school.
Of course, no visitor to Kôln fails to make a
pilgrimage to that legendary edifice, the church
of St. Ursula. From an artistic point of view it
presents very little that is interesting or remarkable;
except in the choir, the tomb of St. Ursula (dating
from 1668), and her statue in alabaster on a
pedestal of black marble, with a dove at her feet.
The legend runs that St. Ursula, daughter of a
British king, set sail with a train of 11,000 virgins,
to wed the warriors of an army which had migrated,
under Maximus, to conquer Armorica from the
Emperor Gratian. The ladies, however, losing
their way, were captured at Kôln by the barbarous
Huns, who slew every one of them because they
refused to break their vows of chastity.
This story is told in a series of most indifferent
pictures, to the right of the visitor as he enters
the church.
The reliques of the virgins cover the whole
interior of the building ; they are interred under
the pavement, let into the walls, and displayed
in glass cases about the choir.
As in St. Ursula's, so in St. Gereon's church,
the principal ornaments are bones ; its walls being
lined, with the remains of the 6000 martyrs of the
Theban legion, who, with their leader Gereon,
perished in the persecution under Diocletian, be¬
cause they refused to renounce the Christian faith.
The church itself is one of the finest in Kôln.
The nave dates from 1262 ; the other portions,
including the choir and crypt, are as early as
1066-69. Mr. Hope thus describes the decagonal
nave :—« By a singular and theatrical arrangement,
arising out of these various increments, its body
presents a vast decagonal shell and cupola, the
pillars of whose internal angles are prolonged in
ribs, which, centering in a summit, meet in one
point, and lead by a high and wide flight of steps,
rising opposite the entrance, to an altar and oblong
choir behind it; whence other steps again ascend
to the area between the two high square towers,
and to the semi-circular east end, belted, as well
as the cupola, by galleries with small arches and
pillars, on a panelled balustrade. The entrance
door, with square lintel, low pediment, and pointed
arch, is elegant ; and the crypts show some re¬
mains of handsome mosaics."
The baptistery, an elegant structure of the same
date as the nave, contains a font of porphyry, said
to be a gift of Charlemagne.
In the late Gothic choir of the semi-Romanesque
church of St. Andrew are preserved the relics of
the great chemist and necromancer, Albertus Mag¬
nus. The church of the Jesuits (1636) contains
the crosier of St. Francis Xavier, and the rosary
of St. Ignatius Loyola.
Our space forbids us to dwell at any length on
the numerous and interesting churches of this
thrice-holy (and most odoriferous) city. But one of
the most ancient—nay, I believe it wears the palm
of unsurpassed old age—is that of Santa Maria di
Capitolio. It is reputed to have been founded in
700, by Plectruda, wife of Pepin d'Héristal, and
mother of Charles Martel, who erected a chanonry
beside it. It is very clear that Plectruda's tomb
belongs to an earlier date than the edifice which
now enshrines it; and which, judging from its
Romanesque style, was erected about the begin¬
ning of the eleventh century. It was restored in
1818 (the porch and choir in 1850), and enriched
with stained glass windows. In addition to the
curious tomb of its foundress, this church possesses
an object of interest in an altar-piece attributed to
Albert Diirer. Painted in 1521, and placed in a
side chapel, left of the choir, it represents in one
compartment the Death of the Virgin, and, in the
other, the Dispersion of the Apostles. In the
Hardenrath Chapel will be found some interesting
mural paintings, portraits, and a Miracle of St.
Martin, by Lebrun. The Schwarz Chapel con¬
tains the brass font (1594), surmounted by a
figure of St. Martin on horseback.
The Church of St. Peter should be visited for
the sake of the great picture of Rubens, forming its
altar-piece, of the Crucifixion of the Apostle, with
his head downwards. It was painted shortly
before the master's death. Wilkie and Sir Joshua
Reynolds both criticise it adversely ; but the
visitor who contemplates it, however, without
119
THE RHINE VALLEY.
any foregone conclusion, will be powerfully im¬
pressed by it, and will pronounce it, we think,
not unworthy of Rubens.
The artist was baptized in this church, and the
brazon font used on this occasion is still preserved.
Until he was ten years old (1587), he lived in
the house, No. 10 Sternengasse where Maria
de' Medicis died in 1642.
The church of the Minorites, that of St. Mauritus,
those of St. Pantaleon and St. Andrew, are well
worth visiting. The same may be said—I wish
that I had space to say more—of the double iron
bridge (1352 feet long), across the Rhine; the
noble quays; the house of the Templars, No. 8
Rheingasse ; the new Rathhause, and the Wall-
raff-Richartz Museum of pictures, founded and
enriched by the two citizens whose name it bears.
So much for Koln. But stay, how can we leave
the city without an allusion to its Eau de Cologne?
To that celebrated perfume, which is nowhere more
necessary than in Kôln itself, though its evil odours
are not quite so overpowering as they were in the
days of Coleridge:—
" Ye nymphs, who reign o'er sewers and sinks,
The river Rhine, it is well known,
Doth wash your city of Cologne :
But tell me, nymphs, what power divine
Shall henceforth wash the river Rhine?"
" My eyes," says a traveller, " are still dazzled
by the placards announcing in gigantic letters the
sale of this precious perfume. Its distillation is
the most important industry of the city. There
are twenty-four manufacturers of it, and upwards
of a hundred vendors. The annual production is
estimated at from eight to nine million litres, worth
about £6,000,000. But what a display of charla¬
tanism for such a sum ! The ancient Colonia
Agrippina has no longer its consuls, its patricians,
its princes, electors of the Holy Empire. It is
swayed by the dynasty of the Jean Marie Farinas,
an encroaching dynasty, swollen by usurpers and
pretenders, who flood the streets with their pro¬
ducts, their ensigns, their agents. Every wall is
plastered over with provoking bills, which would
be amusing enough if we were not weary with the
' posters ' of other cities. All the crossways are
guarded by bill-distributors and touters, who
almost take you by the collar and force you to
120
receive, at a moderate price, a flask coquettishly
invested in an outer garb of white straw. There
are upwards of thirty rivals, more or less legiti¬
mate heirs of the same name, sons and grandsons,
nephews and great-nephews, disciples and succes¬
sors of the illustrious Jean Marie Farina, inventor,
in 1672, of the Eau de Cologne, sole possessors of
his secret, sole manufacturers of the true 1 water,'
sole inheritors of his genius. Their lives are spent
in decrying one another, vivâ voce or in writing.
In fact, the question of whose or which is the
genuine Eau de Cologne has quite a literature of
its own, into which neither reader nor writer will
be desirous of plunging."
We have now brought our readers to the point
where the valley of the Rhine terminates, and the
once grand and rolling river enters upon the low
plains of Holland to creep sluggishly through
winding channels, and finally mingle with the sea
in two dreary estuaries. Soon after entering the
Netherlands, the great river bifurcates into two
arms—the left, called the Waal, and the right, the
true Rhine. The Waal, near Fort Louvestein, is
joined by the Maas, and forms the Merve or Mer-
vede, which, below Dordrecht, takes the name of
the Old Maas. The Rhine proper, a short distance
above Arnheim, throws off the New Yssel, which
was anciently a canal, cut by the Roman Drusus
to connect the Rhine witli the Old Yssel. At
Wyk by Duerstede the Rhine again divides ;
one branch, the Lek, uniting with the New Maas
near Ysselmonde ; the other, the Kromme Rhine,
separating at Leyden into the Veeht and the Old
Rhine, the latter eventually reaching the North
Sea to the north-west of Leyden. The delta of
the Rhine is a low semi-inundated level, extend¬
ing from lat. N. 51° 35' to 52° 20', and occupying
nearly 50,000 square miles. It is protected from
the ocean-floods by artfully disposed and solidly
constructed dykes or embankments, varying from
twenty to thirty feet above the river-level.
Here, then, as it is only with the German
Rhine we had to deal—with that romantic and
beautiful Rhine valley, which so abounds in old
associations and chivalrous memories, and which
has been so frequently the cause, the scene, and
the prize of sanguinary wars—our task is done.
TO THE BINDER.
THE PLATES ARE TO BE PLACED IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER:—
TO FACE PAGE
VOL. I.
William I. King of Prussia, and Emperor of
Germany, (To Face Title.)
Title, 1
Napoleon III 15
The Right Honourable Viscount Palmerston, . . 48
Crown Prince of Prussia, 118
Prince Frederick Charles, ' . 120
General Von Moltke 121
Von Roon, 122
Map of Prussia 125
Emperor of Austria 127
Map of South Germany 145
Lord Stanley (Derby), 148
Earl Russell, 211
Bismarck 216
Krupp's 1000-Pounder Gun, 248
Small Arms, 263
French Mitrailleuse 265
Gatling Mitrailleuse 266
Map of France, 290
Battle of Saarbruck, 302
Battle of Wissemburg, 306
Battle of Woerth 309
Marshal MacMahon 319
Battle of Forbach, 322
Marshal Bazaine, 353
Metz and its Fortifications, 358
Battle of Courcelles 362
Battle of Vionvtlle 368
Battle of Gravelotte, 377
Battle of Beaumont, 413
Battle of Carignan, 416
Battle of Sedan 419
VOL. II.
Empress Eugenie (To Face Title.)
Title, 1
General Trochu 18
W. E. Gladstone, 35
Siege of Strassburg, 57
Siege of Strassburg (Enlarged Sketch), ... 65
Gambetta, 79
Garibaldi, 81
Bourbaki, 89
Map of Orleans 171
Paris and its Environs, 183
Map Showing Faidherbe's Campaign, .... 217
Battle of Le Mans, 237
Campaign in East France, 241
Battle of Belfort 245
General Von Werder 247
Manteuffel, 249
Thiers, 267
EHINE VALLEY.
Lake of Constanz and the Islands of Mainau and
Beichenau, 13
Bregenz, 14
Friedrichshafen 15
Schaffhausen, 27
The Rhine Falls, Schaffhausen, 29
Lauffenberg 32
Rheinfelden, 33
Eglisau, 34
Basle, 35
Freiburg, 59
Strassburg, 64
Speier, 80
Heidelberg 85
Mannheim, 88
Oppenheim, 90
Mayence 95
Elfeldt, loo
St. Goarshausen 102
Liebenstein Sternenfels, 103
Bacharach, 106
Ehrenbreitstein 108
Bonn,
Cologne, 114
F€* Y 7
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