The New York Herald Newspaper, August 17, 1870, Page 4

4 — “EUROPE. pee jal Despatches by Mail to Pate August 5. ener SaAOMAHON IN A COUNCIL OF WAR. The French Movement to Cross the Rhine. Prussian Concentration and Ger- man Activity. The Explosion of the Bridge at Kehl. ‘Prussian Position in the Black Forest. General Advance of the German Nation from Berlin to Cologne. Napoleon’s Danger for His Crown. LIFE Ii THE FORTRESS OF METZ, eee FIRST FIGHTING IN THE FIELD. The Nationalities Agitated for Revolution. Danger to the Crowns and Hopes of the Peoples. The steamsnip Abyssinia, from Liverpool the 6th and Queenstown the 7th of August, arrived at this Port yesterday afternoon, delivering our European files and special correspondence at half-past six P.M. The European mall supplies the following ad- Aitlons to our special history ‘of the progreas of the war between France and Prussia. ‘MacMahon is reported os in and after a council of War, Germany was sweeping onward from Berlin to Cologne and the Biack Forest. The first skirmish- ing in the fleid 1s detailed and life within the French fortress of Metz described. Our special writers no- tice to-day the first symptoms of the really vital consequences of the struggle, the upheaving of the Fevolutionary element in Italy from Milan to Rome and the agitation of the peoples subject to the sceptre of Austria, MACMAHON’S ARMY. Headquarters at Strasbourg—Tbo Marshal in a Council of War—Viewing the Passages of the Rhine—The Crown Prince of Prussia and His Army Found Out—Surprise and a Chango of First French Plans—Prus: in the Black Forest—Wanton Destraction and Revenge—Testing the Mitrailleuse. HEADQUARTERS MACMAHON’S ARMY CoRPs, } SrRaspouRG, August 2, 1870. 'f Last night a council of war was hela at the Marshal’s headquarters, at which the four generals Commanding divisions of infantry and the general- in-chief of the artillery were pregent. Just before it met Marshal MacMahon and his chief of the staff, General Coalron, went down to look at the bridge over the Rhine which the Prus- sians blew up about a week ago, or at least blew up at thetrend of it. He then visited the spot, a little Ligher up, where the bridge of boats used to be, re- tarning to Strasbourg for the council. This morning MacMahon left at daybreak for Bro- muth, @smmall town about twenty miles off, where the cavairy division and part of the rst division of infantry are encamped. All these movements lead ne to conclude tat the commencement of affairs is ‘aot far of, THE CROWN PRINCE OF PRUSSIA AND HIS ARMY. A large Prasslan corps @’armée, under the Crown Prince of Prussia, has been massed quietly together just behind the Black Forest, about twenty miles trom this. 1 tried to telegraph the news to your agent in London last night, but was reiused. This fact alter or modify very much Marshal MacMahon’s operation s towards the north, for if all of his corps d’arm¢e rossed the frontier to the north} it would uot only leave this Prussian foree in his rear, but Would in a great measure leave Strasbourg at the mercy of the enemy. This, however, 20 doubt ac- counts for the extra labor used latterly in putting ‘lg town in astate of proper defence. A forced march of a few hours would bring the Prussians to the opposite bank of the Rhine, and a bridge of boats could be very quickly thrown across. And yet, if such are in any way their plans, how comes Mt that not only have tiey blown up the railway bridge, but lave also (as was told me by a traveller who had come from Baden Baden via Basle to Strat bourg) torn up ali the ralis from Kebl, at the other side of the Ritne opposite Strasbourg, right away to Baden? IN THE BLACK FOREST. The corps @armé, massed behind the Black Forest is commanded by the Crown Prince of Prus- sia, who is married to Queen Victoria's eldest daughter, and from what I gather from a Hanoverian deserter now in Strasbourg 1t was by the express orders of the Crown Prince that the vandalism of blowing up the bridge was committed. The Grand Duke of Badon was utterly against the wicked foily of destroying, for no earthly good, what will, when peace comes, take many millious of francs to repair, nd not be Muished for months and months. There could be no possibie use for the act; for, as 1 men- tioned in my letter which gave an account oF the explosion, at each end of the bridge there is @ movable portion, which had only to be wheeled back, as the French have done on their side, to ren- or the brdye utterly lmpassabic. And yet had this been done on both sides, wien peace caine to be proclaimed half an hour would havé made the bridge #4 fit as cver to he ured, But now not only have the Prussians in their trrice stupid action eutirely de- Btroyed the Iron portion of tho structure, but they have, in their great anxiety to make the work com- plete, 80 shattered the ceniral buttress of tue per. wianent part of the bridge that tt will have to be built entirely anew, costing no end of money and was no end of time. But hitherto, strange to gay, wherever tho Prussians have shown themselves, it seema, to have been with the intention of tearing up raus or cutting telegraph wires, and, seemingly, for the idle pieasure of the destruction, seeing that nothing they have done as yet in this way can oe of avy injury (o their enemy. ‘tno French are savage, very savage, but in another way. They are wid to prove to the world that they have the best arms and have the bravest sokilers in ie Brit I don’t think they woula — Iam certain their officers would not—willingly aliow any wanton destruction of property, even in an enemy's country. It is true that their African troops, as they cali the Zouaves and Turcos, are not What can be calied “in hand.” Their oficers have iittle or no control over them when arms are laid aside aud duty is over. And if apy German town fell into their hands, no matter bow much the oii. cers did teir duty, I would rather not be there to and to aye to record what would take place. - POSSIBLE EEYENGS. i ‘The Tiratlleurs Indigtnes, or Turcos, mentioned in a previous letter, are three parts Arab and one part Uf the former maby are pure Legroes, NEW They fear means, and, if report speaka the truth, are greatiy addicted to erties wich can hardly be even alluded to, Kven while here tn Strasbourg ove of them has béen shot for his treatment of antic by, whose father complained to the military authorities, The question arises wacther, even to help kis coun try in the hour of need, Napoleon ts justified in using Stich savages in Ruropean Wariare, To this comes the old answer that im love and war ali things are ailow- able. Ido not set up as a moralist, but Tconfess I Would rather have on may conscieuce even more sind than lam now laden vo than be wont e giving such utter barbariaps & chance o king ¢ ts ee ee eee med om Women, kul our fellow man in open ght ts one thing; but to bane the scourge home to the helpless wile and Little ones he ieayes benind bim in tts village is another. THE MITRAILLEUSR, s T have Just returned from a trial of this weapon at the arailery ground, Ineed hardly say that 1 was not ren not peraitled A get near 4“ in, but — gl 2 Ew © Way, and oe = out Eelae see! Thanks te Very good ~ on i could see well woo to distinguish the gene! working of the machine, and was le to gee" iz wa ceeeat dist yond a, whiel gh re can imagine revolve! always at the samme level, and vith a point biagk range, #8 ablé to hit at ten yards as at 2,000, without of wha' nn 18. Imagine weapon ing slowly trom Ere ‘to right, and then from right to left, and discharging avout thirty balla m a minute, not juirin, working after it fa first set, Faw it Worked at & dis. tance of 1,500 French metres, which, tf I am not mistaken, would make about two thousand ze of AMericsn measurement, At that distance he gun, or machine, or whatever you like (0 name it, was aimed at three black marks upon three dif- ferent butts, each mark being the height and widih of an average front company of a regiment. Thus, asthe many thousands among your readers who have seen service im the field will understand, the three black marks on the three butts represented, as nearly as bie, gbteee of infantry Ce emers against a battery. The brigade of living men won! have taken at least tweaty linutes, even at doubie ume, to get over the ground. In half that time— in ten minutes—the mitrailiense bad put uw wards of four hundred balls, or, rather, projectile! into the three black marks, and every bail was well apart from its fellow; and ail (hts, min thout any alteration on the part of ie omiose tn charge. e Weapon, or gun, has merely to loaded and then laid in a certain direction, and it works by it- self. The object it is aimed at may come nearer, but it has no occasion to be elevated or depressed It works from leit to right and from right to left, and back avain, without ceasing. I have no hesita- tion whatever in saying, from what I saw Lo-day, that no Infantry or cavairy that the world haa yet seen would advance against this terrible engine of destruction, An officer belonging to one of the fonr batteries of mitratiieuses which are with this army corps toid me the other = that at 1,600, avd even up to 2,000 metres, he looked upon thus instrament to be quite I= ceriain as a Colt’s revolver would be at ten yards the hands of a very good shot. From such a wea- fs What May we not expect tu the Way of destruc- ton during the present war? Must tho War Go Ou ?—Napoltcon’s Danger— French Hopes of Invasion of Germaay at the Beginning—The Rhine Mast Be Crossed or Dethronement May EusureMacMahon’s are a flerce race, not knowing what tho word. this point of view, they are perfectly right, Roemem- ber, that the dower and right hand of che French army are the troops that have come from = Af- rica. ‘These men, whether French or natives of Algerig, will be very diferent beings unter the Warm sun of @ Rhine early autumu and Qhder tho great cold of a Rhine winter, In the former case they would be roy in the climate Most genial to ihem; in the lgtter they would be simply $0 many men of no use jacvever. In August the eighteen hattations of Zouaves and Tarcos in this army ought to dispose of at least twice thetr ntunher of Prassians; but three months hence they Would not be worth in the fleld ball (he strength of GENRRAL DE GAUJAL, Thig oMecer, who arrived here only three days ago 40 take command of the Second division of Muc- Mahon’s corps d'armée (ately vacated by the very rious Hiness of General Dou He was on his way to Yin en i | the enemy. ll, and reached the bi Just in me - Retura from Motz—Not Ready and Cous HEADQUARTERS MarsHat MacMauon’'s Army Corrs, STRASBOURG, August 1, 1970. Tp an English newspaper that reached me last night (Lhave only seen four papers from England, and have not spoken one word of English since I left Paris, ten days ago), I see it stated by the Parisian correspondent of the journal in question that the Emperor of the French weuld now gladly make peace, Believe not such statements. Napoleon could now no more stay the army from crossing the Rhine than he could stop the progress of the Rhtae. I am perfectly certain that if ths war was stopped now, or even ff any propositions—no matter what— were for a moment entertained, that Napoleon’ the Third would at once have to take hia place among the numerous royal personages out of situations that are now to be found in Europe. {The readers of the MeRaLy have beon Informed by cable telegrams since the above was written that the Emperor did not cross the Rutne, What theu {] And, what ts more, the first to revolt against him Would be the army, upon witch he so much de- pends. No, the war must now, 80 far as France 1s concerned, be fought out to the ‘‘bitterend.” Of that there can be NO doubt whatever. Whether the people of Prussia would be more ready to Ilsten to terms of peace is a question which your correspon- dents in that country wiil, of course, be far better able to tell you than I ata. But I believe they would. And sy reason for believing it is the great differ- ences in which they (the Germans) have felt already the eviis of war as compared with the French. Tho latter have really not as yet felt any, or bardly any, of the misery that war is supposed to call forin. It is true the reserves have beon called out, but not at any rate as yet, to figit. And, in fact, noth. ing could be better proof of whatI say than this very towuof Strasbourg from which I date my letter. tis true that provisions are dearer than before, but not for the people of the place. I, a stranger in the land, cannot get my two meals a day under something like fifteen francs, and this without counting lodging or carriage hire or wine or beer, But then it is eutirely because I am a stranger in the land that Iam “taken in,” althongh not by aby means in the sei meant in the Bible, Bat although the Strasboury may have to pay a trifle higher taxes next year he does not for the present drink a single bock of his favorite beer the le38, nor reduce his inher bya single dish, Every one who has been in Prussla during the last six weeks declare that grim care already rules in that land, But here everything is just exactly wiat it Was, save that there is much more money floating about than there was formerly. MACMAHON AND METZ, The Marshal returned from Metz, whither he nad been called % have an interview with the eae last night, Isaw him drive up to the iotel de la Maison Rouge about an hour ago, where be comes twice every day—viz., at eleven A, M, to breakfast, and at seven P. M. to dine. His chief of the staff, General Coulson, and two aldes-de-camp, were with lim, and ceriainiy, 50 tar xs dress is concerned, never did any four men look Iesa like takiug the field, Thelr epaulets are of the brightest gold, their trock coats of the newest inake, their boots, trousers, swords, &c., a4 highly burnishé” as soldtet servants can mako them. The Marshal himself 1s lookin, well, and as if he had got a care upon his mind, although I suspect few men in the worid have more al the present moment, FRANCE NOW 8: G READY, or, at least, not so ready as ‘D her Own authorities believed her to be, has been-a terrible blow to the amour propre of tie nation. For, if there was one administration in France of whtch Frenchmen were proud, It was their iatendenes, or comml which, by the way, 18 more like the comms: clothing department and pay department rolled up into one, or rather more uk+ that we in England call the control department, (nan anything of the kind Tknow. But tt now seems that the Fre troops have been complaming bitterly of the in denes ever since the uniormunate Mexico business Where the men were fed upon beans when cam- paigning in one of the first corn countries in the world. But these compiaints have been kept back from the powers that be, and matters have for years back been “made pleasant all round’’ by the chiefs of the intendenes, who nearly all retire upon some- thing much more comfortaple in the way of money paid than mere pensions. From whatI hear on ail sides there is a day of reckoning not far off with these gentlemen. THS BISHOP OF STRASBOURG. This cleric has oif-red tne use of the Grand Semi- naire (or theological college of the diocese, in which there are about 500 students studying for the priest- hood}, to government as a hospital, so eee, as the war lasts, The building, one of the finest iu Stras- bourg, 18 admirably adapted for the purpose. The students go to-morrow to thelr respective homes for the vacation, and when that Is over, six weeks hence, it Is uncertain where when they will reas- semble for their studies. T! Hocese of Strasbourg 1s one of the largest in France; it contains 900 parish cburches, and about 1,490 pricsts, be athe regu- lars. Owing to two langnages—German~ and French—bveing equally common among the people of the Hauts Khin and Bas Khia, which form the province of Alsace, the clergy are obliged to know both tongues. Thus ia the magnificent oid cathedral here there 1s a sermon in German b ‘e the high mass and one in French aiter 1’. For this reason the clergy (Including the venerable Eishop himself, with whom I had a very Pp jug interview yesterday, and who spoke iu terms of great admiration of the United States) are to a man Alsacians. The want of the theological college will put the Bishop to great inconventence, but, “what will your” fs if not ‘pour la patrie?” And talking of priests, what que people the French ave to ticket as It were every one in their service, I mentioned in a late letter that the government had named tor this war a greac number of ARMY CHAPLAINS, To-day these gentiemen come tnio oMee, and very fine looking men many of them are, who vivery full beards, and have seen nota tittle service with the troops in Algiers. But, im order to show that they are ai chaplains, and — not mere parish priests, they have to wear round their necks @ bine ribion edged wit red, about three inches wit very handsome sliver cros tuat the second class of tie Engin Bath aud the second class of the Legion of Moaor is worn, The dea is nota bad one, for tt insures the chaplains meeting with proper respect wherever they go. But it is also thoroughly French, the more so as the government theuselves provide ali the ribbons and crosses, THE PRUSSIANS WAVR DETERMINED T2 YROLONG TAE CAMPAIGN INTO Winre. ‘This is asserted, and, looking at tue suvject from to which i4 attached a » Witich in the same way drop down dead. Apoplexy was cause of tht vere. sudden ‘ieathe spoke to him pot half an hour before he Was takea ill, and he was in the very best of spirits. preyeate . AT METZ. Nowspapor Correspondents—How They Are Arrested and Scared=A “Special” aad a Policeman by tho Wayside. Merz, August 2, 1870. Twice have I been arrested, and my friend is in prison. He has been there since Friday last. In a previous letter I described the manner in which I Was picked up, in company of two wandertag gat- tots, by two drunken gunners on horseback and three others on foot who were more or less sober; ‘but you know all about that affair, unless, indeed, my letter was stopped en route, which ts not im- probable. Correspondents for newspapers are here as plentiful as blackberries, and the same rush is made for them by the children of larger growth in uniform as 1s enacted by un-tailed coated litle ones for the luscious fruit, You feel much more of a martyr when arrested alone than tn company. I had a little grief all to myself last Saturday at Nancy when waiting fora friend ata railway &! tion whose arrival I expected. On the platform, among other humanity, was a cocked hat, a blue uni- form and yellow belts. They eyed me oppressively. They enclosed a biped who answers to the name of gendarme. “You don’t belong to this country,” said the cooked hat frowner. “For once, you have made a remark, my dear sir, on the truth of which you may pride yourself,” I replied. “Where aro your papers *"’ sald yellow belta, “At my hote!,” I suggested. “Come aloug with me, then, to your hotel," said the gentleman in blue. “You will have the kindness to wait untll the train arrives, as I ex- pect some one by it," Lanawered. Being somewhat of the donkey breed and decidedly obstinate I in- sisted and gendarme succumbed. The train ar- rived. My friend saw me with the gendarme and “skedaadjed” H1ko 9 fash of Uohtniug, bearing with him the impression that if he had recognized me his turn would be the next. My keeper accompanied mie to the notei and exam- ined my passport with bexoming digut!y. The con- tents bemg im the English language he remained profonnaly ignorant, asked if I had got any more and received for reply the same mysterious docu- ment that secured my liberation when arrested during the ¢meutes in Paris. The poor dear fellow became coufused, his legs shook, his tecth chat- tered, the cocked hat tipped forward over his evea, and murmuring “4u plaisir!’ he stole away. What he meant by au plaist except the pleasure of seeing me again, I know not; but I have no wish to renew his acquaintance, and certainly think his Was @ remark of extraordinary coolness after the trouble aud annoyance to which I had been sub- jected. AT NANCY AND ON METZ FORTE RSS. Having learned in Nancy what I wished to know— that artillery is pouring into that place—I made up my mind to returnto Metz, Encamped in the out- skirts of Nancy I left thirty batteries of artillery, and before the weck is ont there wiil be nearly thirty thousand men, The new hand litters wero at the station In thousanes. Nancy was getting trouble- some and sol determined to leave her. As there Would be no train for hours, and a report being in circulation that a heavy engagement was imminent, Tiett for tiis place with a gentleman in a carriage about six o'clock inthe evening, The horses kept up a@ steady jog trot; the fox brushes attached to thelr ears whisked the flies of fuely, and the gre- lols of the harness kept up a perpetual Jingle, Jingle, Jingie, which brougit forth cottagers, young as well as old, to the door to see us pass, and offering usan ever changing kaleidoscopic view of human ugil- ness The country through which we drove was most beautiful. Hills covered with woods or hops, or vines, sloping to a@ highly cultivated plain, through which glides the far-famed bive Moseile. We passea through several villages and by many happy dirty homes. Of course we occasionally heard extraordinary reports with respect to the war, and the misery of the Prussians on the frontiers was described as iniens: Crops and instruments of sgticulture had been removed, the French would find notiing but @ barren and deserted land of promise, every man, woman and child having been removed with the exception of a hand(ui of withered old women not afraid of the amatory zouaves. We heard also that bread was one francjthe pound and salt seventy-five centimes. For satire possibly none struck us more forcibly tuan the placard that ‘an ex- cursion train will start early in August for Mayeuce, Wiesbaden, &¢.—price, return ticket, 130 francs. At last we reacued Pont-d-Monsson and dined there, The tableclotit and other things in the room were literally black with fiies. Iremember once being annoyed in # similar manner at Givet, the frontier town of France, That place is a cavalry station, as ia also Pont-a-Monssou. The waiting girl declared that until the arrival of cavalry, only a week since, the place was free irom files. If her statement ba eorrect the flies must be social fellows, for they have made themsives quite at home. Afier digner the coachman appeared with the paintul information that, Metz being in a state of slege, the gates were shut thronghont the night, We knew he lied; but if we had taken his advice We should have been spared much subsequent an- noyance. We ordered the horses to be put to, aud away we jingied in the aark, With our cheerful sounding greiots and lighted lamps. Jt was a lovely might, with stars shiniog brightly but no moon. Suddenly there appeared a bright red gleam of light through the thick foliage of tie trees that lined the route,and a turn in the road brought us Within sight of a smelting furnace. It is but six years since iron stone Was Urst found bere, and the valley ig pot yet biackened. The men appeared to be working encircled with flames of brillant red, against which the balldings appeared intensely viack, As the workmen fitted across, and {rom lime to time the place was deluged with sparks of brilHancy more intense than eleciric light, the place presented @ strangely weird appearance, Having stopped for a iew moments to gaze on this unexpected scene we passed on, and were toid by the coachman that we should soon pass under the ‘ Devii’s Bridge.” Entering a village, wrapped in slumber, we saw tie old gentieman’s bridge looming In the distance, high aloft, in soiemn gloom. Be had evidentlyslett the lower regions for the occasion, There was n0- thing to disturp the stillness of the night but our horses’ bells and the angry barkings of the village dogs, evidently uuaccus.omed to be disturped 30 late, ‘Lheir masters slept. There was no sign of lie but a flickering light {n one up-stairs window. Pro- foon ed ies asick room, perhaps in the chamber of ne dead, A ROMAN AQUEDUCT—LIFE IN THE GRIM FORTRESS OF ‘TO-DAY. We hurried on to the turned out to be lis Bridge,” which wining arches of the vast Roman aque conducted to Mets the waters of the rivulet of Gorz What extraordinary ks the superstition of man takes! The coachmah ctually had credited the devil with one of the finest remains of man's handiwork. Passing by a camp we shortly afterwards nd it wis not without tuat we found the drawbridge unraised. It was now 0} o'clock in the morning, streets were desert and we were hou: derer, a rooit to be foun for money, went to a house in the hope of shelter; we rang, we knocked, we shouted in vain, all was stil! as the grave. At last we arrived before an o! hioned hote! of the third class. We tried again, and almost immediately one of the larga es swang open aud we were in the uudity, with the ex- night dress. We commodation for man and beasts, and tue simling Bye sai we could have it. She was ule rg 238 of good fortune, The couchman com- meuced to unharness its horses, and we already thought ourselves in “clover.” The litle nude sald she would ran and ask her pairon which rooms we could baye. She crossed the yard, and we heard her bare feet go pit-a-pat up the narrow woouen stairease to the first floor. She knocked; some one uttered a sicepy grant for rey she told ber mis- sion, and the nier grunted angrily, His grunt it was mixed with oaths for hay- prese ception of the siorte-t po asked for becaine a grow ing opened tue door, and growlings about spies. Down ihe staircase rapldiy fled the girl, she ched the itre of the” yard. master’s window open; the” girl petrified to the at naked at window | was her patron, a of clothing t cap, issuing @ volley igivie patois, The girl aW thal we were ali it Co with fores. pasible to degoribe pointed | oT cocker, Who Wik lis horses, Lvs turn bad arrived and be avusd | the in hospitable Messin tn round terms. The latter having thrown on some more clotin made his appearance, took part in the battle of words and the deseried streets echoed again with abuse nul their exhaustion put an end to the strife, After much search, aided by some benighted drunkards, a stable was found for the horses, Shouldering our haversacks, my brother “chip!’ and myself, having left our portomanteaus in the carriage, started to walk the streets until the in- habitants should have ceased to slumber. How wo escaped arrest I Know pot, for we really looked most suspicioua, At length the door of house which I hyve alluded to was opened. “Is Mr. U. within, we feng d asked, “Lord bless you,” replied the landiord, “he was arrested last Friday as a spy, He 1s still in prison,” We found setter in his room. Shortly afterwards a commissary of police called, 1 satisfied him as to my respeviability, or | should bave followed the of all correspondents, He became communi. cative and condescended to show me a demand ia writing made by Mr. ©. for some money as his bad been taken from him, some soap, a Bible aud his pipe. He evidently means to enjoy himself, * ing v it As (he honsematds say, 1 Beret, wash y; entered the Hotel do Metz for breakfast, On the aoa aad Tae wa Beh ASP Sg ee RY oe im, who followed the majesty of the law into corridor. More words ensued and the correspon. dent Ripees to his oreakfast. Pagers — og ments gendarme aga’ appeared. ons 3 Banquo’ ahost, the special followed and was scen no more. I ventured to ask ao oMcer seated next to me, ‘What ia the matrer?' “He Js arrested for being’ a spy,’’ replied my neighbor, and his mus- taches curled up inghtfully. AT LUXEMBOURG. French Delay in tho “Oa to Berlin” March— Why Is Lt ?—The Gousequences—Kager for a Battle, but Defeated at the Outset. Luxkapoura, August 3, 1870, After three weeks of a state of war, by the lapse of which time it was fondly imagined by some that a treaty of peace, consequent upon victory, would have been signed at Berlin, the l’reach army, which was to have crossed the Rhine liko a streak of light- ning at the very commencemEnt of hostilities, and marched victorious to the capital of its enemy, finds itself still on its own ground, with but one foot ad- vanced for a moment on to the territory of Germany. The French have prudently watted until thoir legions: were weil in hand, ana until .thetr communications with their base was well established, so that the line could swing, like @ pendulum, from left to centre and from centre to right. The Germans have thus gained time to concen- trate their forces on the fortresses of the Rhine, with their van pushed out towards the Saar to keep the enemy at bay until their base of operations was established and supplied, and their linea of comma- ulcation definitely arranged, with the purpose of witbdrawiag when these objects were accomplished and enticing the enemy to follow them to the (1 Oe SM caer . : Vee eye a a $ The eageriéas of thé French army for glory and of the French people for a bulletin precipitated the Emperor into his frst unsuccess{ul attempt on Saarbruck, which it did not then suit the Prussians should be taken. This attempt was soon followed by another, the success of which proves clearly the past and indicates the future policy of the Prussians. Mayence anda Coblenta and other strong places on the Rhine are put in a thorough state of defence, and the Prussians will abandon the line of the Saar and siowly fall back to the Rhine, upon the banks of which river will take place the first great batile of tao war. SAARBRUCK, The capture of Saarbruck was, a3 @ battle, not worthy of the pame. It was a mere affair of outposts, and about equal in importance to the skirmish at @ AMittl town near Hickman, Kentucky (the name of which I forget), which signalized the first occupation of Columbus by our troops under General N. B. Buford, The fight lasted leas than two hours, and twelve men were killed. ‘The town was nearly destroyed by shot and shell, and it sounds well in a bulletin that “Sarbruck 1s tn ashes.” Ti the pr ston of Saarbruck had con- tinued to be an object of importance to the Prussians its defence would have been so obstinate as to have brought on a general engagement. It was, without doubt, given up after a fait resistance to cover ope- rations in the rear mot completed; and the French will find when they push forward towards the Rhino that the railway communications by which the Prussians advanced and are now retiring have been destroyed as fust as they have served thelr purposes, and that they have been rendeved useless to an in- vading force. GRANT AND NAPOLEON, Like Genera! Grant, the commander-in-clilef of the Freuch armies inthe flela has taken his son with him to the front, where, 1 have no doubt, the boy behaved himself with the coolness which becomes the race from which he springs. Unilke Grant, Napoleon has telegraphed to his wife that their son had received his ‘‘baptlsin of fire’? at Saarbruck, that he had showed admirable sangrotd and had preserved a bullet which had failen near him in the Dgbt, Fred Grant, on his pony, was with his father at the Big Black, which was preliminary to the siege of Vicksburg, and it was with difiiculty he could be Kept out of the thick of the. ght. At the siege itself he slept on bis bed of reeds tn his father’s simple re- pubiican tent, and without uniform, but tn his plain schoolboy clothes, and unattended by special aide- de-camp, or even orderly, he dally went to the front and was exposed to danger and to death, but he never thought of picking up, nor was he prompted to pick up, @ “bullet that had fallen at his feet,” nor did General Grant telegraph to Mrs, Julia Dent Grant at Covington or St, Louls, as did Napoleon to Eugénie de Montejo Bonaparte at Paris, that their son “had received his baptism of fire; neither did he use his presence with him to inspire and stimu- jate the ardor of the men under his command, who, if they noticed the boy at all, only thought that, son of the commander-in-chief as he was, he tvas only taking his chance with themselves in the service of hus country, Fred Grant may live to be President of the United States, or, at least, commander of her army. Who will say'that the’ Prince Imperial of France wiil ever become Napoleon LV? PRUSSIAN ORDERS—NAPOLEON’S MISTAKE. The real truth of the anair of Saarbruck is that the Prussians had orders a week ago to evacuate the place and withdraw towards Saurlouls, and on to the line thence to Mayence, as soon as a really serious attack was made upon it. That attack was hastened by the absolute neceasity which existed for Napoleon to do something to signalize ius having joined the army, and was meant only for theatrical and melodramatic eifect. He has over- shot the mark, and by lighting up his transforma- tion scene at the beginning instead of the end of the play will only wiet the appetite of the restive Parisians for more blue and green fire, and more aisplay, which, with united Germany in his froat, he may find it not so easy to gratify. If the plans ofthe Prussians are as I have stated above much Ume will ciapse before he can ever have a chance of sending another melodramatic bulletin to the Empress. If, on the contrary, the German army continues to make a staud, a4 some think 1¢ will, on the Saar, the bulletins—the private ones, at least—may have to be of entirely another compieaion. Though the unresisting town, unoceupled by any but its usual peaceful inhabitants, nas been shelled and laid in uses, the Saar has not been crossed, and it may be that the Emperor, li his anxiety that the Prince im- perial should receive his “baptism of fire” in as safe & place and as speedily as possible, may have inter- fered with the wiser plans, and run counter to the cooler counsels of his Marshals of France. AT COBLENTZ. The Garrison on the Qui Vive—“After? a Herald SpecialmArrest and Lingual Contu. sion—The Vortress as It Is. COBLENTZ ON RHINE, July 27, 1870. T narrowly escaped being sent to the guard house last evening for the night, As I approached Cob- Jentz from taking @ walk, secing that it was near nine o'clock, when the gates of the fortress are closed, I quickened my pace to a trot, not aware of the reglément which forbids any one to pass rapidly over the drawbridge of a fortification. Now, though the rule be an admirable one when applied to those heavy artillery wagons that might be supposed to shake tle foundations of any breastwork or barbi- can, yet, that any mortal man could injure the walls {s more tian I can concelye, and 60 it was 1 ran, and a soldier after. me; three more followed, and an under oficer bronght up the = rear. So imposing was the whole scene that any unprejudiced spectator not over- versed in military tactics might have imagined that I was about to storm Coblentz and had stolen a march upon the garrison, After all the whole thing was pretty much Itke what Murat did at Vienna, and perhaps it was that which alarmed them. Your cor- respondent was at length captured, and as they all spoke at Once, and such bad German too, I saw I had committed a fault, but what it was I could not even guess. Now there are two benevolent Institutions tn all law, and according to these @ man may plead either “in forma pauperis” or “in forma stuttus.” T took the latter plea and came off triumphant; my sentence was recorded as a “dumb Bnglander—very gratity- ing to the Aner a eagie. TO TREVES. From Coblentz to Treves, which latter place ta the headquarters of Prince Frederick Karl, is about YORK HERALD, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 1870—YRIPLE SHEET, 1s now the order of the day. The French cross the line constantly and always go back less one their number, #0 say reports on this side, 7s “BULWARK"! OF PRUSSIA TOWARDS FRANC, oblentz is the it fortified town on the left bank of the Rhine, and in connection with the cita- del of Ehrenbreiistein on the right bank, renders Coblents the bulwark of Prussia on the side of France, These vast defences form a camp capable of contaming 160,000 soldiers, and are unique in ther way, combining the two systems of fortitication of Carnot and Montalembert. ‘The works around the town, external and dctached. are the Fort Kaiser Franz on the leit bavk of the Moselle, which fork now is a vory sinporrans one, as it commands the proach from Treves; the forts Alexander and tantine, above the towu, command the roads from the city of Mayenve aud over the Handsrick mountains, and now, Kurenbeitsteta, with its 600 cannon overlooking Lic city, anda few rtant import works on neighboring heights, complete the fortifica- ony of this town. ‘ou wiit perceive trom the post- on of Coblenta it is the extreme right of the grand army for the reserve PRUSSIAN FORCR. ‘The entire army is being mobilized, and com x of the line, 275,000 for rege: and bout 000 landwenr, Add to this for the about 80,000 ern Ger States, now commanded by the Wa Prindo of Prussia’ and’ Prassia, wit bave ut er command Pel § ugand over ® million sol- diera, butte Ane best fi jarger, but f ut Ha tore an st ah the frontiers of the Duchy of Luxembourg and Bel- ium to see if the Fiench obsert and then an army in the late kingdom of Hanover to meet the French that they axrecs to come b; way of the North sea and the Baltic and invade Han- ovcr and set those people free, for as yet the maas 0 the inhabitants of the kingdom of Hanover do no! like the Prussian rule, DBTERMINED TO “‘aRrrLE.”” The determination of the German people ts to punish at any cost the French nation, and to put to rest forever the taunts of their neighbors ‘On to the Raine’ The Germans, as o nation, are not very uick, and are a happy people, not given to enthu- sm as the French, and faough for ages past they have been always soldiers, yet they dread war. GREAT GUNS. An the war of 1859, in Italy, the Frenoh army then adopted a new arm—the rifie cannon—that played sad havoc with the poor Austrians, and since that time the ride cannon has been introduced iuto all the European armies. But, alas! tho rifle cannon is not destructive enough; something else must be ins Vented to Kili more of these poor soldiers for the ambition of their rulers, And ee has @ gun, the mitralilieuse; it consists of Mity barrels and car- riage, and 1s similar in priuciple to the “infernal machines,” of which the French have now over 800 in the deld, The French have a number of gun- boats built, some in Strasbourg, and secretiy in other 3 of France, which my German friends laugh at; 4m informed so did the Southerners during the war in America, but to their cost; tor with an army on land and these boats on the Rhine, they will destroy more property than man cau repair in this century on this side of the water. 1am prevented from entering lato further detalis, IN PRUSSIA, Tho Secret Treaty—Bismarcl’s Grand Op- portunity—Seigium and Luxembourg—Bri- fish Neutrallty=“On” to the Front—Coust Defences—A Grand Plan, but Some Doubts of its Accomplistunent. et BERLIN, August 1, 1870, The London Times’ revelation has, of course, cre- ated vast excitement here, and is looked upon as a trump card of Count Bismarck, played out, too, at the most opportune moment. You have undoubt- edly been informed by wire of the contents of the offensive and defensive treaties which, eyen pre- vious to the events of 1866, France hag offered to Prussia, together with 300,000 men to aid her against Austria, provided the Berlin Capinet would help France in gaining possession of Belgium and Lux- embourg. Some blame will be attached to Prussia by the other Continental States fer her reticence re- garding this rapacious and underhand conduct. It must, indeed, be considered that a great portion of diplomatic correspondeace between the European Powera is confidential; nevertheless underhana dealings of this description, Judged by ordinary lights, are breaches of confidence, and calculated to raise the utmost indignation among those Powers destined by France to be her dupes. BISMARCK’S POLICY. On the supposition, then, that Bismarck has, him- self, furnished the draft of the aforementioned treaty, itis at least rendered excusable by the shamefaced mendaciousness of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, in asserting in his despatch of the twenty- first instant that Bismarck and Von Thile gave, a3 long asa year ago, pledges to Benedetti that the Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern should not stand as ®@ candidate for the Spanish throne. Indeed so utterly without foundation was this assertion that the Prussian government felt themselves obliged to contradict it in the most express manner, stating, omeially and personally, that not a single word. cither oMictally or in conversation, had passed between the representatives of the two governments. The Berlin press even asks why, if the French govern- ment had this crposé at their command, tt was not used to strengthen their accusations against Prussia at the time when justification was not too late? Yet not a word of it was brought forward in the French Chambers by a Ministry appealing for support to the sympathies of the civilized world. ENGLAND'S POSITION, Hopes are expressed here in every direction that the discovery of this French duplicity will incline England to a cause more favorable to Prussia than that of strict neutrality. Perceiving how little faith is to be placed upon assurances of the French gov- ernment, will she not be inclined to insure the in- tactness of the Belgium territory by something more eficient than a State document? A suspicious opservation of every movement of France is the least that can be expected of her. In the meantime we who know how little a mere fdeal injury will drive England to any- thing than a mere verbal expression of indigna- tion, think less of the probability of any further good than moral support arising to Germany out of the disclosure of this treaty, Indeed, we have already news before us that coal, horses and cartridges are betng furnished in large quantities to the French government by British mercuants, It will be again the old story of the independence of private enter- prise eluding the requiremengs of national honor. PUBLIC FEPLING. The confidence here i a jtriamphant result in- creases duy by day. A week ago there was a general impression that the start which the offensive att- tude gave the French might secure them in the be- ginning of the cainpaign some cheap victeries, But this start has proved to have been at least equalized by the excellent state of preparation for such even- tualities which has been, tt is true, a heavy burden, but Is now the safety of Germany. The mobilization and concentration of troops has proceeded with rapidity truly wonderful, yet with a quiet and order like clockwork, only disturbed by the unrestrainable enthusiasm of that portion of the population who have feit themselves unfortunate that thelr part 4s not a more active one. Notwithstanding the rigorous and unsparing nature of military service in Prussia, the number of volunteers from the comparatively small class who are on one ground or another exempt has been so great that the government has been unable to dispose of them as fast as they offered their services. |With enthu- slasm for the cause there is, however, mingled in every family sorrow aud disttess for the members of the household and the assistants in business wio have been drawn into the ranks. The concentration of forces at the theatre of war has procecded so far that the commanders-in-chtef are beginning to move their headquarters to the front, though, like every other movement which has taken place, with deliberation, yet no loss of time. PREPARATION, It would certatnly be a mistake to suppose that either Power ts ag yet ready for the decisive move- ments of @ campaign of such vast importance. The trifiing skirimisies of which we daily have news froin Saarbrucken and tts neighboriiood are tho natural consequences of the proximity of the outposts of two eager armies, and are of no furtucr couse-~ qnence. It seems that cach party 1a determined to gather all its forces before tt risks a heavy blow. Not oniy has France been unabie to take advantage of her prior knowledge of the approaching campaign, but as received a ee to make the most of lis owa resources through the failure of its aniictpations of the sympathetic neutrality of the South Geran States and of the disturbing disaffection oi some of the members of the Northern Confederation. COAST DEFENCES. The quiet confluence which prevails as to the re- sults of the operations on the Rhine frontier does not perhaps extend in the samemeasure to the defence of the coast, The German navy 18 too inierior to that of the French to attempt more than coastal de- fence, nor will the Prussian government trust to its ‘navy alone for this purpose. Most active prepara. lions are in progress for the lortification of the whole Sea coast by earthworks, batteries, &c., in which Vast oumbers of men fina a A The guides to navigation—lighthouses, buoys, &¢.—are bemg removed, the entrances to harbors obstructed, and everything prepared for the most effectual resistance to any attack irom this side. The foud hopes here entertained of some action on the part of the United States looking toward the protection of commerce have been to a great extent resigned, and it!s beginning to be felt that cireum- stances do not ‘et warrant direct interfereuce on the part of America, Prussia, It is said, proposed through Austria that the principles of the war of 1806 should be observed, viz:—private property on the me seas should be respected and blockac limited to naval ports, This position Is s have been recetved by the Emberor Napoieow rema, | “Bisma nvudre UN Bf POUr war an& the comment tpen 1t in oficall circles | at Paris Was, “The German foot can dy our com vy English miles, gad couceuwatug Use troops * gree bul iitie mjary, While We can, sweep tus’ int pati He siti ‘i from the seas! Ro ittHe In keantne with the dias: tates Of humanity is the poucy of the nation which id itself upon marching at the Lead of ctviliza- RETORTS-—RUATIAN INTERESTS, Thave described the siote of allaca ad fac as my Pewent iotormation extends, bat the future os weid Present receives nine consideration, ‘Tho Vienna press contaius tie substance of rumored Hegoriations be woen the French and Russlan go: eraments, ‘The Emperor of the Prench, it Ls satd, i - Slack at the suspicions and éven demon- = vg utrality of England. He understands ae oo ae ened and 18 concerned he haa little ad- tage slat Aten, te ease of a successful war. together, and the telegraph bet Part “A Prince Gortschakort, ween Paris ant tion. ‘The Ein} at Wildbad, ts in constant opera- ai of this congri bian principalities, Hon Sf she Danu- Danie B Bowarer: spottion ene to ons «qually hypothetical are of consideration ere. ihe writer heard’ ieee prohihos disposing of ‘defeated France.” Nothing ess Was Considered satisfactory than the annexas tion of the originally German provinees Alsace and Lorraine, the dethronement and exile of Napoleon and the punisament of his advisers, AT, COLOGNE, A Prussian Corps Three Leagues Distnat the picture. from Belgiam—,lt for tho Army—The Fortress of Mayence—An Intrenched Camp—Provisioning Ratts on the Rhine= A Fortified Trinngle. Covoane, August 2, 1870. ‘The movement of troops 13 continual tu the Rhine Provinces, . Aix-la-Chapelie Is nearly empty of troops. A Prussian corps @'armée is at three leagues from the Belgian frontier, of about 40,000 men. Prossian troops are flowing into Cologne and the neighbornood. Oologne 13 1n a state of sloge. Prus- slan engineers have opened trenches at two leagues from Qologne, and an intrenched camp is estab- lished between Cologne and Tréves, supported by the Fortress of Coblentz, This position occupies the triangle formed by Cologne, Coblentz and Treves. The Mine Park of Cologue ts razed, ag well ag wo magnificent chateau of the banker Oppenheim, Mayence is in a state of slege. This fortress 1s occupied by 25,000 Bavarian, ‘Mes- slan and Baden troops, -Trenchos are opened in front of Mayence, All the inhabitants are obliged to provide prosvisions for six weeks. Those with out resources are expelled and wander about the country, Prussian troops are encamped on tie wooded heigits of St. cugbert and aeetaon the valley of the y protect the Important group of Prassian coal mines, and at the game (ime @re hear Neunkirchen, a point of junction of tive railways, one comiag from Bingerbruck and the ocher from Landau, and 80 connect Prussia to Kaya- ria, Behind cobients is established an mtrenched camp. Coblenta 13 a fortified town and very impor- tant, as the Prussian army can fail back on it in casa of a check. It has threo fortresses, which defend every side—the Chartreuse, which protects the plain or paenmey the Petersburg, which guards the road to ves and Cologne; the Khrenbreistein, which overlooks the Rhine and the road to Nassan, Tha ramparts are furnished with immense pieces of ar- tllery. aise rafis are descending the Rhine with provi- sions and military munitions, Between Mayence and Coblentz a formidabie amount of war material 1s collected, and the concentration ot troops Is like- wise immense, The generai opinion is that there will be a combined movement of the Prussian coi and that in consequence of the new iistrumenis war there will be a change of tactics, Hencelorth they will use in ap open campaign the same tactics as hitherto employed in @ siege. They will only ad- vance under cover of intrenchments. Everywhere they are digging in the Rhine provinves, The Prus- slang have commenced by intrenching themselves behind ditches, rivers, fascines, &o., and await be- hind these improv: works, From Cobientz te Mayence the country 1s entirely cut up in this fashion, It is a new system of defence, which re- quires a new mode of attack. A Prussian corps @armée is stationed bebind the curtain of the Black Forest, Prussia 1s Soneantessing her principal forces in the ue, the Moselie and the triangle formed by the Ri ‘These last rivers form their line of defence. Saar, Their left rests on the Rhine, near Landau, Their right stretches out to the Aioselle, near Tréves, Saariouts, recently fortified, serves as acentre. Ln case of @ check the Prussians will fall back on Mayence and Coblentz, which will protect their passage over the Khine. From the positions oocu- pied by the dierent corps of the Pru a army military judges think this ig tie plan of campaign adopted at headquarters, A formidable army of reserve {§ stationed near Frankfort-on-the-Main. The coe wing order of the day was read in every company of the Prussian army:—‘The first soldier who will carry off @ French mitraillcuse will receive @ reward of 500 thaters.”’ It is thought in Prussia they can soon raise their army to 1,200,000 men. The Prussian plan ts sald to be to throw an enormous army on France. [oc thia purpose tueir troops are all concentrated on a single potut of French frontier. A German journal states that General Von Moltke remarked the day after the French declaration of war, “If Napoleon had not marched to the Rhine by the 2lst he will never croag uw between Mayence and Cologne.’’ AT FRANKFORT. Military Progress and Citizen Patriotism Hopeful but Nothing Decisive—Reaction- arios Foiled—Tho Financial Aspect—The KRothschiids and United States Bounds. FRANKFORT, August 1, 1870. Preparations for war and the passage of troops and stores are the only facts to be reported. Air is done with the greatest regularity and quietness, 40 that we have not yet heard the beating of a drum, ‘To save time and accelerate the passage of the troops barracks have been established at the stations, and @ regular voluntary staff has been formed, to serve beer and viands and bread to the soldiers; the ex- pense has been raised by voluntary contributions, We are now over the fright during the first ‘3 of the war, that the French, beiter prepared, might cross the Rhine and make a successful razzia, which would not have decided tne war, but still have caused heavy loa3e3. ‘The German armios are now already in suflicient numbers on the spot to keep the French at the frouticr, and we trust that io afew days they will be strong enough to assume the offensive, France has evidently not caleulated on the unanimity of the German people, and on the forces that will be marshalled against her; the odda are in our favor; the result is hidden to human eyes, Suill it augurs well that the few skirmishes which haye taken place hitherto have been fought on French territory, and that the aeedie gun has proved & match for the Chassepot, ‘ Volunteers come forward to auy number, and tt Speaks volumes for the spirit which is now pervad- ing the nation that out or 560 emigrants already on board ship at Havre by far the majority have re- turned to take part in the batties for the mdepen dence of their country. The French, frivolous and sanguine as they are, were under the impression that a few democratic deciamators in the South, some score of ultramontane clergymen in Bavaria or some discontented noblemen in Hanover would carry away with thomthe nation. All these traitors are now silent, and if they were not they would ba dead men this very moment. We do not make our. Seivcs tiiusions avout the war, We know that it ts & hard business, and that the French army, thougty inferior in force, and, a3 we hope, also in metle and resolute charactor, 13 mot so wpparent to be uncder- rated; still we have every element of success, & nua beriess and highly efitcient aruy, expertenced com. manders and a people of 40,000,000 ready for all sacrifices, THE TREATY. ‘The treaty offered by Wrance to Prussia, to seoure for herself Luxembourg and belgium, in spite o! European treaties, to which she was @ party, must open the eyes of egotistical England as to tha dangers which are In store for ber should the French get the upper hand in tho grand struggle. Tio: must now be aware that IC 1s as impossible to bin the French Bmperor by a treaty as @ ilon by a silken string, and that the oxistence of Belgium and Holiaud would not be worth a day's purchase should the German armaics be beaten; France will then annex them without saying @ word, and silence Engiand by a camp at Chergourg. Should Englaud step out of her lethargy and protect the Germua coasts, Uien all the forces could be massed on the Rhine, and there is every probability that Wie war willbe at an end in amonth, ‘There isno reason why all civilized nations should submit to the whiua of the French Emperor, and see at his will thete commerce disturbed and their wealth brokent Pre- vention 18 better than cure, aud what a coalition must ultimately do could be ow edected without risk and in @ short tine, On the Bourse transactions are limited to compen= sations and hquidations aud to the seling out of bonds to moet liabililies. As Americans have bec © favorite fuvestment for bankers, merchants aud mill owners, they are now soid every day to bes money. Our bank has advanced tive millions of them, at the rate of sixty per cent, under the col. lective guarautee of our bankers; but this has not proved sufficient, bother measure, to issue four millions of bonds on the dopostt of gold, which t3 our legal payment basis, Nad also not proved eMclent, as the commune cations by railways are just cut af fora few days, until tf troops lave passed, aud then § COUN not arrive im jarge gums from. Hagan Roudd