The New York Herald Newspaper, October 4, 1875, Page 3

THE. SIISIAN” MANGUTRES Military Festivities on the Mimic Battle Grounds. SCHLOSS FUERSTENSTEIN. Silesia--Its Bygone Glories and Vicissitudes. TIE SCENE OF FREDERICK'S VICTORIES, Bresiav, Sept. 11, 1876. Carlyle thus describes Silesia, from whose capital we date this epistle about the preliminaries to the mancuvres:—‘‘Schlesien, what we call Silesia, is counted to be some 20,000 square miles, nearly the third of England proper. Schlesien is a fine, fortile, useful and beautiful country—a very pretty ellipsis, or irregular oval, on the summit of the European Con- tinent—like the palm of a left hand well stretched out, with the Riesengebirge for thumb! said a certain Herr to me, stretching out his arm in that fashion toward the northwest, Palm, well stretched out, measuring 250 miles, and the crossway 100, There are still beavers in Schlesien; tho Katzbach River has gold grains in it, a kind of Pactolus, not now worth working; and in the scraggy, lonesome Pine woods grimy individuals, with kindled mounds of pine branches, and smoke carefully kept down by sods, are sweating out a substance which they inform you is to be tar.” Carlyle then treats us to some history, The first people we hear of are the Quadi, who left a few ash-urns, and whose name signifies wicked. The Polish equivalent is Zle (Bisching says Zlesi) hence Zlezien. Schlesien meanmg Badland, Quadland, what we might call Damagitia, or country where you get into trouble. He divides SILESIAN HISTORY into three epochs:—First, “Christianity,” A. D, 996; second, “Gets gradually cut loose from Poland, A. D. 1139-1159;” the “Piast Dukes” and their countries by silent emigration becoming German; A. D. 1827 gets completely cut loose from Poland, becoming a part of the Kingdom of Bohemia, Third epoch, “Adopts the Reformation, A D. 1414-1517; A. D, 1587, the Brbverbriderung; Duke of Liegnitz and of other extensive heritages, making deed of brotherhood with Kur-Brandenburg; deed for Didden, and, so far as might be, rubbed out and anni- hilated by the then King ot Bohemia, subsequently Kaiser Ferdinand 1, Karl V.’s brother. Duke of Lieg- nitz had to give up his+parchments, and become zero in that matter, Kur-Brandenburg refused to do so; kept his parchments to see if they would not turn to something. A. D, 1624, Schlesien went warmly into the Winter-King project—first fire of the Thirty Yea War; had to smart sharply for it. Duke of Jaogern- dorf lost his duchy, Austria holding it in defiance of the laws of the Reich. Religious oppression lay heavy on Protestant Silesia A. D. 1648, Treaty of Westphalia mended much of this, had said treaty hoen kept. A, D. 1707, Treaty of Altranstadt, between Kaiser Joseph I, and Karl XI of Sweeden. Karl chasing August, the physically Strong, towards Savoy, entreated by a Silesian depu- tation, for the love of Christ and His Evangel, to “pro- tect us poor Protestants, and get the Treaty of We: phalia observed on our behalf, and fair play shown!” which Karl did, Kaiser Joseph, with such weight of French war lying on him, being much struck with the tone of that dangerous Swede. The Pope rebuked Kaiser Joseph for such compliance in tho Silesian matter, ‘Holy Father,” answered this Kaiser (not of distinguished orthodoxy in the house), ‘I am too glad he did not ask me to become Lutheran; I know not how I should have helped myself.” The fourth epoch dates “13th December, 1749,” and is the final and crowning epoch of Silesian history. For the rest, see Carlyle’s Life of Frederick the Great and the conquest of Bilesia and its incorporation with the kingdom of Prussia. YREDERICK THE GREAT AND SILESIA, I have quoted so much history here because the com- Ing manceuvres will take place on this very historical ground, and nearly every place touched by the troops will have some historical connection with the battles of the great Frederick, Historical memories, too, not less interesting are connected with the war of German libora- pion at the commencement of the century. Breslau has mem ories enough of Frederick. On the 34 of January, 1741, he entered the city with his little, well organized, brave army of 30,000 troops, and soon afterward took possession of the whole of Silesia without a sword stroke, for Maria Theresa had too many foes to contend with just then to permit her to look after the Bran- denburger and his Potsdam guards out on parade, On Saturday, says Carlyle, last night of the year, 1740, fis Majesty lodged at a schloss called Pilsnitz, five miles to west of Breslau; and vanward regiments, a good few, quartered in the western and southern sub. urbs of Breslau itself—suburbs decidedly glad to see them and escape conflagration. The town gates are bermetically strut; plenty of emotion bottled in the 100,000 hearts within. The seotries on the wall pre- tented arms; nay, it is affirmed gome could not help exclaiming, ‘Wilkommen, Ihr tieben Herren.” Next flay Frederick entered the city, Schwerin riding with im, along Schweidnitz street, the very one through which William passed yesterday. On the 11th of June, 1742, the treaty of peace was signed at Breslau by which Frederick received Upper and Lower Silesia and tne county of Glatz—altogether 1,400,000 inhabitants; which treaty was only ratified after the second Silesian war, at Dresden, on Christmas Day, 1745, In 1767 the city was AGAIN OCCUPIED BY THE AUSTRIANS, but was recaptured by Frederick after the battle of Leuthen, In 1813, after Napoleon’s disastor in Russia, Frederick William III. removed his capital from Berlin (then occupied by a }rrench garrison) to Breslau, and bere took place that celebrated uprising of the Prussian youth andthe King’s famous proclamation, “To My People,” on the 17th of March, 1813, Here at the samo time the Prussian Landwehr was organized and the order of the Iron Cross called into existence, From Bree! therefore, sprang originally the enthusiasm which finally resulted in the expulsion of Napoleon from Germany and the attainment of freedom for Ger- many from the French oppression. KAISER WILHELM’S RECEPTION. ‘These are merely scraps from Breslau’s history; but we need to remember them in order to understand the great enthusiasm which the people exhibited yesterday in welcoming their King and Kaiser. I have seen tho Kaiser received in many German cities, and saw him gnter Frankfort immediately after the war; saw him at ‘he inauguration of the Victory Monument at Berlin; ‘and I must say that the reception he got at Breslau yes- lerday exceeded them all in warmth of welcome and in the joy of the people. The streets and houses were fecorated in a most exuberant and lavish manner, and ‘he illumination was universal. ‘’he city itself must ave spent many thousands of thalers in the festal oreparations, in transparencies, temporary symbolical figures, and evergreens and wreaths and flags, Such dense crowds they were, too, that lined the streets lead- ‘ng from the railroad depot to the Schloss, and such cheering from strong throats that the Emperor himself must have been startled. The ocople were delighted to see the Kaiser; anybody could ‘ee that, and it was the first time they had had a chance to see him since the war, The newspapers overflowed with pleasant loyalty and thankfulness. One journal ‘ays :—“‘Since the time of Frederick the Great our prov- ‘nce has always had the greatest care shown to it by ‘he Hohenzollerns; they have even striven to aid in the fevelopment of its industries and its agriculture.” Tho Silesian Zeitung—perhaps the best edited provincia, ournal in Germazy—says:—'‘It ts not the vain love of military show that brings the monarch to the two army corps nuited in our province; it Is the strict ex- weise of what he considers to be his duty toward the ‘atheriand, And when the aged Emperor, besides his | ‘any military duties and the continual business of the State, still finds strength to devote a few hours ‘o receiving the loyal greetings, of his people, ‘vo are filled with the highest thank: dt admiration.’’ Some of the poets, as usual, “pile on the agony” some- what, however, when we are told:—'Doth the foe at- ‘ack us, thou hastenest to defend the boundaries of the ‘and; the Gauls sink before thy lightnings, and Sedan’s elds are made red with the blood of the enemy, | | | NEW YORK HERALD, MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1875.—TRIPLE SHEET. Thou consecratest thy strength to the Light: the dark foe has become thy servant: threaten us now, 0 Rome, with thy ban; it cannot hurt us any more. In the sun- shine of peace thou cultivatest the glorious fruits of Peace, science and art: the Muses appear dancing be- fore thee: they wind thee a glorious wreath,” &c., &e, ‘This reminds us somewhat strongly of the Song of Solo- mon, and certainly must be as distasteful to the Em- peroras it is in wretched taste, More gratifying to the Kaiser must have been three beautiful tableaux at the City Theatre last evening, symbolically repre- senting the thanks of Silesia and Breslau for the honor done them by the imperial visit. PRINCES AND GUESTS. ‘The manceuvres proper begin on Monday next, when the Fifth and Sixth army corps join at Liegnitz, Here aro the names of some of the prominent personages pres- ent:—There is the Kaiser, the Crown Prince (with the Crown Princess), the King of Saxony, Count Moltke, the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Schwerin, Prince Frederic Carl of Prussia Among the guests are Prince Arthur of England, Princo Hassan of Egypt (who is in the Prussian service), Archduke Albrecht of Austria, Especially invited or sent by their respective governments to observe the manceavres aro Lieutenant General Hamilton, Major General Walker, Colonel Smyth of the artillery, Premier Lieutenant Kieth Frazer, Major Brakenburg, and the Earl of Manchester, from England. From the French army are present Prince de Polignac, Peloux, Dunoff, Morel and Prince de Broghe; from the Italian army, Major General Placido, Baligno di Carpeneto, Major Lu- chino del Mayna, Lieutenant Gioppi; from the Turkish army, Bekir Effendi, major and military attaché, and Vehbi Effendi, captain; from Russia, General Count Kotzebue, Count Medem, Baron de Pilchan and five or six others, The French officers create considerable ex- citement. They are generally followed, when they ap- pear in the streets, by troops of boys, who are, however, very respectful. So far I do not see any Americans present, though I am told some were invited, SUNDAY WITH THE EMPEROR--THE CROWN PRINCE—THE PARADE AT HAYNAU—WAITING FOR THE EMPEROR, Lirayrrz, Sept. 14, 1975. Silesian Kaiser days! The Silesian papers thus head their accounts of these manceuvres, signifying at once days devoted to the Emperor and the prevalence of the renowned Hohenzollern weather in which the Prus- sians believe with loyal faith, The Emperor has had the most delightful weather during his Silesian journey 80 far, and days, too, fully occupied with military pa- rades and manquvres, receptions and dinners and visits, garden festivals and horse races—all of which have given a picturesque interest to the gathering. I spoke briefly m my last letter about the reception in Breslau and of the parades near by, ana must now give an account of what bas taken place since then. On Saturday there was’ a grand review of the Sixth Army corps near Koenigszelt, and the Emperor spent that evening and the following day at Fuerstenstein Castle, the residence of Prince Pless, situated about two miles from Freiburg, away up among the monntatns, relatives of the Riesengebirge. Schioss Fuerstenstein is a large, old castle, dating some 350 years back, and has been the scene of many interesting historical events. The ancestors of the present owner lived there when Frederick the Great first seized Silesia; and they, bemg Protestants, were among the first to give the King welcome, Queen Louise of Prussia wag there about the year 1800, and there were great festivities held in her honor, agrand display of fireworks, #'tournament, the park was trans- formed into a fairy home, and all this is said to have cost a large fortune, The present Prince, too, did not shun expense in welcoming his Kaiser; in his castle he had rooms fitted up anew for the reception of his guests; and one, a copy of the room which the Kaiser generally occupied when in Versailles, AN IMPERIAL SUNDAY. Passing through Freiburg on Saturday, I heard so much of the beauty and wonders of Schloss Fuersten- stein that I determined to visit iton Sunday, trusting to luck to get accommodation in Liegnitz, And 1 was well repaid for my sojourn, Early on Sunday morning Idrove beneath the triumphal arch which the loyal citizens of Freiburg had erected on the great square of their small town, andup a long, steep, poplar lined road till we reached the castle park, and then descend_ ing from the walked down the shaded avenue to the Schloss, ‘The sun shone brightly over as fair a landscape as can be found in any part of Germany, over hills and dells and upon the old grand seigneur palace, with its porteullis still _pre- served; upon the urns and statues in the gardens, and upon the ruined tower, builtin commemoration of Queen Louise's visit, already spoken of, where this morning’the Imperial party is partaking of breakfast—said Imperial party consisting, by the way, of the Emperor, the Crown Prince, the Crown ‘Princess, Prince Arthur of England, Archduke Albrecht of Austria, and others, It was charmingly Still, this Sunday morning scene; very few persons had been admitted to the park; only a few school children in white, bearing flowers, passed toward the castle or wives and daughters of officials belonging to the estate stood demurely in unfrequented pathways com. manding good views of the roads along which the Imperial party must pass. Fortunately for the Kaiser and us all the Prince had taken the precaution to issue only a limited number of tickets of admission tothe park, otherwise Breslau would have sent 15,000 or 20,000 visitors, and thereby the ‘Kaiser's rest would have been disturbed.” DIVINE SERVICE. Of course, we went to church, a small, simple chapel in the Schloss, At nine o’clock entered the Kaiser with the Crown Princess, ‘Prince Arthur with Princess | | Pless, the: Crown Prince with Countess Kleist, Prince Carl of Prussia, the hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe- Weimar, with Countess Bernstorff; Prince Pless, Count Arnim (not Graf Harry Arnim) and members of tho suite. The Archduke Albrecht, being Catholic, drove to Freiburg to perform his devotions, The liturgy was somewhat long. Then we had a sermon by the Con- sistorial Councillor Weigelt, who took his text from the third chapter of St. Paui’s Epistle to the Ephesians, to the effect, ‘Dearly beloved brethren, therefore I beg that ye be not weary,” &c, He told us many very beautiful things about the love of God, reminded us of our religious duties, and sent most of us, emperors and princes away, feeling greatly invigorated in spirit, and quite ready for the manmuvres of the coming week. Atten o’clock the service was over, whereupon the Crown Prince drove to Rohnstock. THE CROWN PRINCESS, accompanied by one of her court dames, wandered about the beautiful park, sitting down now and then | to sketch, remaining out until nearly four o’clock in the afternoon. Archduke Albrecht, too, promenaded about ina gloomy fashion, Prince Arthur had accom. panied his brother-in-law to Rohnstock, and the rest amused themselves in various fashions, all but the Kaiser, who sat at his worktable; close up to the window of one of the rooms on the ground floor, and there wrote, listened to the reports of his councillors, read official documents, signed some, did not sign others, and was just as busy as if he were in his palace unter den Lin- The Kaiser is certainly a conscienticus and in- defatigable worker in spite of his seventy-cight years. Even on these manwuvre excursions, busied as he is with military matters and receptions and greetings, he is ac. companied by the'chief of his Privy Cabinet, a privy councillor or two, a secretary and a chiffreur, and does not allow the other and regular duties of the State to be neglected, It is a matter of surprise to everybody that he 1s able to bear so much fatigue as he does— morning, reviewing his troops; afternoon, going out or his way'to please some little village or otier and to be bored by listening to a long windod address; night, re- ceptions, dinners, work, And this life has been going on for some time; he has been to Dotmold to see the inauguration ceremonies of Held Hermann; has been reviewing troops in Mecklenburg; has been spending some festal days in Weimar; he has still to inspect his fleet, and’ in all probability will repay Victor Emman- uel’s visit and go to Milan; that is, if his physicians, who are very unxtous about their charge, will permit him, We keep asking ourselves, ‘How long will this last?” We look at tho Kaiser riding horse {n the parade and tane@uvre grounds and cannot see that he has altered much during the past two or three years. THR ZAPPENSTREICH, About half-past eight o'clock 600 tambours and mu- sicians, all belonging to the Sixth army corps, assem- bled in front of the Schloss, The moment they were in position the {lumination began. Bengal fires cast their glowing red lights over the green sward, and were reflected on the burnished helmet tips and accoutrements of over 700 military musicians. The Srons of the gastia, with ja xrea) palcony, wag illu. mined by lights of rose color or of deep red; every win- dow was ablaze, On the balcony stood a brilliant com- pany of princes and officers in uniforms and ladies in full toilet; the Kaiser stood at the door of his room opening upon the balcony, by his side the Crown Princess. Then Zapfenstreich—tattoo—the low rum- bling of the drums, increasing to thunder, threateningly, then decreasing again, like the rolling away of the battle, Then the musicians form into semi-circle, em- bracing the full extent of the lawn; some are in the shade, others in the light of the flaming fires. One figure, however, standing mm the centre of the lawn, is full in the glowing light, a living statue of glow- ing copper, Kapellmeister Zikoff, who directs with arms and staff and head, with wonder- ful precision, the semi-circle of 500 musicians around. Seldom a more delightful concert, so plo turesquely interesting. He had selections from the ‘‘Feld_ lager in Silesia,” from ‘“Tannhauser,” Schubert's love laments, Strauss’s dance music, Spontini’s “Borussian Hymn,” the “‘Wacht am Rhein,” “Heil Dir im Lieges- krans,” all wonderfully executed. Then again, Zap- fenstreich, and then the musicians left, the fires died out, the balcony became deserted, and only the bright silvery moon was left to herself, to “tip with silver’? the tree tops ofthe valley and bill Gradually the lights disappeared one by one in the Schloss, the spectators began to wend ther way Freiburgwards, and at about midnight we reached our hotel, after a delightful drive down the hills, This was the Kaiser’s Sunday in Schloss Fuerstenstein. THE PARADE AT HAYNAU, A good two hours’ drive from Liegnitz lies the little country town of Haynau, near where the Kaiser re- viewed the troops of the Fifth army corps on Monday, The drive from Liegnits to Haynau is through a fertile but flat country, interesting chiefly on account of the historical reminiscences connected with it—for we are treading the battlefields of Frederick the Great and Marshal Vorwirts—Bitcher, The Katzbach, where Blicher beat the’ French under Macdonald, flows through the city of Liegnitz, and passes not far from to- day’s parade ground, Near Liegnitz was where Daun and Laudon, with 90,000 troops, opposed Frederick and his brave army of but 30,000 in the year 1760, Carlyle thus describes Liegnitz in his graphic manner. The scene is rather preity, if one admires scenes Tiegnitz, a square, handsome, brick built town, of old standing, in good repair (pop- ulation then, say 7,000), with fine old castellated edifices and aspects; pleasant meeting, in level circumstances, of the Katzbach valley with the Schwarzwasser (Black water) ditto, which forms the north rim of Liegnitz; pleasant mixture of green poplars and brick towers, Beyond Liegnitz and the Schwarazwasser, northwest- ward, the heights of Pfaffendorf, which guard the two streams after their uniting, Kloster Wahistatt, a famed place, lies visible to southeast, few miles off Readers recollectone Blicher “Prince of Wabistatt,” so named from one of his anti-Napoleon victories gained there, Wahlstatt was the scene of an older fight, almost sx centuries older—a then Princo of Liegnitz versus hideous Tartar multitudes, who rather beat him; and has been a Cloister Wabistatt ever since. So much for history, The Bitcher fight on the Katzbach, is to be repeated; by the way, by the Prussian manquvring armiés on Thursday, and I had better reserve my historical knowledge till then, or I shall fall short, WAITING FOR THE EMPEROR, On the parade ground, on the plateau above Haynau, a large temporary tribune had been erectod for specta- tors, who for six marks could look at the military spec- tacle—Kaiser, Crown Prince, suite and foreign officers; other spectators, who did not wish to pay, could stand along the Jong lines of barriers inclosing the parade ground. The troops were already on the ground, present- ing a magnificent appearance, all clad in new uniforms, with helmets swords, and lances polished brightly glit- tering in thesunshine. Immediately before the tribune the line of infantry two miles 1m length, about eight regiments in all—namely, the ond, Third and Fourth Posen infantry, the First and Third North Silesian infantry, the First and Second West Prussian gronadier regiments, the Westphalian fusileers and a battalion of Silesian Jacgers, the North Silesian pioneers—the right resting on Haynau, the left on Uberschaar. Buck of these the cavalry, the Tenth Posen Ublans, the first Silesian dra- ‘cong, the Fifth West Prussian ‘cuirassiers, the First est Prussian Ublang, the Second Leib hussars, and to the left arullery and train, The scere was very pic- turesque; bright lines of color dotted on the brown fields of stubble and fallow. The groun I found out, as we waited, to be histori and interesting, too. Thero, between Uberschaar and, further to our right, Baudwanns- dorf, Blicher commanded (May 26, 1813) Oberst von Mutlns, who had the arridre guard, to take up position, In order to draw the French on to the plateau above Michelsdorf, just in front of us, And he did it, the . enemy falling nicely into the trap, and, when they had falien In, Oberst von Bockum, with his reserve cavalry, posted on our parade ground, burst upon them and the result was the capture by the Prussians of eighteen cannon and a great number of prisoners, besides the Killed and wounded. ‘The Prussians are very happy in selecting these historical grounds for their reviews and manwuyres, thereby thems Btill greater interest to the non-military spectator. AT LAST THEY COME, the Kaiser, the staff and the foreign officer guests, Loudly cheered is the Kaiser all the way by troops and spectators, and the military bands strike up ‘Heil Dir,” to which we give the wordy of “America,” the English “God Save the Queen.” Beside the Emperor rides the Crown Prince; behind them Prince Arthur of England with his sister, the Crown Princess of Germany, wear- ing the uniform of the Second Leib hussars, of which she is ‘‘chof;’ then follow the hundred and one rinces, dukes, vons, kc., &c., who compose the bril- fiant suite to-day. ‘They’ aro’all there,” those whose names I have given you im a previous letter, and I hardiy know them well enough yet to venture to de- scribe each to you as he lives and breathes. Thero are uniforins of every imaginable hue and cut, oilicers from England, France, Italy, Russia, Sweden, Turkey ; from America none (they came last night, and as they are “einquartiert” in various houses im the ' city, I ghall have to wait until to-morrow's manwuvre beidre I can send you their names). The imperial party take up a position immediately in froat of the tribune, by which time the troops have passed away to our left, in readiness for the march past. First pass the in- fantry, in battalion formation; then the cavalry, in squadrons; the march past occupying about an hour. As cach infantry regiment approaches the suite the band passes to one side, there playing some spirited march until the entire regiment has passed, then fall- ing in the rear and passing away. The same thing takes place with the cavairy, After the entire corps had thus passed came the doubdie quick of the iniantry, formed in regimental squares, looking grand and strong; then fol- lowed the cavalry—cuirassiers, hussars, Ublans—and the artillery and train, The most interesting scenes of the day were connected with THE PARSING OP THE HUSSARS, led by the Crown Princess in person. Before the | regiment approached the tribune she left her place in the suite, being escorted by the Crown Prince, and rode past at the head of her regiment, greeting the Kaiser with her riding whip up to her round fur cap and then leaving the troops, cantering ee again to the Kaiser und suite, She led the second gallop past in truly dasning style, sitting her horse admirably, en- thusiastically cheered by the thousands of spectators. Again she cantered up to the Kaiser, who grasped her hand and appeared to be extremely delighted. The Princess looked charming, slightly flushed from the ride, apparently enjoying herself as much as if she had been to the manner born. The spectators were do- lighted with her. They never tired of describing the scene. “Superb!” they exclaimed, ‘‘Famos/ She 18 magnificent | with her |”? She won all hearts by storm. I do not think the Silesians knew they had ch a dashing Princesa, future Empress, before. It 1s surprising how popular she is among all classes in Germany, North or South. 1 have never heard a word uttered against her; and, what must be very flattering to her, she is con- sidered thoroughly Prussian and German in spirit. To me tho Crown Princess’ ride was more interesting than the whole of the parade. She wore the dark, white braided hussar uniform, with a light brown fur cap decorated with tbe white federbusch, or cockade, At night I saw her again, looking equally charming, lean- ing on the arm of the Emperor in the Irr- Garten, where a garden festival had been pre- pared Kd the city for the Uae The scene was unusually brilliant, the entire garden being illuminated by thousands of Chinese lanterns and by gas, and some 700 or 800 musicians and 200 tambours were on the ground. The toreign guests were, as usual, taken in tow by Prussian colleagues. Prince Arthur took his sister, the Crown Princess, for a promenade in the gar- den. ‘The following day (Wednesday) w A REST DAY POR THR TR and the Kaiser, and there is nothing 001 particular to say | about it except, perhaps, the officers’ steeplechase, wheroat in threo races two horses were killed, six rid- ers unhorsed and bruised and two winners declared losers on account of some unfulfilled condition or other. The course being badly marked one really good rider, & young dragoon lieutenant, who came in 100 yards ahead, lost the prize because he had cut off inad- vertently the corner of a potato field, Another young lieutenant rider was found, after winning the race, to be five pounds short of the required weight, so he had wo relinquish the prize as gracefully as be could. Earnest work commences to-morrow with the journey of the Fifth and Sixth corps and the execution of the great manwavres, So far only a singlo corps has been engaged against a “marked’’ foe—that ‘s, battalions, squadrons and batteries, being indi. cated by flags of various colors, held by small parties of soldiers. For newspaper correspondents, too, it is work in earnest; every morning called out of bed sunrise, having to ride or drive then ten or twelve miles before getting to the ground, a threo hours’ fol- lowing of the Kaiser and suite and then tho journey back to the city, This every day, and then no result; cannot revel in bair-uplifting descriptions of batuo fields and accounts of brilliant charges and heroic deatha, But then there is this advantage—the valiant corre- spondent gets nearer the battle than he usually does in times of war, Now he can freely near the general staff; can stand on some eminence and seo the thick of the dght; whereas in the real thing we should find him somewhere back of phe second reserve line. further Ayossible, How pleased the Emperor must be | | gars. TURK AND SCLAVE. The Origin and Cause of the Chris- tian Insurrection, THE FUGITIVES FROM BOSNIA A Difficulty for Austria to Solve. SISSER, NEAR THE AUSTRIAN FRONTIER, Sept. 5, 1875. The fugitives from Bosnia have penetrated even to this town, which ts really the outlet for the Bosnian trade with Trieste and the rest of the world. The great mass of the refugees is scattered along the river Save for at least 100 miles below Sissek, and the Austrian government is now spending about 2,000 florins daily in feeding this discouraged and persecuted lot of beg- Every man, woman and child who takes refuge on the Austrian side of the river is allowed seven kreutzers daily, and although this sum would not cnable one to buy tho tiniest glass of beer in Paris, it gives the stalwart Bos- nian peasant plenty to eat and courage to think about keeping up an irregular worfare with his Turkish masters for the next ten years. The trad- ers and owners of manufacturing establishments, here in the little town of Sissek are beginning to fear that their traffic with Bosnia will be suspended for many a long day, Millions of straight trees from the mountain forests of the Turkish province are annually cut down, rafted and towed along the Save to Sissek and thence dispersed about the world to its every quarter, America, with its appetite for prunes, will be one of the first to quarrel over a continuance of the Bosnian troubles, because that fruit is exported in immense quantities from Bosnia through Trieste to the United States. But there are no interests large or powerful enough to dictate to the insurrectionists or the Turks what course they shall pursue, and the Peasants do not,’ at this moment, seem inclined to listen "to the reason which doubtless tells thom that if they are in an unhappy condition now a few months’ neglect of their main stays—agriculture and woodcraft—will bring them to the verge of starvation, The Turks have already burned many fine forests in the interior of Bosnia, hoping thus to terrify the insurgents into an attitude of submission, But the rayah simply runs away when the Turks appear, and by so doing Indicates his determination to do anything rather than submit. He hag submitted so many years, this patient rayah, that it must beg to be monotonous, Whenever he has asked for justice from the Turkish officials for Bos- nia he has been packed into a prison in Serajevo, the chief town of the province, and there has sometimes sweltered years without the slightest hope of deliverance, His property has been meantime taken away and sold or coolly taken possession of by a Turkish settler. In Serajeiwo there are hundreds of Mussulmans who have become rich by taking advantage of unjust sentences Pp assed upon the Bosnian peasantry. THE CRUSHING NATURE OF TIE TAXES has been a prime mover in the frenzy which has led to the insurrection, and whatever be the end of the revolt in Bosnia and the Herzegovina it is pretty certain that. while the taxes may not be diminished they will not bo collected three or four times over, as is now the case, The more carefully one looks mto the causes of the troubles in Bosnia, in particular, the more certain it seems that the war now begun is not, in the sense of first thought, a “religious’® one, but that itis the revolt against the oppression which has been exercised at no very remote periods upon peasants in all European countries, “The Bos- nian,” said to me a highly intelligent Frenchman who has been twelve years on the frontiers of Atasonia, “the Bosnian is now just in the position that the French peasant was before the great revolution; that the Hungarian peasant was in previous to 1848; that the Russian serf was in but a few years ago. You will hardly believe me,”” he continued, “when I tell you ‘hat during my last visit to Bosnia when- ever I passed a village or a hut the peagants threw themselves on their knees in the mud. There was never a case where they did not at least come to their doors and stand with bowed heads until Land my companions had passed. The race is thoroughly broken down, and one is inclined to despise it for allowing the Turks to triumph over it in euch a manner. The depression is beginning to show itself in the industries of the country, People are so discouraged that they will not work. They do not attempt even to raise their own food. I have positively been two days without anything to eat in the interior of Bosnia, At the hovels and villages along the route the inhabitants had barely enough for themselves, They were once accustomed to raise what they needed, and to conceal the fact that they had it from the tax collector. But his greed was too sharp for their expedients, and he spied out their stores. Then they gave up in disgust. The people live widely sepa, rated, and there has never heretofore been any difficulty about enforcing every demand, no matter how unrea- sonable, against them. When the Turk can think o¢ no other way to bring the Bosnian to his way of think- ing he whips his feet, bastinadoes him and then locks him up. At Sissek I met another gentleman engaged in exten- sive trade with Bosnia and Austria, Herr Luigi Blasich, who had just returned from a trip along the Save, Ho like all tne people in this region, appeared to believe that the insurrection, or rather the protest, might be indefinitely proionged, and might lead vo something very serious at last, Ho felt that the pride of the Sclaves was deeply concerned in elevating the insurrectionary provinces into an autonomy, and he thought that they would make a strong effort to bring that about, even should it entail other European complications. He fully confirmed the statement that at least TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND REFUGERS were now interned in Austria, and he said that 15,000 or 20,000 head of cattle and other been brought out of the country, He bought threo small but excellent Turkfeh horses from refugees for sixty-fve Austrian florins for the trio, and gaid that he could have driven wonderful bargains if his con- science would have permitted him to take advantage of the position of the refugees, There were women and children among the fleeing Bosnians who were under- going great suffering, and who, if the troubles con- tinued, would be likely to perish from want. ‘“How- ever,” added Herr Blasich, “they are a hardy raco, Ono would think somettmes in travelling through Bosnia that there was not food enough in a whole section to support one man’s foraday, But these people live on anything. They can go for days without food, When they have nothing to eat they smoke and lounge In the sun, Their nor- mal condition is trouble, and they don’t think hunger is by any means the worst of their ills. The great com- plaint of all these peasants, and the well-grounded one, is that they cannot get justice. Whenever there isa dispute to be settled between them and the Mussulmans it is sure to be in the latter’s favor; and anything like urgency in pursuing one’s claims is apt to bring con- dign punishment on the unfortunate peasant,” “What is the Bosnian’s character?’ J asked. “He is good-natured, good-tempered and honest, and although he is, like most rude people living in moun- tainous countries, suspicious and vindictive when occa- sion prompts, he would not harm any one for the sake of gain, He is so beaten down and crushed out that it would hardly enter his head to be aggressive. His vengeances on the Turk are rare because he has an ex- aggerated fear of his Mussulman masters. As you see, he runs away as fast ag they approach now; but per- baps the more resolute of the leaders, some of the priosts and the Sclayonic agents from other provinces (by which Herr Blosich doubtless means Servia), may rally this scared population so that it will resist, In any case the affair will serve to PROTEST AGAINST BUCH INJUSTICES as have been practised under the cloak of the Turkish government in Bosnia.” There is quite a colony of French, German and Sclavic merchants and capitalists at Sirsek whose trade is almost exclusively with Bosnia, None of these peo- ple appeared to think that the Turks, as a mass, were fanatically disposed to annihilate the Bosnians because the latter are Christians, but that they oppress them because they are peasants and are, therefore, vile and unfit to bave any rights, There is in both Bosnia and Herzogovina @ small number of Turks who are fanatical to the last degree, and who would be glad to axtarminata avery ‘Woe of a Christian” jn the land. stock had | lite | but the mass of the Turks, partly from the fact that they are too indolent to be fanatics and partly because they have a vague idea that it would not do because of what the Western nations might say, allow the Chris- tians to do very much as they please with regard to their religion, As soon as the Bosnian asserts his right to an independent manhood in some more earnest man_ ner than he has thus far manifested an intention to do the Turkish persecution will be at an end. The Culpa River, a broad, straggling current whose high and unkempt banks remind one of those many i Western streams in the United States, runs through the town of Sissek, which is divided somewhat arbi- trarily into Sissek commercial and Civil and military Sissek, A wooden bridge spans the river, and below it a short distance one sees the old chateau, at the conflu- ence of the Culpa and the Save, The latter river, which is born among the grandest mountains of | Austria and comes roaring and riotously leap- ing down through defiles and gorges on its way to the Danube, is, below Sissek, wide and, when the channel is full, majestic. It courses amid vast forests and along the edges of plains which stretch away as far as the eye can sce—plains dotted only here and there with the tumble down wooden villages of the peasantry or immense herds of cattle and swine, guarded by the wild looking herdsmen clad in blue caps, wide white trousers and loose tunics and with coarse sandals bonnd to their feet, The Croatian peasantry are picturesque and savage looking. The first glimpse of a crowd of wagoners or herdsmen ig startling to the stranger, Unaccustomed to the sight of these curious types, which are so frequent where tho Kast and the West begin to mingle their peculiari- ties, one may imagine them a group of barbarian ban- ditti. Bot they are simple-minded and kind-hearted | folk, who work bard every day, and who overwhelm you with their awkward and servile politeness if you come in contact with them, Sissek has stood many a stont siege by the Turks, who passed that way in their incursions landward to Vienna, The old chateau, now used as a butter and cheese factory (O tempora!), will last many a contury yet, and may, possibly, be once more bde- sieged by Turks. But this latter is a contingency which seems scarcely probable, for I observed in the military quarters of Sissek a goodly number of those valiant Croatian landwehrmen who look thoroughly able to repel any number of Turks in case of afuture invasion. Austria is guarding her frontior carefully, but does not fear any intrasions at present, The landwehr, with their medieval no caps and old trunk hose, look like archers marcbed out of some il- luminated missal of ancient times, There ts no restric tion upon ingress and egress of persons at the frontier, but the government has now and then confiscated boat loads of ammunition and provisions which | friends of tho insurrection were quietly shipping down the Save to some point where they hoped to get them ashore in Bosnia, Last week several boat loads of material were confiscated. In Sissek there are committees interested—one in the success, the other in the failure, of the insurrection, Neither of them isinany manner troubled by the Austrian government. It was on the high wooden bridge at Sissek that I saw THE FIRST BOSNIAN REFUGER, He came limping and warily looking about him, as if a Iittle doubtful as to the reception he might get in the town, He was dressed in a pair of baggy blue trousers, which wero thrust tuto stout knit stockings, and his feet were shod with sandals tied with a multitude of strings. A blue tunic, which had once been handsome but now bore evidence of many months of hard usage, was thrown over his shoulder, and his matted locks were crowned with a red cap, something like a fez, His sunburned features were intelligent, yet there was a cringing expression upon them which was painful to note. The grimly- smiling wagoners and the market women at the corner surrounded the refugee and endeavored to bring him into conversation, but he shook his head, and sat down with that irresolute, yet unworried air so character- istic of the slow-going people of the Oricnt, In the market place, where the peasant women, clad only in a@ single garment of loosely flowing white, with ceimtures, were bringing in fruits and yege- tables. There was a charming group of young Bosnian girls waiting (thus far vainly) at Sissek, in hope of ob- taining work. Their features were regular and some of them were extremely pretty; their blonde hair was combed smoothly away from their low brows and braided simply behind. They stood with their hands folded, reminding one of pictures of Circassian girls for sale in a slave market, They were barefooted and dressed in white robes of coarse stuf almost universally worn in this region and in the provinces beyond; there was not an ornament of any kind upon them. They were of higher life, both morally and physically, I should say, than the women of Sissek who stood gaping at them, It was easy, through the medium of the merchants who knew something of the Sclavic tongues, to con- verse with these Bosnians, but nothing satisfactory was to be gleaned from the interviews. None knew anything definitely, version, and none had seen any actual fighting. Tho Turks had brought new soldiers after the in- surrection had been declared, and so they ran away. “Tho Turks wero angry,” said another, nd we were afraid. We dared not go to Serajevo, 80 we came here,” At the town of Serajevo, it had been fancied by some, an understanding between the insurgents and the Turks might be arrived at, if a grand popular “mass meeting” should take place there, But the fanatical portion of the Turkish population in Sera- jevo showed, and still shows, such a bad humor that no meeting there is possible, and the Bosnians appear to pay ttle or no attention to the pacific mission on which the consuls have gone from Ragusa to Mostar in the Herzegovina It is said that the in- surrection has broken out anew in quarters whero the | Turks fancied that the presence of their troops would | awe such of the inhabitants as remain; and that there have been numerous small but bloody skirmisbes in the | vicinity of Alt Grasiska. In the “New Damascus,” as | the Turks call Serajevo, there aro no serious battles as yet between the two opposing forces, because the Mussulman families outnumber the Christian five or six times. All the insurgent forces now operating in Bosnia could hardly form a force large enough to in- spire terror in the minds of the 60,000 Mussulmen which Serajevo contains, 4 TRIP TO PRrAINIA, an hour and a half’s ride over a wretched road ina wretched wagon after the wretchedest of horses, and to ' Kosteinicza, on the Austrian shore of the Unna, and but | a few minutes’ ride in a boat from Turkish territory, is enough to convince one that the insurrection will last along time. The Turks are thoroughly angry with tho fugitives, who, they say, were in no danger whatever, | and would not haye been even plundered, But the ine | habitants are not to blame for being alarmed at the sight of their forests in flames and reinforcements of | hostile Turks pushing through the country in all direc- tions. Kosteinicza, near where tho Unna gives its pure waves to the Save, has been for many cen- turies, like Sissek, a fortress intended to resist Turkish invasion, Opposite it isa town which is a monument | to the genius of Turkish ‘“‘carpet-baggers.” It is made | up almost entirely of Turks, who have rooted out the original settlers round about, have come into their property, and are making themselves very much at home there, These Turks migrated out of Servia in | haste in 1863, when there was much the samo feeling that prevails now among the citizens of that province | against their masters, and they had the impudence to begin their old tactics of greed and plunder but a short distance from the country which had resented those tactics, and which gained its autonomy by a deter- mined resistance to Turkish oppression. At Petrinia, at Kosteinicza and at every little town ‘between these two places one sees dozens of the newly | arrived fugitives, ail standing in an attitude of pationt waiting. It would be difficult for them to say what they expect." Unless they go back to their oppressive masters they must find new homes in Austria or starve. The Austrian government cannot go on ft ing thom indefinitely. The men look romantic and picturesque in their red and blue garments, torn and soiled by the hurried journey of escape through the foresta and along the. banks of rivers. The old women iook even duller, more stolid than their sons, The peasant has evidently made some improvement in this generation, But there is not as much fighting quality in these younger men as one might expect, Very few are armed; none of them have warlike demeanor, Having had no military training, and being naturally inoffensive, these rayahs are the last people whom one would choose for soldiers. Yet perhaps they may suddenly become warriors for the sake of their homes and their families, My French Every one differed in his or her | | facts in the case that o disposition here. Even the horses are never fractiouzg they do not kick nor plunge and rear, The very man who looks like a professional bear, because he wears @- wild costume, would probably accept meekly arude blow which you might give him.” Despite this testimony, one cannot forget that the Bosnian Christians are so gentle only because they have been terribly oppressed. They were unable take a part for themselves in the formidable INSURRECTION OF THE BOSNIAN MUSSULMANS in 1850. They were divided among themselves—ints Roman Catholies and Greek Catholics, one party hating and distrusting the other. So the Mussulmans, both insurrectionists and the adherents of the Porte, compelled the miserable Christians to fight for them and to do all the menial labor of the alies armies, paying them nothing therefor. It is true that Omer Pacha, whoso cruelties and talents bave made his name famous throughout the world, did proms ise to the Bosnian Christians that they should, as the price of their labors for the Sultan and their many suf ferings while Bosnia was in the hands of tho rebels, have many new privileges. The Christians believed these promises because Omer Pacha had once been @ Christain himself. In 1851 he sent word to all thé Christain population of the province that they would soon he placed on the same footing as their Mussulman fellow-citizens, But he brutaily broke hig word and allowed the Turkish soldiery ta commit many acts of almost unparalleled atrocity a few months later in the same year, when the Christians of the province were all forcibly disarmed, When the disarmament in 1852 was finished it was found that the Christian population had had in its possessiow more than 18,000 guns, 21,000 pairs of pistols,) 4,000 sabres and 7,000 yataghans, It is not proba-| ble that the Christians have ever been able to arm! themselves so well anew. The duplicity and ferocity} of Turkish authority on that occasion contributed mor than anything else to grind the unfortunate population, completely into the dust. There have been 80 MANY ABORTIVE INSURRECTIONS } in Bosnia since 1852 that the Austrians, when they heat of a new one, merely shrug their shoulders and say that it will end like its predecessors, ‘The insistance by the Turkish authorities upon tho collection of tha Tretina, a tax by which one-third of all the producta owned by Christians is taken for the governmenty causes a new explosion of rage every year or two. Perbaps the time has arrived when the mucb-abused populations aro to assert their rights and get them, Possibly tho fear which the Turka certainly show of @ general Sclavic uprising will determine them to make the needed concessions. But, although Bosnia has a warlike history, and her moun~ tains ronder it possible for a small force of insurgents to hold out a long time against a large army, I can see little encouragement—in the spectacle of the immense and motley throng of refugees along the Save, aud now, interned in Sclavonja—to believe that the present insurrection in that section can be much more than a very lively protest. THE EIGHTY-ONE TO GUN. SATISFACTORY RESULTS OF THE LATE ARTIT~ LERY EXPERIMENTS—TREMENDOUS FORCE oF THE NEW MONSTER GUN. [From the London Daily News, Sept. 20, 1875.] ‘The satistactory trial of the great gun has more than; realized the expectations formed respecting it m the! royal gun factories, where, however, its ability tov stand the proof to which it has been put, or the much, moro severe tests to which it will yet be subjected, was never in doubt, Some authorities, not connected with the department, had expressed confident opinion that the gun was wrong in principle, that the maximum o heavy metal had been exceeded and that the eighty-one ton “infant” would burst if front of the proof butts. So little had these fears been regarded that application had been made to the War Oilice for permission ta make four other eighty-one ton guns on pre cisely the same plan, and the preliminary for; ing and other preparations for these are al- ready considerably advanced. The bore is at prosent only fourteen and a balf inches in diameter, and the walls of the gun are consequently much thicker than they will be when the tube is bored out to a size of six- teen inches, while the strain upon the gun will neces- | sarily be increased by every addition to the powder charge, which it is proposed gradually to augment up ta 300 pounds, This is SIXTY POUNDS MORE THAN HAS YET BEEN PIRED, but the strain has been carefuily calculated and 'pro- vided for with a little margin of endurance to spare. So well has experience qualitied the officials to calculate results, that the velocity attained by the untried gun in its first round was foretold to be 1,390 feet per second, and it proved to be 1,393 feet. The gun is not to he fired any more in its present state, but it has many more trials in store, Its whole lifetime will indeed, be probably a series of trials, for while its sister guns are being manufactured to go on service in the ironclad fleet, this, the original gun, will be devoted to experime for the good of scienca To-morrow it will therefore be brought up from the butts to the royal gun factories, and a number of holes bored through the metal of the breech into the rear part of the bore. Into these holes will be inserted CRUSHER GAUGES, an invention of Mr. Edmonds, principal foreman, by: which.the pressure exercised by the explosion at each. | discharge is measured by the compression of small | copper cylinders, ‘Thus furnished, and before there is any enlargement of the bore, the gun will be taken back to the butts and again tried, to ascertain what is the exact amount of strain upon the interior of the gun, in com with the muzzle velocity and the cbharge—information which will be of great value in de-~ termining the quantity of powder to be used, and in the manufacture of future guns. It was by the use of these crusher gauges and other apparatus that the large grain gunpowder now used in firing heavy guns was selected, a committee, of which Colonel Younghu: ‘was pret dent, having found, by a series of experiments, an ex- plosive which, witha much reduced strain upon the gun, will give even a higher velocity than a more yio~ lent gunpowder, The next operation will be to enlarge the bore of the gun by regular gradations, and it is confidently anticipated that when the full dimensions and chargé are reached the gnn will be equal to the penetration of solid jron armor twenty-four inches thick or a range of more than ten miles: In the trial yesterday the fifth round of 230 pounds of powder regis- tered a velocity higher than that of the sixth round with 240 pounds, but this is believed to be an error | easily accounted for by accidental circumstances, The last shot has been dug out of the butt, and the crusher gauge in the base indicated a pressure of a lite over twenty-four tons on the square inch. YACHTING NOTES. The following passed Whitestone yesterday :— Yacht Columbia, N.Y.Y.C., Mr. Lester Wallack, from New York for Stamford. Yacht Alarm, N.Y.Y.C., Mr. Kingsland, from New York for Fair Haven. Yacht Nettie, N.Y.Y.C., Mr. Hepworth, from New York for New London. A FIREMAN’S SAD FATE. About four o’clock yesterday morutng flames wero seen to issue from the bakery near the Passionist Mo- nastery, in West Hoboken, and an alarm of fire was speedily sounded, ‘The firemen were soon on hand, but as they were running down the ateep hill close by tha schoolhouse a melancholy casualty took place. Con stable Earl came rushing toward the engine to help drag it to the scene of the conflagration. In his at- tempt to catch the rope he stumbled over a stone and fell heavily on the road. The next instant the wheels of the vehicle swept across his chest, inflicting injuries which ere long resulted in his death. it was at Orat thought he was not much injured, but the great weight of the machine, two and a haif tons, had done its work effectually, Earl ved for a short time after he waa taken home to bis faraily in Lossburg. He was an old and efficient member of the Hudson City Fire Depart- ment, and was elected to his position ag constable last spri While be was dying his comrades had to fight | the flames in the bakery, but, in despite of their effort: the whole concern was barned down, eatailing a loss ol more than $5,000 on Mr, Werner, the proprietor, HOW WAS MRS, WALSH HURT? On Saturday the town of Harrison, just opposite Newark, in New Jersey, was rife with rumors to the effect thata well known citizen, ex-Alderman William Walsh, not long since President of the Board of Com- mon Council, had made a desperate if not fatal attempt vo murder his wife, Upon application being made to Justice Mulligan for cial stated that he bad been informed by persons, though not upon oath, but merely heursay, thaton Saturday Walsh had made a violont attack on his wife, had thrown her against the stove ‘and smashed her skull. Mrs. Walsh, when asked about the matter, declared that her husband did not assault her, but that sho tumbled on the edge of the kitchen stove, and in this be! sustained the injury described. ome chidren playing in front of the Walshs’ home on Saturday heard cries and, they declare, 4 womat voice, saying, “Ob, Bill, you've done for mo this time THE DEBT OF BROOKLYN, At the meeting of the Brooklyn Common Council, this afternoon, Alderman Ropes, of the First ward, will submit a carefully prepared statement of the city debt. It specifies with great particularity each itere friends laughed when I suggested this, No,” they ‘everything is soft and centle and yielding im for which bonds bave been issued, and will probably end the violent controversy regarding tha Todslnets ans of the City wf Churches.