re to understand the strength of this feeling. In
England, little attention is paid to the utterances of French
newspapers, but the Parisians, more profoundly ignorant of foreign
politics than the charity school boys of an English village, were under
the flattering delusion that we, in common with every other nation,
lived alone to merit their favourable opinion. They find now, to their
profound astonishment, that beyond a barren sympathy, founded upon a
common humanity, no one regards Paris as different to any other great
city, and that, if they choose to convert it into an intrenched camp for
their armies, they must meet the consequences. Either they must accept
the victor's terms of peace or they must fight the Prussians. The
reality of the situation is by degrees coming home to them. From the
general tone of the conversations I hear, I am inclined to think that,
in their hearts, they admit that Alsace, if not Lorraine, is
irretrievably lost. Words have a great influence over them, and they
find consolation for this loss of territory in the phrase that Alsace
will annex a portion of Germany, and not be annexed to Germany. It is
admitted also that sooner or later, an indemnity must be paid in money
to Prussia. The newspapers, who were the loudest in their praises of M.
Jules Favre's language at Ferrieres, now complain that nothing is to be
gained by bombast, and that it is ridiculous of him to talk about
"France" proposing "conditions of peace" which must be unacceptable to
Prussia. The main grounds for continued resistance are the personal
ambition of the members of the Government, who well know that if they
sign an armistice, which is tantamount to peace, they will hereafter be
made scapegoats, and be told that the Parisians were balked of their
desire to perish to the last man; the mulish obstinacy of Trochu; and
the dread of the capital losing its supremacy over the Provinces. Of
course, there are some who wish to fight on to the bitter end. The
"Ultras" hope to found on a war _a outrance_ a democratic republic, and
dream of the successes of the First Revolution. The politicians hardly
know what they want. Their main idea is to keep up for their own
purposes that centralization which has so long been the bane of this
country. If they agree to terms before Paris has given France an example
of heroism, they fear that her supremacy will be compromised; if they
allow the insulation to continue, they fear that the Provin