n a great hurry last night in order to catch a balloon
which was to have gone this morning, but whose departure has been
deferred as the wind was not favourable. I am now able to give some more
accurate details respecting the affair of Friday, as I have had an
opportunity of talking with several of the officers who were on the
staffs of the different generals engaged. After the Prussians at 4 A.M.
had surprised the whole of the French line from Brie to Champigny, they
pushed forward a heavy column between, the latter place and the Marne,
thus outflanking their opponents. The column advanced about half-way up
the horse-shoe formed by the bend in the river, and would have got as
far as the bridges at Joinville, had not General Fave opened fire upon
it from a small redoubt which he had built in advance of Joinville, with
forty field guns which he rapidly placed in position. Reinforcements
were then brought up under General Blanchard, and the column was at
length forced back, fighting hard to Champigny. To-day most of the
troops in the horse-shoe crossed over the river, and are now either in
the wood of Vincennes or in other portions of the line between the forts
and the enceinte. General Trochu has returned to the Louvre, and General
Ducrot, I hear, yesterday evening expressed his regret that he had
published that foolish manifesto, in which he declared that if he did
not conquer he would die; for, not having done either, he felt the
awkwardness of re-entering the city. Both Ducrot and Trochu freely
exposed themselves; the latter received a slight wound in the back of
the head from a piece of a shell which struck him. All the officers were
obliged to keep well in advance of their soldiers in order to encourage
them. The brunt of the fighting fell to the Line; the Mobiles, as a
rule, only behaved tolerably well; the Vendeans, of whom much was
expected, badly. The only battalion of the National Guards engaged was
that from Belleville, and it very speedily fell back. I have always had
my doubts about the valour of the Parisians. I found it difficult to
believe in men who hunt for pretexts to avoid military service--who are
so very fond of marching behind drums and vivandieres inside a town, and
who, in some way or other, manage either to avoid going out of it, or
when forced out, avoid all danger.

The population is in profound ignorance of the real state of affairs
outside. It still believes that the Prussian lines have been