The French Generals conceal the precise facts of their experi-
ment in mobilisation with great skill. It is said that while the obedience of the men was as striking as their willingness, and while the railways worked admirably, the Commissariat broke down, and the superior officers did not know their duties in the field; but nothing has been officially revealed. The Minister of War is obviously not quite content, for he says that he will correct the weak points he has discovered; but General Brdart, who was in actual command of the corps d'arenee, is much better satisfied. He stated on Wednesday in Toulouse, at a banquet given in his honour, that the mobilisation had reassured opinion, and that now "we are ready, and we wait." A Mayor present, the Mayor of Ville- franolie, accentuated this speech by exclaiming,—" We thank you for having opened oar eyes. We dared to hope for the rerancho. It is with impatience we now expect it." Utterances of this kind must be expected at military dinners ; but the graver journals in Paris think them important enough to suppress. There can be no doubt that if the mobilisation has succeeded, the readiness for war within the Army will be greatly increased. And it is the Army, rather than the people or the Government, which will at last fix the time.
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