General Faidherbe has again fought, and, if Versailles is to
be trusted, lost the battle. During the week he occupied St. Quentin, and after certain outpost skirmishes at Vermand in which the French claimed the advantage, fought on Thursday a seven hours' battle with General Von Goeben before St. Quentin, in which he lost to the Germans two guns and 4,000 prisoners. We have had no French account of this battle, which itself is an un- favourable sign. General Faidherbe has been one of the most cautious, not to say nervous, of all the French commanders, and if, after his anxious attempts to accustom his troops to warfare, he cannot improve upon or quite equal his former achievements, the French military cause does not look promising ;—or at least France must win, if at all, only by enduring constant defeats till the Germans are wearied out.
