From Paris it is stated that the line of defences
has been en- larged, especially on the south-west. The German artillery had begun firing on the engineers' works in front of Fort Ivry between the 17th and 19th, but when Forts Vanvres and Issy thereupon bom- barded the enemy's position, the firing ceased, and since then all had been quiet. There is something hardly explicable about the delay in the bombardment of Paris, except on the explanation given by a correspondent of the Standard's escaped from Paris, that only one of the Prussian batteries (one near Sevres). really com- mands any part of the city, and that only a small part, while the batteries directed against the forts are silenced by the powerful guns of the forts as soon as they are opened. This may not be true, but it is csrtainly true that the bombard- ment seems indefinitely postponed, though it has been announced that it was ready to begin for many weeks back. The cynical rumour that the King wishes to celebrate the day of the coup d'etat (2nd December) by opening the bombardment is, of course, false.
Previous page
