NEWS OF THE W EEK.
HE most important event of the week has been the fall of
T
the great Austrian fortress of Przemyal in Galicia, after a siege which, with one short interruption, lasted nearly four months. At the end of last week it was evident that the fortress was almost at the end of its resistance, for much ammunition was being blazed away, as though by men who were despairing rather than being careful to husband their resources. On Friday week a sortie was attempted and entirely failed. On Monday the garrison surrendered. It numbered 117,000 men, 2,500 officers and officials, 93 officers of the General Staff, and 9 Generals. These numbers alone show the importance of the Russian success. The French scarcely lost a larger army at the surrender of Metz in 1870. The Russian investing army was, of course, larger than the garrison, and this army is now set free to operate elsewhere —against Cracow, for example, which is the junction-point of the combined German and Austrian movements.
