A NEW BOOK ON THE LATE WAR.* [SECOND NOTICE.]

GENERAL HAZEN found King William at Ferrieres, which ha- describes as a splendid domain—the country seat of the Paris. Rothschilds—with roads, drives, walks, deer-parks, lakes alive- with fish and covered with swans, and with gardens laid out in the English style. On the 5th of October the royal head- quarters were moved to Versailles, Versailles having been vacated for this purpose by the Crown Prince :— " The various officers of rank on duty in the city, and some fifty or sixty princes, dukes, and counts, nearly all members of the crown prince's. staff, were waiting to receive the king. . . . The royal carriages, ordi- nary barouches, are each drawn by four black horses. On arriving near' the gate of the court-yard they quickly stop, and the king, covered and begritned with dust, jumps out with a quick, manly effort, and with a pleasant word for each, takes by the hand those waiting to receive him. He then rapidly proceeds to the front of some regiments drawn up- before the building, recognising and speaking to many of the men. The whole air of the king is that of paternal kindness and good-nature, some- times amounting to fondness. He speaks in a quick, eager style, often accompanying his words with rapid jerks of the head and band. . . . Considering his age, the king is wonderfully vigorous. It is evident that- he bestows great care upon his bodily health and dress. He is about six feet in height, large, without being corpulent, and steps with firm- ness and ease. He often rides twenty or thirty miles a day on horse-

back without inconvenience He never appears with a button out. of place, or a single decoration appropriate to the occasion neglected. He is known to have wisely said that a kingdom may be lost by one- neglected button, as this may be the beginning of negligence which will. end in disaster."

How this attention to every button is carried through the- whole organisation of the Prussian Army, and yet combined with the highest activity and exercise of intelligence by every officer and man, and how great are the practical disadvantages of the- want of docile obedience in the performance of these minute- duties in the French, and also in the American armies, General Hazen shows throughout his book. Of those" fifty or sixty princes, dukes, and counts" who assisted at the reception of the King, the diary gives a further account :— " GERMAN PRINCES.

"On entering the main salle-b-manger at the ordinary dinner-hour,. one Bees an array of hereditary civic rank not often met with. The- highest nobility of Germany here, representing all the minor German States, are attached to the staff of the Crown Prince. They hold mili- tary rank, from captains to major-generals, but receive no pay for-

military service. This can hardly be considered a hardship, as they in most cases do very little duty, only occasionally carrying despatches home or under flags of truce, and turning out in full-dress on grand occasions. These gentlemen are entirely orna- mental, the Crown Prince having a really able and hard-working staff' of army officers, who live with him at his own quarters, and do all the work. Among the officers at table are the Prince of Hohen- zollern, the innocent cause of the war the Grand Duke of Coburg, brother of Prince Albert ; the Crown Prince of Saxony, and princes. and grand -dukes from nearly all the German States. Prince Leopold Hohenzollern holds the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Prussian army, is slightly built, has blue eyes, light com- plexion, is about five feet six inches in height, and thirty-five years of age, speaks good English, has a bright, winning, intelli- gent face, and captivating manners. He is no exception to the other princes in the non-performance of duty. He is a thorough student, and almost every morning until eleven o'clock may be found in his room, in a • common flannel blouse, reading or writing, is highly respected by every one, thoroughly moral and upright in his life, a consistent Catholic, highly educated, and perfectly amiable, but of no great force of character .. Leopold is the eldest son of Prince Charles Anton. and Princess Josephine, and therefore doubly related to the dynasty of Bonaparte, his father being a son of Princess Antoinette Muratr and his mother, Princess Josephine of Baden, a daughter of Stephanie de Beauharnais, who was an adopted daughter of Na-

poleon I Prince Charles Anton has been always an inti- mate friend and adviser, as well as relation, of Napoleon III., and was the manager of the affair of his son's candidature "The forty or fifty men at the table before us are of too high rank, and trace back too far their names and lineage, to stoop to labour. In viewing them critically, one is impressed with the lack of force and intellectual character expressed in their faces.

They are leas in stature than the common people, and except that they are exceptionally well-bred, are not to be compared with the active officers of the army ; nor are the officers of the regular army, although perfect as soldiers, equal to those I have seen of the landwehr regiments, which are officered largely from the common people. This class is gaining rapidly in wealth and influence, and must before long be recognised as the new, progressive and dominant power

in Germany. The regular army clings to the tradition of gentle blood, and the officer class is really a kind of nobility, having equal social privileges with the king himself. There is hardly a thoroughly good face at the table, but, with two exceptions, they bear no marks of dissi- pation."

This opinion of the superiority of the middle-class landsvehr officers to the noble officers of the regular army is repeated by General Hazen in his chapters on the Prussian military organisa- tion. It is opposed to our popular notions on the subject, and of

• The School and the Army in Germany and France, with a Diary of Siege Life at nrscrilles. By Brevet Major-Generat W. B. Hazen, U.S.A., Colonel Sixth Infantry. New York: Harper Brothers. 1872.

course to much of the actual state of things during the late war ; 'but it is probable, and if it be true, even though true of the future rather than of the past, the results will be important. Of the real generals who were at Versailles at the time—the Crown "Prince, Moltke, Roo; and Blumenthal—the Diary gives descrip- tions, from which we take,— " THE CROWN PRINCE.

"Frederick William, Crown Prince of Prussia, was born in October, 1831. His youth was guided by a watchful, careful mother, now Queen Augusta, under whom he received an excellent education. He inhevited from his father strength of mind and will, and from his mother bright- ness of intellect and a high ,regard for, and interest in, the arts and sciences. In his youth his openness of character, unassuming simplicity, earnest manner, and thirst for knowledge, gained for him while a school- boy at Bonn the love and esteem of his professors and fellow-students. He began his military life in the lower grades, serving as a captain of infantry with his company. Upon his marriage to the Princess Royal of England he at once gathered about him the most eminent savants of all professions, and although twenty-seven years of age, did not relax his studies, but devoted a portion of each day to books and free social inter- course with the learned men who composed his household. Science, polities, and military studies received at this time full and careful atten- tion, Moltke being his instructor in the latter. His life remained purely domestic and scholarly up to the war with Denmark, when he applied for active service, which was given him in a secondary position, as no one dreamed that he was suited to a high command. In fact, his life had been so entirely domestic as to give him no opportunity to display military aptitude. In this war he won the devotion of the entire army by his humane character and fidelity to duty. Still, a large military command was never thought of for him ; and not until lidaiggratz, in 1866, did he attract attention as a military genius. I have reason to know that the movement which at that battle brought his troops to the right spot at the right time was greatly due to his own suggestions and efforts. From that time his reputation has steadily increased ; and though entirely subordinate to General Moltke, he is considered a general of the first order of ability. At the beginning of the present war, he was assigned to the command of the Third Army Corps, made up of the contingents of the South German States, which has so nobly followed him in nearly all the great engagements. His expressions of sympathy for the suffering, and regret at the stern necessities of his duty, have reached the hearts of good people, while his simplicity and courtesy gain the esteem and confidence of all who meet him. His face is that of the highest type of the cultivated European, and speaks of good-breeding, physical health, happiness, and honesty. There is not a trace of the generally accepted German face in it. At his table, the excellent custom of never repeating the wine is followed. What is suitable and ample is on the table when the party

sits down, and none is added afterwards."

"MOLTKE.

"October 30th—This is Sunday ; and while going to church I noticed near me, in a new uniform of a general officer, some one who at first im- pressed me as the youngest, blondest, and slenderest general officer I ever saw, and I tried to divine how promotion could have been so rapid in an army where everything is regular. I looked again, and the quick, elastic step, the slender, almost womanly waist, contrasted strangely with his rank, which I now noticed to be that of full general. On look-

i ng into his face, I was still more surprised to recognise General Von Moltke. We continued on the remaining hundred yards to the chapel-door to- gether. He is a man of few words, of a singularly youthful expression of countenance and eye; and although one knows that he is seventy years of age, and heavy time-lines mark his face, it is hard to shake off the idea that he is a boy. He has a light and nearly transparent com- plexion, a clear blue eye, flaxen hair, white eyebrows, and no beard. He speaks good English, and on calling at his room, I found him very affable, and full of sagacity and accurate knowledge. In his room were a few chairs, a desk, on which was displayed a map of France, and not another scrap of anything to be seen."

At a time when newspaper correspondents were speculating as to when the bombardment and assault of Paris were to begin, the Diary of October 24, 25, and 28 assumes as of course that "the military problem for the Germans" is that of "a starving siege," -which consists mainly in the "defence of the besiegers," while "an assault is impracticable here," and "a bombardment would accomplish nothing, unless to show the Parisians that the city is at the mercy of the enemy." We give, with a few omissions and transpositions, the description, under the above dates, of the actual character of the investment :— " Paris is surrounded by a strong work of earth, faced with out stone, nearly twenty feet high, and is for the length of some fifteen miles a regularly built first-class fortification, with a deep moat on the outside. About two miles distant is a line of detached fortresses, independent of each other, and each capable of giving shelter to a large number of troops. The French hold to the front of these forts about one mile, and then comes a space of about a mile between the armies before we reach the German advanced posts. This gives a front for the German army of about forty miles. The zone of German investment, or rattier of occupation, is about five miles in depth, and embraces hundreds and per- haps thousands of villas, châteaux, farms, and gardens. In France every- thing of this kind is surrounded by a rubble-stone wall, about eight feet high and two feet thick. These walls have been loop-holed for musketry, embrasures have been cut for artillery, banquettes thrown up, and some- times staging built for twotiers of i n fantry. These strong positions naturally deflect an assaulting column to the right and left into the more open ways, where it is soon enfiladed by a strong fire from infantry, and often taken in reverse by a force securely posted in loop-holed beams or garden hedges. The posting of the investing line is a novelty to an American officer, and yet there is wisdom displayed everywhere. The Prussians have judiciously posted a picket-line around the city within about a mile from the -circle of forts. These picket posts, secure from needless exposure to the fire of the forts, are so situated that from them can be seen all that occurs between them and the army, and between the adjacent posts. We find • single man at one of these points of observa- tion who watches everything, peeping over a wall, through a window, or out from the bushes. Not far away from him, and also out of sight, are two or three comrades and a mounted picket; one or two hundred yards to the rear is a platoon, generally concealed in some garden or walled yard, and a half mile farther back is the regiment comfortably quartered in a little village. If we go on, we soon find larger bodies of troops, but the main force is stationed well towards the outer portion of the zone of investment. The regiments in front are replaced by others from the rear every three days, while those in the rear are so disposed as to concentrate on any threatened point in their front at veryshort notice, and the posting is such that two army oorps, or 60,000 men, can be massed in any position before the French can reach it. The regiments in frout keep their belts on, while those in the rear are comfortably established in the deserted villages and towns. So thorough is the discipline, that no man wanders from his company rendezvous beyond the sound of his bugle. The regiments in front are always ready to move at a moment's notice, while those in the rear are easily available, and there seems no tendency to straggle away, as with us. I imagine that the secret of this is a more absolute discipline and a more quiet disposition. When the long roll is sounded, the regiments move out with full ranks in a very few minutes. In case of an advance of the French, the single advanced man calls the mounted trooper, who at once notifies the reserve platoon and the regiment, which concentrate at a predetermined rendezvous to check the advance. Word is at once despatched to the corps in the rear, which gets under arms and takes up a line already resolved upon and prepared, perhaps two or three miles in roar of the advanced regi- ment. In the meantime, the regiment, by taking advantage of any accident of ground, or fence, or wood, harasses and checks the advance as far as possible, without risking much, and falls alowly back upon the line already posted. The investing troops are not evenly disposed all around the city, but there are several main points of concentration, commanding the avenues by which, from the nature of the country, a sallying force must necessarily advance. The most favourable lines across these delmuche's have been strengthened and thoroughly prepared for defence. Sometimes these points of concentration are near the front, and sometimes far to the rear ; but never has any sortie broken or passed beyond the prepared line, and the attack of some twenty batta- lions from Mont Valdrien, on the 21st inst., did not even reach the advanced posts at any point."

General Hazen then expresses his difficulty in understanding the policy which shut up four hundred thousand French troops, in- cluding thirty thousand cavalry, in Paris, when half that number would have been quite as effective for the defence, while the cavalry—quite useless, except to supply horse-flesh for food— Might, if free in France, have seriously harassed the German communications. And he oonsiders it as great a mistake to have called within the lines the vast population of the environs, thus giving themselves some hundred thousand more mouths to feed, while leaving for their enemy very excellent quarters, with infinite supplies of food, hay, corn, and fuel spread over a belt of twenty or thirty miles, the provision for the ordinary Paris markets before the siege.

Here is a story of the old noblesse at Versailles :—

" Madame the Marquise of — has no servants, and entertains two officers. The first day she cooks them her best dinner, but there is no wine. They wish champagne, and are told that she has none, when believing her to be the maid, they mildly intimate that it is procurable at the moderate rate of six franos a bottle at the restaurant opposite. Not having that amount of ready money, she retires in much confusion. Next day, seeing no other woman about the house, they inquire, and learn, to their utter dismay, that it is Madame the Marquise upon whom they made a requisition for champagne. The most ample apolo- gies and a consideration suited to her rank follow."

General Hazen meets Mr. Scott Russell in the camp at break- fast :—

" He expressed the opinion that in future the military strength of nations must be found not in standing armies, but in the ability to always keep prepared material of war, ready to be put into the hands of men at the approach of hostilities. I replied that it might be found rather in the ability to produce material of war at the approach of hostilities, as in this age of rapid improvement we are at any time liable to find our work of to-day superseded and made comparatively valueless by the inventions of to-morrow."

We think the American General saw farthest into the case.

Our limits forbid us to give an account of General Hazen's chapters on the German and French armies, and the education, military and civil, of the two nations ; but they are not only very pleasant reading, from their lively and unadorned style, but full of instructive matter for all—civilians or soldiers—who are inter- ested in this subject, and who care to see how discipline and sub- ordination and mechanical organisation may be combined with developed and active powers of thought and reasoning in the soldier, and how when they are combined they are invincible. A single illustration of this combination—reminding us by contrast of the inability of our Commander-in-Chief in the Crimea to understand how a railway could be of any use there, until be had actually seen it at work—we quote in conclusion :—

"This triple division of force rin the war of 1866J was opposed to the well-known principles of war ; but the use of the magnetic telegraph

made the plan safe, and the whole was given in charge of General Von Moltke, who conducted the manoeuvres of this army with a regularity and certainty which, without the aid of electricity, could only have been secured by keeping the parts together, and thus rendering the army so unwieldy as to make celerity impossible." (p. 163.)