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Show THE IRON CIRCLE AROCXD PARIS. : A letter from Basse!! to the Lond jd : Tcuvj has this interesting item, shoeing shoe-ing the compkezsess of the iron circle around Paris: j "How is it the French do not lr-ik out? I am asked the question very : of:en. The best answer to it is c:r.vey-' c:r.vey-' ed in an another question: "What j good would it do if they did T Ft i: they could not raise the siege of Paris and route the Prussian army, iheir mere fracture of an iro circle wou'J not help them much. If there was an army to join them outside, the matter would wear a different aspect. It might appear strange that the French had not raised the siege by a great sortie. And if tbey saw the lines and traveled trav-eled around Paris, they would, perhaps, per-haps, be still more impressed by the want of enenry and enterprise of the besieged. But a thorough sn'iier would Tery twos appreciate the diSicui-ties diSicui-ties of a sortie against an army in intrenched positions, which can at any point bring 70,000 to $0,000 men to bear in a short time on the deploying columns. It is alarming to a civilian to travel inside along the Prussian lines. He may go for miles and scarce meet or see 500 men. In some places he will find none at all. And there is Pari always near. But if he examined the position of such deserted places on the way he will find good reason for the apparent neglect in the absence of - all means of access to them by aDy army eorps without causing caus-ing such alarms as would give time to the investing force to concentrate large forces to encounter and fall upon it. |