iled to come up in time to help MacMahon
at Woerth, were in full retreat, without exchanging a shot with
the enemy.

The Germans continued to march steadily on. The country was
systematically requisitioned for supplies. The _maire_ or other high
official of each village was informed twenty-four hours beforehand
how many men he was expected to provide with rations; namely, to
each man daily, 1-1/2 lb. bread, 1 lb. Meat, 1/4 lb. coffee, five
cigars, or their equivalent in tobacco, a pint of wine or a quart
of beer, and horse feed. If these demands were not complied with,
he was assured that the village would be set on fire; and after a
few examples had been made, the villagers became so intimidated
that they furnished all that was required of them.

Here is a description of one night's work done by a Prussian general.
It is taken from a work by Erckmann-Chatrian;[1] but those graphic
writers took all their descriptions from the mouths of Alsatian
peasants who had been eye-witnesses of the scenes which they
described:--

[Footnote 1: La Plebiscite.]

"The first thing the Prussian commander did on entering his chamber
in a cottage where he had quarters for the night, was to make three
or four soldiers turn out every article of furniture. Then he spread
out on the floor an enormous map of the country. He took off his
boots and lay down on the map flat on his stomach. Then he called
in six or seven officers, all captains or lieutenants. Each man
pulled out a small map. The general called to one of them by name:
'Have you got the road from here to Metting?' 'Yes, General.' 'Name
all the places between here and there.' Then the officer, without
hesitation, told the names of all the villages, farms, streams,
bridges, and woods, the turnings of the roads, the very cow-paths.
The general followed him on the large map with his finger. 'That's
all right. Take twenty men and go as far as St. Jean by such a
road. You will reconnoitre. If you want any assistance, send me
word.' And so on, one by one, to all the others."

Such was the system and order of the Germans; while the French,
full of amazement at their own defeat, unled, unofficered, and
disorganized, are thus described by Edmond About as he saw them
entering Saverne after the disastrous day at Woerth.

"There were cuirassiers," he says, "without cuirasses, fusileers
without guns, horsemen on foot, and infantry on horseback. The
roads taken by the army in its flight we