southern outposts. The redoubts of Moulin
Saqui and Hautes Bruyeres were firing heavily, and the Prussians were
replying from Chatillon. Their shrapnell, however, fell short, just
within our advanced line. From the sound of the guns, it was supposed
that they were only using field artillery. The sailors insist that the
enemy has been unable to place his siege-guns in position, and that our
fire knocks their earthworks to pieces. I am inclined to think that
behind these earthworks there are masked batteries, for surely the
Prussian Engineer Officers cannot be amusing themselves with making
earthworks for the mere pleasure of seeing them knocked to pieces.
Anyhow they are playing a deep game, for, as far as I can hear, they
have not fired a single siege-gun yet, either against our redoubts or
forts.

_November 19th._

Burke, in his work on the French Revolution, augured ill of the future
of a country the greater number of whose legislators were lawyers. What
would he have said of a Government composed almost exclusively of these
objects of his political distrust? When history recounts the follies of
the French Republic of 1870, I trust that it will not forget to mention
that all the members of the Government, with the exception of one; six
ministers; 13 under-secretaries of State; the Prefet of Police; 24
prefets and commissaries sent into the provinces; and 36 other high
functionaries; belonged to the legal profession. The natural consequence
of this is that we cannot get out of "Nisi prius." Our rulers are unable
to take a large statesmanlike view of the situation. They live from hand
to mouth, and never rise above the expedients and temporizing policy of
advocates. They are perpetually engaged in appealing against the stern
logic of facts to some imaginary tribunal, from which they hope to gain
a verdict in favour of their clients. Like lawyers in England, they
entered public life to "get on." This is still the first object of each
one of them; and as they are deputies of Paris, they feel that, next to
themselves, they owe allegiance to their electors. To secure the
supremacy of Paris over the provinces, and of their own influence over
Paris, is the Alpha and Omega of their political creed. With an eye to
the future, each of them has his own journal; and when any decree is
issued which is not popular, the public is given to understand in these
semi-official organs, that every single member of the Government voted
a