The Prussian Line Of Defence

ff tlio new frora Kurone s Iruo ibat i1ie Prmsians Iiryu fctired from their liuc on tli o Frcu-ch froiitier and are con centratirtí at CoWcnz and Mayenee, it woukï imply uitb'er a. posi'.ivc moveimnt bj the Fteach army od their right (ank or a demonislraiiou in tlie samu diiection thrfratouing their liae of coitimuuiention. Whilo wtt havo nothinjr moro from F:fince tlian the bare faot of the army haviDg enteved Gormany, it Bcems evident that important stratcgio moTuthernts have been tba fnr Kicoesefnl in lurcing be Pruwiftnt to uncover Houth Gunnany. In fact, if wo undorütaud the dispatoh corroutly, tlie Frenoh a-ro now in vkrtoal possession of all tho territory frr-m Thionville, on tho Moselle to Coblenx, nod from Lautorburg to Mayence. Of eourse it is more Iban probablo that grrisons have heea left at Trevei, Landau and other lortified flacos; but thoie wjll not matei ially retard the Fronch advanoe. Duiing the war of lStiü, bctvton Prussia aud Austria, tlie PruwiaiW pushcd forward, Jeaving the fortreases bchind and striking the main nru)y, upOO ;he sucf-rüj of which dupendcd the safety of tho isolated garr8Ji8. Kcgarding cnr inforuiatiou nu correct, tho Prussians have most decidedly been ou'inaneuvered ; but it ia undeuiable that thoy kavo fallen back pon a poaitiou of iiumenso uatural and artificial strengih. Tl!!! SBW BKKKSfIVH LINE Begïns at Coblenz, on the Rhine, rons ip in 8 southeast direolion to Bingen, where it coatinues east by north to Mayence, or Mainz, or Mentz, as it is L-verally callcd, on the Kliiue, opposite tho inouth of the Jhiiu rivcr. The unlire d'iBtanco, following the sinuositics of die rirer, is fifty-sis miles. Thoro il a railroad lino ou ach bank, that on the lbft passing through anJ orniiouiog do-wn to Cologne, aud thnt on tho r ght bank tnrniiig oif at Nieder Lal xt-teina, and followiog the LihnBiver to Nassau. This, it seums to ns, is tho present line of defenee for Priltsia. Of course the right bank of tho Rhine, through Hesse Darmstadt and Baden to tho Swiss frontier, will be defended, but atpreseut tho setine of activo operations lies betweon the poiuts indicated. coblbn?;. This city, which might bo tsrmed tho mght wiug of the Prussian liue, is situated uu the lolt bank of the llhine, aud right bank of the Moselle, at the conüuonce of those rivera. The name of the place íb a corruption of Confluentes, by whioh the Koiuaus called it. It is about serenty-fivo mils noitheast of 31etz, by tho post road, bilt is moro tbsn doublé that dislance by tha river, owing to its üinuositieí. Coblcuz contiiüs a Bopulation of about tweDty thousand soule, and is one of the best fortified places in Prussia. The fortifioatious surrounding it fonn a vast cainp, cnpable of contaiuing one hundred thonsaud men ajad combine tho systenis of Carnot and Montalambert. Four forts protect it on the left bnk of th RhiDe. The ficat is Fort Kaiser Franz, siiuated behiw the town on the lef bauk of the Moselle and commanding all theapproaches irom Cologne ana Treves. Above are forta Alezander and Constautine, on the liill of the Chartreuse, the guns of wliich sweep the roads irom Mayence. Th fourth fort is situated over the Btruck Mountain. These fortifieatious, with tho Fortrcss of Ehrenbreittein, of ■which Bfention Bhall horeafter be made, irere twenty odd years in rcbuilding, after tko downfall of Napoleon, end oost ■ome $5,000,000. They are undoubtedly strong, but none are impreguable, as hai been atated by socie newspapers. In faot the principal strungth of the city lie in Ehrenbreitstein (houor's broud stone), a villago nnd fortrefs eituated o;i a large rook whih tiwers abovo evervtliiog for miles around. It is termed the Gibraltar of tho Khioe and a certainly a mpst formidable position. On thrso lides it is ab.ulutcly iuiproguable to asiault, but on the nurthnrot it is conipsratively expoaed. lts wcakness bare ia pparúnt ut aglnnca, nud efforta havo boon made to repair it by the conitruotion of three lines of defonco, all of whioh must be stormed before au cnoniy can enter the fortress. Nevtrthekss it 8 pcBsibla that artillery masscd on the.-o werks could rcuder them uateuable. Four huudred heavy guns aro mounted io the fortress, and these 8weep the Rhine in all diiectious mid the rond to ïiagsau. On the top of the rock is a great platform which serves as a parade grouud and which covers large arohed cistrn3, BuppÜcd with wa'.cr by springs ■without the walls, aud capable of containing a thrce years' upply of the liquid. Thcre is also a well, suuk 400 feet in the rock, communicatiog with the Rhine. In 1704 Cobleoz proper was taken bj the French, after a desperate W iatance. Ehrcnbroitstcin whicli ihe samo nation had faüed to capturo iu 1688, although Vauban himself dircoted tbe operations, held out until 179G, when it wíis compellod to suireuder, the garrison having been redueod to s'arvation. Cats and corsea wcro catea by the bofieged during the last duys. It is hnrdly poïsible that any attempt will be made by the Freuch to take Cüblouz Üj c direct attack. A flank movomeiit to drivo the PriussiaDS from the place will doubtless b3 made. We should not omit to state that, after the peaee of LuneTÜle, the Freuch blew up Ehrenbroitstein on evacuating it ; but it ig now eonsidered to bo strongcr than ever. Maycnce we hall {ive a sketch of at another time. At aud around Coblenz centers publio interest, wbioh, however, may be wholly removed by a movernent cf Iho Frenoh toward the lliver Mniu.