I asked him what would occur if our provisions gave out before the armies of the provinces arrived to our succour.

He replied that the Government would announce the fact, and call upon all able-bodied men to make a dash at the Prussian lines; that 300,000 at least would respond to that call, and would either be killed or force their way out.

This will give you an idea of the present tone of the population.

Nine men out of ten believe that we have enough provisions to last at least until the end of February.

The only official utterance respecting the provisions is contained in a paragraph in the _Journal Officiel_ to-day, in which we are informed that there are 15,000 oxen and 40,000 sheep in Bordeaux waiting for marching orders to Paris.