"Are we to remain cooped up here until we are starved out ?" ask the Ultras.

"As a military man, I decline to make a sortie," replies General Trochu.

"We are not in '93.

War is waged in a more scientific manner," whispers Ernest Picard.

The plan of the Government, if plan it has, appears to be to wear out the endurance of the besiegers by a defensive attitude, until either an army from the provinces cuts off their communications, or the public opinion of Europe forces them to raise the siege.