The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-11-19 00:00:00

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON AT
WILHELMSHOHE.

(From the Berlin Correspondent of the Daily New'.
During the last fortnight Wilheimstnhe has probably been
the seat of more than one Bmayartiat Council. The fall of
Mete, having been brought about before that ot Faris, against
Louie Napoleon'. expectation, has necessarily altered the
Bonapartist projects. The' lempreas. in consequence, was
summoned first, and arrived before Bz due and the other
generals taken prisoner. at Mete. She came and went with
great privacy, even avoiding the station at Wilhelmandhe,
but probably alighting bore at Cassel, sheltered from observe.
Gnu by • veil. I happened to meet her ,m her return at Han-
over loot Weduesday,while eptering the Union Hotel. [lgraine,
Lei,' if, Camobert, Murat the elder, Fourton, Froward, fto,
are still here, and it appears that Bargains will soon leave
for Aix la Chapelle, to meet his rife there, who cannot bear
much travelling, while somewhat later Let.ceuf will go to
Bonn, and Canrobert to Stnttgardt. Hitherto they were
all staying at the Hotel du Nord here Cassel] at which lam
writing, but some of them have already taken lodgings
Wilheloishbhe, and it is said that a still treater number of
French generals will soon arrive. In fact successively all
that are now prisoner. in Germany. As they most have
the consent of the Prussian Government to all their
movements, It I. evident that Count Bismarck has
nothing to any against the ex-Emperor being surrounded
with a regular staff. The French Republicans ought to re-
flect about this, and not quite forget that, beside. this staff,
there Ina French army In Garniany, net numbering less than
350,0 Omen. I can tell them that the French officers, with-
out exception, with whom we converse here, are not their
friends. As for the private soldiers, they are politically
mere children, whose opinion Is of no importance whatso-
ever Those who know how to treat them will have them.
They are now worked upon here and there, as the report
goes in Germany, by agents of the Orleans family, which is,
however, only possible while they are separated from their
officers ; for among these latter the Orleans family has no
sympathieers. At present they courlna themselves to
stating it as their conviction that order must be restored in
France with a strong hand. The 'mune on the part of the
people to which the prisoners from Mete were exposed, par-
ticularly on their mintage through Nancy, have Infuriated
them, and they now almost wish further success to the Ger-
man arms. It is a very sad Impression we get concerning the
near future of France, when we contraat the behaviour of the
French army here and of the French people there.
Last Sunday afternoon the marshals and generals went
out promenadieg with the ex.Fumeror. It was a remarkably
fine tiny, and the park of WilhelmshiShe shone In its beauty.
The generale, of course all in plain clothes, were waiting for
Louis Napoleon on the terrace before the central doorway.
A considerable crowd of Sunday excursionists from Cassel
, had assembled. I was present with a young Swede, who had
, a great longing to seeLouls Napoleon. There were two palace
! guardsmen from Potsdam, instructed to keep the public at •
distance, and two police officers kept themselves ready to
the hack-ground. The crowd were forming • large semi-
, circle around the group of the Frenchmen, who stood to-
gether, as usual, with their hands in their tromers pocket.,
and smoking. The remarks of the public., of which they were
the object, were by no means flattering. Close by me
stood an elderly lady, who had • very venomous
tongue indeed. Among other bitter things, which greatly
satisfied the public, she ventured upon • comparison which
at once struck everybody as almoat terribly true.
"There they stand,' she said, "arid look just like
' eipleatrians In the middle of the circus." And, indeed,
faces, areas, deportment, all were there perhaps for the
simple reason that most equestrians are Frenchmen, and try
to imitate French officers in plain clothes. The public
roared and encouraged her to go on. "Tips tall one," she
continued, meaning Prince Mural, " is the heraebreaker ;
and yonder Imp there," meaning General Poulton, whet, •
regular dwarf, "is the clown." The comparisoe again was
striktrig. But the worst WVA yet to come. The en. Emperor's
German adjutant, a captain of Heuer., had entered the
doorway, said soon stepped out again in Louis Napoleon's
company, who, but for his extremely slow and
heavy walk, gave one the Idea of a man in pretty
good health. The venomous lady cast it grim look
upon the man of the Second December, and said, '' And there
is Father Benz himself." Father Rom, it should be state-1, is
the director of the leading equestrian company In Germany,
and his face, which, indeed, strikingly resembles that of
Louis Napoleon, is known to every dy. "That is true,"
cried the '4 why did we not find out this before ?"
"Ii lea sad truth," Bahl the Italy; "France has been lorded
over by equestrians these lest twenty years." " Anti what
are thereon who govern her now ?" asked somebody. "Tr a
gedians," was the reply, "minor theatre tragedians, with !
out fixed engagemeute. And alter them the bailiff will MU-
Into Outhouse.'

A pssesge having been dented for the ex•lmperial party,
they pr. weeded slowly. the German adjutant Lasing his
leave. One eif the pollee-n(111*n prec.ded them at a con-
siderable di,tance, avoiding the heateu path and keeping in
the hush. The two guardsmen followed, and prevented
the public from too closely approaching the party from
behind. Thus no other way was hilt to such as were
anxious to see Louis Napoleon's face—and their uumber
was evidently considerable—but ta try to outrun the
party on bye-paths and then return to meet them.
A most amusing chase of this description ensued,
because at every intersection the question was
which way would they take, and moreover it soon
became ',Meat that they eery staglowily avoided emy

path on which they discovered people waiting for them.
Able strategists as they were, they succeeded indeed for
a considerable time in baffling every attempt of the public
to catch them, and managed to reach immolested the open
fields, there to enjoy the sunshine. But now the public
opposed German to French strategy ; a long front
was formed, with scouts preceding it, and on
their return they found themselves encircled, and
the curious got satisfied to their hearts' con-
tent. The awkward thing for Louis Napoleon in
meeting unknown persons on his walks here Is, that he doe.
not knew with what feelings they look upon him, and
whether he is to salute or not I have been told that at
first he saluted everybody ; but in the majority of c tees
the salute was not returned, end so he left off. When any-
body salutes him, he taws with unmistakable contentment.
My young Swede, who hal not withdrawn his faith in the
ex-Emperor, got a most gracious smile.

Such as of late have convened with Lords Napoleon are
almost unanimous in stating it is the,r conviction that he
.peaks the truth in awning, as he has done to King William,
as well as to many others, that he was forced int s the war
against his own wish and better knowledge. Quite recently I
have heard an explanation of hie conduct which comes from
a person worthy of attention Be ascribes the war ti the
machinations of the party that was dominant in the (Ecu-
menical Council, and chiefly t s the scheming of Father Bo-
ttom, whose criers the cl,rgy and the r,llgione orders
in France are wont t s obey in political matters.
The destruction of Prussian accandancy In Germany had
been made the condition of the further support of the Em-
pire by the Cuurch. The war for this pus pose was to take
place while the tE mmenical Council was sitting, and the
mmenlcal Council WY summoned for no other purpose
than to be tatting during the war. The Catholic population
in Germany was reckoned upon and represented to the
ignorant stattsmen of the Empire as the most irupersaut
and reliable ally of France in the war. And It is quite
true that in Germany, as well as in France, DOffotly
finned the flame of hatred against Pr,:ula among
the masses with grea..er oral and assiduly than the Catho-
lic priesthood. Of the Ikmapartist elhp,e hula Napoleon
alone had his doubt a, but everyboriy ar.,utul htwo at
thorn, and his friends began to tree hitt any, cow as 1 he
negative votes of eo many moldier ~t the 'Ple/dsc•fe ....no to
aid of the views of those wh xere cia ~11,4 for cs
The failure of the attempts f lot tOe Eimpl, I ,ght wilt, the
Liberals in France, and to s the &Marv, at proses. finally
made him consider the Es as I pt, t.o lii hr.( thee w
himself again into the arm of the cLur•;,. hot it wee ea
net of sheer despair, for he. ;of better Mao other French.
men, knew something of tb. te-eilOe etifiger le'thll France
incurred in challenging the t t:zetoonichen of ; and
he hart always looked at loos Bismarck. s- lose mental
superiority he silently ackr .oklgoth len the Cobra looks at
the make.