The Express.
London, England, 1864-02-18 00:00:00

EXPESSB FROM PARIS.

(nom cons owl oosamomnarr.)
PARIS, WIONi6DAY aNING.
_ _

The Pays strongly disclaims any intention on the
part of the French government to insist, in favour
of Denmark, upon the treaty of 1720, to which
France was a party. It considers that treaty as
obsolete. "The court of the Tuileries," it says,
"is not called upon to play the part of Don Quixote
in Denmark any more than in Poland, or to
sacrifice the blood and treasure of France in a
cause which is not directly its own." France
having offered all the powers, great and small, a
valid means of peace, "the congress," will "wait
until Europe decides to walk in this path—the
only one in which a solution of all existing difficul-
ties can be found." This stolid faith in a nostrum
is supremely ridiculous.

The Siècle insinuates that if the Paris elections
are to take place on the 20th of March, the reason
must be that it is desired to exclude the newly-
registered electors, who cannot vote till after the
31st. It therefore pretends not to believe the news
of the France, and urges that now the elections
have been postponed so long, it would be better to
put them off yet a few days longer, in order that
the fullest and moat recent expression of the feeling
of the constituency may be obtained.
The Memorial of Lille announces that tbe govern-
ment will be neutral in the new election for the
Nord, caused by the quashing of the return of the
Prefect of Police's brother, M. Boitelle.
The Pays gives currency to a rumour that the
sugar bill (one of the most important of the session)
is to be withdrawn. The Patric, alluding to the
same rumour, says, however, it has reason to
believe that "up to the present time" no resolution
of the kind has been come to. Some explanation
of the grounds of the above report is to be found
in the Gironde of Bordeaux, which says :

The Chamber of Commerce of this city has sent three
delegates to Paris to defend, before the government and the
committee appointed by the Legisktive Body, the interests
of the merchant shipping involved in the sugar question.
Those interests are very seriously compromised by the
present bill, and the sugar manufacturers in the north of
France, whose influence is so powerful, appear to be using
all their effort. to have the definitive enectaseote of the law
made still more favourable to beetroot sugar, or, in other
words, disastrous far that from abroad.

The legitimist journals lament that permission
could not be obtained to celebrate a high mass in
Notre Dame on the occasion of the death of the
Duchess of Parma. A noble duke, it appears,
wrote to the Archbishop of Paris, requesting the
mass, and alleging as a precedent that one was
performed in the cathedral on the death of Charles
X. But the archbishop, in his reply, says that the
applicant is mistaken. Mgr. de Qualm', the
archbishop of that time, refused the use of the
national cathedral for such a purpose, as Mgr.
Darboy does now on his own responsibility, and
from "sentiments of prudence which behove
a bishop, who knows his duty and fulfils it."
A low mass, the archbishop says, there is no objec-
tion to, and any curd can perform one ; but the
moment a ceremony is desired of such a nattyro as
to require his authority that is a sufficient reason
for a refusal.

No blame can be justly attached to the govern-
ment in this affair. The attempt was merely a
party move of the legitimists under the cover of
religious feeling.
The Bourse has again been very firm, and
although the highest prices cf the day were not
sustained, all securities realised an improvement,
and a large business was done. Mobilier rose 10fr.

SOLDIERS' DAUGHTERS' HOME.

A somewhat novel but interesting kind of enter-
tainment was given yesterday aft*, zoom in •id of the funds
of this admirable institution, at St. James's-hall, Piccadilly.
It consisted in the exhibition of various military feats by
the non-commissioned officers of the Household Brigade,
and was termed an smash of arms. His Royal Highness
the Prince of Wales was expected to have honoured the
entertainment with his presence, and chairs were reserved
up to its conclusiou for the Prince and his suite, but from
some unexplained emus his royal highness wes usable to be
present, much to the disappointment of the large and highly
respectable audience, many of whom had been attracted to
the hall by the announcement that the Prince of Wales
would be there. The bands of the let and 2nd Life Guards
were present, and played an excellent Weak* of operatic
music. Almost every part of the hall„ including the gal-
leries, was well filled, acid during the intervals between the
performances of the oombatants, which took place on a
raised platform in the centre of the hall, many anxious and
curious glances of expectancy were directed towards Mr.
Noeotti's circle of magnificently gilded and carved chairs spa-
Melly provided for the see of the Prince and his suite, but
which remained vaanat. Among the noblemen sad gen-
tlemen who honoured the entertainment with their
presence sem the Duke of Wellington, the Earl of Can
• General Brotherton, Earl Mountcharies, General
Lawremon, Colonel Co Has, Colonel Vme, Colonel Mar-
shall, Colonel Bailey, Colonel Hogg, ko. The performances
consisted of • series of single combats beeves, the non.
commissioned armors of the Ist and Zed Life Guards, in-
cluding bout' at single stick, fencing matches, boxing
matches, combats with sabres, and with bayonet and sabre,
and bayonet and small sword. The fencing and single sties
matches greatly preponderated, bet as exhibition of cavalry
sword exercise, in which Corporal Majors Armstrong (Ist
Life Guards), Wake (Red Life Guards), and Priestly
(Royal Hone Guards), took part, attracted very general
admiration, and wsa a perfect exemplification of the
=min power with which blows from the cavalry
broad sword are gives. The most popular part of the
performance, however, seemed decidedly to be the boxing
matches, in which Corporal Butt, Trooper °tideway,
Oormeal-Major Leansoat, sad Corporals Harker sad Bee,
took part It wen a singular and amusing imam* of the
popularity which, in this country, Mtge& all displays of
pugilistic skill, that the only thing encored in the perform-
ances was the first of the boxing matches. Several very
extraordinary feels, which we have been accustomed to
reed of as being performed by lodise jugglers, bat which
are rarely witoseeed in this country, were exhibited by Cor-
poral Major St. John and Corporal Major Waite. Our
readers will remember the wonder with which Saladin, is
" The Talisman," regarded the display of physical strength
by Richard Comm de Lion, in severing by sheer force a
miene bar of meta, and the equal astonishment with
which the lion-hearted monarch witnessed the severing of
• lace veil and • silk cushion by the keen blade
of the molds., bat both fasts were performed by two in-
dividual yesterday in St. James's-hall. With one blow
Corporal-Major Bt. John eat a whole sheep as cleanly in
two as if it had been done with a butcher's /Lade, the hind
quarters remaining suspended, while half the body dropped
with a heavy thud on the ground, and with a whirl of
another blade he severed net and silk handkerchiefs which
merely rested on the edge of the scimitar. Corporal-Major
Waite also performed the equally astonishing hate of cutting
• bar of lead an inch and a quarter square is two with on.
blow, and subsequently, with • tress sword, completely
dividing as apple sod an orange, bad on the naked hand,
without abrading the skin of his comrades band In the
slightest degree. so marvellously adjusted must have been
the amount of force used. and so instantaneous it, arrest
the moment the object bad been scamplished. The whole
entertainment passed off extremely well, sad in • pecuniary
sense must ham bees a very successful one to the charity,
the recipients of which witnessed it from • platform in
treat of the band.

It is rather singulat that the name of God
should be spelled with four letters in almost every kftnage,
pia :—ln Latin, Dens ; Pres* Dieu ; Greek, ILaos ;
German, Gott ; eamsdisavisa, Odin ; Swedish, Oodd ; Br
brew, Ades ; Syrian, Add ; Persian, Errs ; Parlarian,
lldde~aa
; Bpe bh, bias ; Eat Indian, Bali or Esel ; Turkish,
Addi ; baptism, Awns or Zest; Japanese, Zan; Peru-
vise, !Aso ; Wallaebiw. Zane ; Etruria's, Char ;
Dish ; Arabian, Alta ; and others mill with four lettssa.—
Asseriaus paper.