The Express.
London, England, 1852-08-16 00:00:00

r !W. EXPRESS, MONDAY EVENING, AUGUST 16. 1852

FRANCE.
THE PARIS
I" SUNDAY MO/WM

. AltlB,
The Aroniteur oontains the following note:
The fete of August 15 sill give occasion to numerous acts
if clemency, which will furnish a new proof of the magna-
nimity al the Priam Vaseidear.
The time is past when amnesties imposed by the ezigessies
of the press of political opposition, were, to the great detri-
ment of public order, an act of weakness in the government
sad a Mhusph to parties.
Than sea ba no question at the present moment or • dos
mod . The government could not, without cola-
' 'c security, the are of which is its list duty.
Isamare to certain men who dream of nothing
bo• a
As Overthrow of society. But the pvern:nest,
!lobs tall liberty of its initiative, has found itself stile,
dime • serious examination, to grant pardon to repentss;
OM unfortunate men who have been misled by the turbu-
lent. It has thus conciliated the interests of humanity
With those of public tranquiloty.
IS is to this spirit that the PAIN Prod/sat los mated
on or commutations se aushaseass M mewsi=
Voninio..s selected from Moe sismismad fir
Miter, ne well as for ordinary inhtessansues.
From this you will see that the sari caprimad
I. my letter of yesterday that the semeety would be
of a mixed character so sate esussal the &limber of
political offenders pardoned, has bum hilly confirmed.
Tho Pattie says that 800 polkaed Wanders have
been pardoned, and 500 mum prisoners. But
since this does not make up ths toad of the Mon&
kw, no reliance can be repleea epea it. From the
language of the note it is clear thee pardon has been
extended to no name of mark, but oily to those who
have made the most submissive professions of re-
pentance.
• decree follows, letting off trees punishment all
whiskeys been guilty of infraction e/ the forest and
IVlaws.
weather is rather showery. The ceremony
semmeneed et the Madeleine at half-pest nine. The
President has gone there. The columns of the church
have hem covered with crimson cloth, sprinkled with
the imperial bee. The Rae Royale is filled with the
washes of the ambassadors, and with troops.
Mavrocordato, the Greek envoy, is going to Rome
to arrange a concordat with the Pope.
The Archbishop of Paris has opened a subscription
for Dr. Newman.

SVNDAY
One of the first decrees of the dictatorship esta-
blished on the 2nd of December was to abolish the
national fetes of February 24 and May 4, in com-
memoration of the revolution and constitution of
1848, and to replace the observance of those repub.
lican anniversanes by the celebration of the birth-
day of the Emperor, which was proclaimed to be
henceforth the only national festivaL The 15th of
August is not only the anniversary of Napoleon's
birth, it is the day dedicated in the Romish
calendar to St. Nipoloon, a member of the
holy army of martyrs, whose canonization was,
in conformity with the emperor's wishes, identi-
fied by Pope Pins VII. with the birthday
of the latter. As in Catholic countries the fetes of
people are kept upon the days of the saints after
whom they. are named, August 15 becomes the
fete of Louts Napoleon, as well as of his imperial
uncle. Thus by the selection of this date for the
national/as the dictator achieved two objects. He
contrived to invest his own fete with the symbols of
the empire, and to colour the imperial disguise of his
own power with the national consent. Thus
wherever you move to-day you will see the signs of
the nephew interwoven with those of the uncle.
While the acutcheons on the flag-staffs bear the
cypher of L. N. the eagles of the illumination was
crested with the imperial crown, and the columns of
the Madeline are wrapped up to the mid-shaft in
crimson-cloth embroidered with gold bees.
The chief ceremony of the day has been the dis-
tribution of the eagles to the national guards. From
daybreak you might hear the drums of the guards of
the banlieue beating to arms ; and the fifty-one bat-
talions were all early in the field taking up their
positions from the Barriers de l'Etoile along the
avenue of the Champs Elysees to the Place de la
Concorde, spreading out their ranks in that ample
square, and extending their line up to the front of
the church of the Madeleine. The whole civic force
was distributed in three divisions of 17 battalions
each, under the command of officers of the staff, with
a band to each division. The first division was com-
mended by M. Niewerkerke, whose statue of the Em-
peror at the 'toad-Point of the Champs Elysees
forms one of the chief attractions of the day. The
cavalry of the national guard, commanded in chief by
the Marquis de Caulaincourt, was posted outside the
Barrier. de l'Etoile until the formation of the in-
fantry. The platoons of infantry were drawn up
three ranks deep; and the sapeurs-pompiers,
or corps of firemen, were set on the right of the drums.
The chefs de battaillon and majors were on horse-
back. The first and second battalion, established on
the Place de la Concorde, were charged to maintain
order, and took no part in the filing off. The first
regiment of grenadiers was on service in the imme-
diate neighbourhood of the Madeleine. The standard
bearers of the national guard having repaired at half-
put seven to the head-quarters of their commandtr-
in.chief, General Lawontine, rat the Palais Royal,
were then conducted by an officer of the staff to the
Madeleine. The mass at this church having been
fixed for half-past nine, shortly before that hour a
procession of equipages might be seen setting down
at the foot of tho steps the ministers the diplomatic
corps and high functionaries. 1 believe the carriage
of the English ambassador, although emptj, figured
out of etiquette in the procession. The crowd
had • good view of all these personages
in their various orders and costumes as they
ascended the steps. The weather, cloudy,
windy, and unpropitious, threatened the bravery of
the show with smart showers, but, after a short fit it
rain, held up without clearing. Presently Louis
Napoleon drove up in a carriage and four, with
green and gold liveries and outriders, accompanied
by two of the ministers and some members of his
military houaehold. The senators were the only
body of the state regularly invited to the ceremony.
The mass was then celebrated by the Archbishop of
Paris, who proceeded, after the elevation of the host,
to bestow the benediction of the church upon the
flags The standard-bearers, shouldering their en-
igma, then proceeded to join their battalions. The
selearre differ but little from those of the army. The
!triage of the flag is of silver instead of gold. The
heal of the eagle is not turned, and the wings are
stliftzr. The letters L. N. embroidered upon a
of oak and laurel branches, appear on the
feu 001111 in of the flag. The cost of each set of co-
la= is about 400 fr., but country regiments, that
may object to this expense, are at liberty to suppress
the embroidery.
After the conclusion of mass the President mounted
on horseback, and, accompanied by a numerous and
brilliant staff, rode along the lines of the national
guard. Different accounts are given u to the in-
tensity of the cries ; but, as you are aware, this civic
militia is anything but imperialist in tendency, and
even the cries of " Via, le President," u I under-
stand, were by no means general. The officer com-
manding each battalion stood a few paces before the
centre of his men, with the standard bearer on his
right. When the Prince was within about fifty ,
paces of the right of the battalion, the men pre-
sented arms, and the officers saluted with the sword.
As the President passed the centre of the battalion.
the commander received the colours from the standard
bearer. After this operation had been gone through
by the 51 battalions, the President took up, his sta-
tion
and the infantry and cavalry filed off before him
by platoons. The eagle of each battalion was low-
aul, on passing. The cries were partial and feeble. I
Many circumstances besides the weather concurred
to damp this ceremony. A large and liberal measure
of amnesty had been desired ; arid although such was
hardly expected nothing could have made a worse
impression on pablio opinion than the note in the
Moniteur of this morning. The concealment of the
real number of political pardons granted by mixing
them up in the same number with the liberation of
'common criminals was offensive in the extreme, each
party being guided by their fears or preji:diets.
Thom who disapprove the enlargement of rebels
fear that the proportion of political pardons predomi-
nates ; while those who demand a political amnesty as
a measure of justice are equally indignant at t be scanty
and vairueact of clemency, andat the insulting manner
in which men with whom cause they sympathise are
confounded with common criminals, as if to add a
sting to their reprieve.
I have just returned from a ramble up the Champs
Elysees. Carriages are not permitted to circulate
lower on the boulevards than the commencement of the

de Madeline. The streets are not over-
BerOtt edvad la
and the people moving about aro evidently
the diagorgings of the trains des plaints from the pro-
vinces. The Parisian belles imperil not their
trim and dainty toilettes in much ungenial weather.
Dust is whirled about by the peevish wind, and
puckers the faces of the gaping throng. On
the Place do la Concorde are planted two red
masts, like thaw before the Cathedral of St.
Mark at Venice, and two enormous silken tri-oo-
loured orYtammes, at least sixty feet long, undulate
with slow majesty about these tall poles. In the
central white is inscribed that hypocritical text of
universal suffrage : Voxpopnli, cox Doi; on the blue
and red the cypher of Louis Napoleon with the num-
ber of votes he gained on the 20th of December.
Over that wing of the Place de Louis XV. which forms
the Ministry. of Marine is stretched a beautiful
awning of crimson velvet so as to form a canopy for
the President as he sits in the columned balcony to-
night to bebold the fire-works. A corresponding
awning of meaner material flaps before the other
' wing. Bofors the Petals Bourbon, on the other side
of the Pont Louis XV. there is a strange scenic
decoration representing the Alps in pasteboard,
with fortifications, galleries, and towers edged
with snow. All op the Champs Elysdes on
either hand are a series of fountains of very pretty
design, but unfortunately only half finished, so that
no two are alike. Those which are most complete
consist of a palm growing out of a bacon filled with
towers. The three Graces, dos-a-dos and hand-in-
hand, stand about the upper part of the stem,
crowned with gold wreaths. Children riding swans
sport underneath. The base of the fountains is en-
closed in a trelliswork wreathed with oaklcaves. A
large calyx of ground glass crowns the palm, and
will contain the gaslight this evening. Now the
whole of these tasteful decorations aro unfortunately
in a state of confusion, hardly one having been con-
pitted, in consequence, as I understand, of a strike of
the workmen last night for higher wages, which they
claimed for their extraordinary exertions during the
preceding nights. The contractors having resisted
this demand:the workmen abandoned their labours on
the eve of completion, and left everything at sixes
and sevens. The engineers were employed to re-
place them, bat of course these military workmen
amid not bo expected to finish the artistical labour.
of the plasterers and gilders. The ground is strewn
with fragments of unused materials, broken glass,
ladders, stray cupids' arms and graces' heads. 'I he
great fountains cannot play for want of water, and
the flowers, flung pole-inek into the basins, are
withered for want of the same refreshing element.
Whether this is a coup monbs, a premeditated stroke
on the part of the republicans, or a mere accident, I
have no means of knowing. M. Niewerkerke's
bronze equestrian statue of the emperor was swung
into its place last night and cuts a very creditable
figure. The horse is planted on his fore-legs, with
ears pricked, as if listening to the trumpet. The
emperor, in his well-known costume, cocked hat, aid
great-coat, is sitting in an easy and natural at-1
titude. People throng much about this work, which
is generally approved ; and I think the Parisians
will be sorry to miss it, when it is removed to Lyons,
where it will be inaugurated by the President at the
close of next month. Oa the front of the base is an
eagle, crested with the imperial crown. The Hippo-
drome and Cirque of Franzoni are open gratuitously.
In the square of Marigny and the other open places of
the Champs Elysees the usual diversious go on, and
the interest with which certain groups regard cotes'.
chantaes, dwarfs, giants, tables of bagatelle, and
sundry other entertainments, such as may be found
in equal abundance at Greenwich fair, prove that
these wandering spectators aro for the most part new
to the stalest objects of Parisian amusement. Mean-
while all flock towards the river, to take up what
standing or sitting room may be got, from whence
to witness the boat races and aquatic tournament&
The jousts on the water between the bridge of
Austerlitz and that of Berey were designed prin-
cipally for the amusement of the inhabitants of that
remote quarter, and were witnessed by comparatively
few besides. At the conclusion of the review a good
many people started in that direction from the
Champs Elysees, but few persevered in performing
the dreary distance on foot, and the regulations con-
cerning carriages made any other mode of locomotion
difficult. On this account most of those who had at
first determined to see everything, changed their
minds before they reached the Tuileries, and slowly
sauntering back, lined the quays on either side of
the river between the Pont des Invalides and the
Pont de Jena, to take up a position to see the re-
gatta, and afterwards the naval tight. The jousts,
or boat tournaments, however, made more fun than
any other entertainment of the day. Wooden seats
were erected on the banks of the river up to the
water's edge on either side, and these were well filled
by patient spectators long before the commencement
of the sport. The quays above were also crowded
with at least more people than could see comfortably.
The jousts are conducted in this way. Two four-
oared cutters are placed opposite to each other at the
distance of about SO yards. At the prow of each
appears, standing upright, a muscular champion
.in
a light dress, approaching u near as possible to na-
tural buff, with a broad well wadded belt round his
waist, and a blunted spear of formidable length in
his hand. At a given signal the boats row towards
each other, the spears, firmly held by each combatant,
is pointed towards the wadded belt of his adversary.
At the slightest touch, one, and not unfrequently both
of the titters tumble souse into the water. The fan
is to see the splash, and to witness the swimming to
shore of the warriors. This was repeated for several
boats in succession. To be a good swimmer is the
one essential qualification for these combats. But
little skill was displayed in any attempt to parry.
Indeed the heroes of the fight seemed to think it
chivalrous to lean towards the hostile lance, which
without that assistance is very apt to miss its mark.
In fact several ineffectual charges were made. But
these caused as loud shouts of laughter as the suc-
cessful encounters. But little attention was paid to
the boat races. These do not occur often enough
in Paris to be understood by the population.

The great attraction of the day was beyond all
question the mock naval combat on the Seine. All
the other entertainments have been seen over and
over again in former
.years, but the greater part of
the Parisians never in their lives saw a three-
masted ship. The announcement of a sea-tight in
the Seine, with a frigate manned by real men-of-
wars-men, from Cherbourg, to play the principle part
in the battle, promised a novel exhibition, and ex-
cited an interest which has resulted very generally in
proportionate disappointment. For at least two
hours before the appointed time the stream of popu-
lation flowed towards the scene of action. The
heights of Trocadero, the tope of the houses, on the
Quai Billy, and the gardens and garden walls be-
longing to them were all crowded with spectators
who had paid handsomely for seats and even for
standing-room. Tho frigate, the Ville de Paris,
was anchored in the middle of the river
between the Pont des Invalides, and the Pont
de Jena, but nearer to the latter. Tho stand for the
President of the Republic was erected on the Champs
de Mars side of the river, and on either side of it,
extending to • considerable distance, were platforms
contuining reserved seats for invited guests. Many
reserved seats were also erected on the opposite bank.
The whole length of the quays, from the Pont de la
Concorde to the Pont de Jena, was thickly crowded
with anxious spectators, of whom not one in a hun-
dred could see any part of the sight. The police
regulations against mounting trees and parapets were
set at nought. The trees lining the quays were
thickly studded with adventurous climbers, who
looked down exultingly on those below. Even so
far off as the Place de la Concorde people stood up
upon the stone balustrade, in the vain hope of getting
• peep at some part of the action. Shortly after four
o'clock the President of the Republic, attended by
hi. household and the grand dignitaries of state,
arrived at the grand stand. Great bustle then pre-
vailed, both on shoreandon the river. Boats with naval
officers pushed rapidly to and from the frigate,bearing
orders. It was not till half an hour after the Prest-
dent's arrival that the preliminaries of the battle
; commenced. A boat put off from the Areas steamer,
which was stationed near the Pont do Jena, and re-
connoitred the position of the frigate. This was an
easy operation, for the frigate, to the great disap-
pointment of multitudes, remained close reefed in an
inoffensive attitude at her moorings, where she has
' been for several days past. The frigate fired a gun
at the boat, which instantly retreated, pouring •
sharp lire of musketry into the frigate. Upon this,
about twenty small boats, with soldiers and sailors
on board, left the Areas, and proceeding towards the
frigate, attempted to board her. Two forts upon the

banks of the river supported this manoeuvre by a
tremendous canonading, which enveloped the
whole miss en scene in a vast cloud of smoke,
and so rent the air tb t the frowning clouds
which lowered over head opened their water.
spouts. A pouring rain descended, but lusted only a
few seconds. The rest of the battle eau only be de-
scribed by an eye and car witness, as a long succes-
sion of clouds of smoke, and deafening peals of artil-
lery. The disappointment to the spectators con-
sisted in this. A general impression prevailed that
the frigate was to spread her sails and manoeuvre. I
was told by several persons in the crowd that she
remained motionless on account of the want
of water in the river. 'fhis, however, was quite
a mistake. It was impossible that the frigate could
at any time manoeuvre or support her canvass in that
narrow and shallow part of the Seine. The exhibi-
tion was, to tell the truth, as little like a sea fight as
possible. The little steamers, the Aram and Calypso,
moved round about the frigate, pouring in broadsides
and receiving more terribleones in return, but nothing
could be less life-like than the appearance of the
ship, with the sailors either huddled on deck or down
below, and nothing going on in the rigging. Fur
the rest, a liberal expenditure of gunpowder went
as far us it could to make up for all deficiencies. The
concluding fire lasted full twenty minutes without
intermission. _

A decree of the President of the Republic, in the
Moniteur, directs that all persona now in prison for
non-payment of tines and costa consequent upon con-
victions for offences against the laws relating to fo-
rests, fisheries, or public highways, shall be imme-
diately set at liberty.
Notwithstanding the enormous number of pro-
motions and new appointments in the Legion of
Honour contained in the Moniteur, tho official jour-
nal states that it is compelled, for want of room, to
postpone the publication of the whole list of decora-
tions, and in particular those conferred upon cmployAs
in the ministry of the interior, agriculture, and com-
merce. Count Casablanca and M. Bourgeois, the ar-
chitect of the Tuileries, are appointed officers of the
Legion of Honour by special decrees. The military
medal, created by the decrees of January 22 and
February 29, and endowed from the proceeds of the
Orleans confiscation, has been conferred upon Gene-
ral Pelissier, commanding the (Iran division of the
army of Algiers, as a reward fur his services while
ad interim governor of Algeria. M. leanard, the
vice-president of the Senate and president of the
Court of Cessation, is the only new grand officer of
the Legion of Honour.
At the head of a large number of promotions in the
army and navy appear the names of General of Bri-
gade Borrelli, commanding a brigade of division in
the army of Rome, and General of Brigade Poinsig-
non, commanding the military sub-divion of Dor-
dogne, promoted to the rank of generals of divisions.
The following colonels are appointed generals of bri-
gade: Colonel Martemprey of the Etat Major, Colo-
nel D'Estienne de Chaussegros de Lioux, command-
ing the 47th infantry ; Colonel Behagel, commanding
the 71st infantry; Colonel Jacquemont du Doujon,
commanding the 39th infantry; Colonel Angenoust,
'commanding the 4th dragoons ; Colonel Anfryc, com-
manding the sth cuirassiers, and Colonel 13arbier, of
the artillery.
The Mondeur publishes a decree promulgating the
convention for the extradition of criminals, concluded
on April 9, 1850, between France and New Granada,
and directing that the convention shall henceforth
be acted upon.
Yesterday took place before the Court of Assizes
of the Seine, the trial of the murderer Pradeaux,
which excited the most eager curiosity. This mis-
creant in the space of a single month, last May, as-
sassinated three persons, two of whom were old
women, and attempted a fourth murder. l'he re
sistance which he encountered in his last crime
happily prevented its completion and led to his
apprehension. The prisoner is 32 years of age.
His parents were connected with the manufacture of
artificial flowers. Pradeanx, before he took to assas-
sination, had been three times imprisoned for rob-
bery and swindling. As soon as he had obtained
two or three hundred francs by some criminal means
he spent the money. in a few days, and then had
recourse to a fresh crime for a new supply. His first
victim was a cotton-manufacturer, whom he mur-
dered in his bed on tto night of April 3 to rob his
chest, which contained some 700 francs. About the
same time he contracted an engagement to marry
the girl Dardard. To defray the expenses of the
nuptial feast he committed a fresh murder. This
time his victim was a woman of 60, the widow Cha-
teau, of whom he pretended that he wanted to hire
a lodging. He paid a visit at midnight, knocked
down the old woman with a violent blow
on the head, and strangled her with a hand-
kerchief. He then rifled her effects, among which he
found a bag of savings amounting to 300 fr. Hence-
forth this became the pattern for Pradeaux's asses-
' sinations. He sought out the weakest victims,stun-
ned them by a sodden blow, and then strangled
them. Having murdered the widow Chateaux on
the 25th, he proceeded to assassinate in precisely the
same way four days after a woman of the same age,
Sean, engaged in the artificial flower trade. But he
ransacked in vain the drawers of this poor creature,
who, notwithstanding her industrious habits, was
obliged to eke oat her subsistence by the charity of
the Bureau de Bienfaisanoe. The next day Pra-
deaux led his bride to the altar, decorated, perhaps,
with some of Mdlle. Bean's artificial orange-flowers.
He passed the night in wandering about the or-
chards whose walls he bad scaled to murder the cot-

ton-manufacturer, and at daybreak entered the caba-
ret of an old woman named Naudin. He asked for
a glass of brandy, and while she was getting
it he struck her on the head with a bottle, and
knocked her down. He then attempted to strangle
her with a handkerchief IRA usual; but the old woman
bit him with force, and her screams brought the con-
cierge to her assistance. The assassin tied, was pur-
sued and caught. The jury found a verdict of guilty
upon all the charges, and the prisoner was con-
demned to death. The appearance of Predeaux is
insignificant, his features are small, his eyes sunk,
his complexion pale. His whole life seems to have
been one tissue of crimes. As soon as he had strength
enough he knocked down his mother and trampled
upon her, and nearly assassinated his father with one
of the tools used in their trade.
The minister of public instruction has prohibited
all public schools from using the " History of
France" by Father Loriquet, in which the Emperor
is styled " M. le Marquis Bonaparte, general com-
manding tho armies of H.M. Louis XVIII. M. For-
tours decree characterises the book as one in which
contemporaneous history is maliciously disfigured by
party spirit, and the most brilliant monuments of the
national glory and civilisation represented in a way
calculated to weaken the sentiment of patriotism in
the hearts of children.

PARIS, B•Tus.DAT Evaxmo.

Last night, about 1 o'clock; a fire broke out at the
Elysee, in the apartments of the President. In a
few minutes the flames had acquired an intensity,
which seemed to threaten the destruction of the
whole pile. After several hours of active exertion,
the excellent corps of pompiers succeeded in confin- I
lug the fire to the portion of the building in which
it had taken origin, and gradually mastered and
extinguished the flames. As the apartments were
those destined to the personal use of the President,
the mischief done has been still more important in
relation to papers and objects of personal value to the
Prince, than as regards furniture. All the mirrors
were cracked, and of curtains, carpets, and other
objects in the cabinet of the President and two
adjoining rooms nothing was saved. Fortunately no
living thing was burned, the place being compa-
ratively empty while the repairs are going on during
the absence of Louis Napoleon at St. Cloud. The
fire arose from overheating • stove, in order to dry
the walls against the President's return. Among
the objects saved is a reliquo of Charlemagne,
containing a fragment of the true cross, presented by
the inhabitants of Aix-le-Chapelle to the Emperor
Napoleon.
The Momileur contains the appointment of General
Greene to be Grand Chancellor of the Legion of
Honour. This nomination, which was predicted to
you shortly after the death of Marshal Excelinans,
is sufficiently significant of the President's intention
to advance even the obscurest members of his own
family to the chief offices of the state in preference
to those who possess the highest titles of merit.
You are already aware that Count Ornano is the eon
of Isabelle Bonaparte, first cousin, and, perhaps for-
tunately for France, the only one, of the Emperor.
The family is Corsican by both sides. M. d'Ornano
had just won his epaulettes of general of division,

when he was eclipsed by the ltestorati.m. 1;4
many other of the imperial officers, h, was
from his obscurity by Louis Philippe, who Iliad, to
peer and grand officer of the Legion of 11.,n„,
Before the revolution of February he commanded the
Fourth Military Division, whose head-quarters nre
at Tours, and settled at a chateau in the ind„..t.t.
Loire, for which department he sat in the legishoi,,
Assembly. Since the rev e'(,d dispersed that 643
has been indemnified for the loss of his twenty.tan
francs a day by being made senator, and um
meted recently to be grand cross to pave the wee nx
the present crowning dastitanuan. His sun is l'iittet
of the Yonne.
To-day the leading theatre* have been opteeil to
the public gratuitously. The doors of the (le .d
Opera, the Opera Comique, the Francais, and the
(Well', have been besieged limn an early hourloe n.
siderithle crowds, arranged en Incite. It in ne4,4
todotld that these eager eonipetiturs for unpaid
sures were visibly of the eery poorest sort, and
harked still inure in need of Pattern than Cie,e), •s,
The theatres were opened ut one, and filled alite.s;
immediately; still a squalid tail of the exthehn
supernumeraries waited, and still wait
hoping to supply the places of such us retire j.ll
twos and threes, after braving buthreation Is
the satisfaction of their curiosity An ~!flint
makes his appearance at the door every tam
and then, and cries out, us vacancies war,
`• Places pour trois! Places pour einqr mid ahe .h
wriggle is visible in the excited queue of pc
wretches who will perhaps (lever have Reuther,
of hearing the favourite, or seeing the ` bit
Quatre," at least under the dome of the Olxce.
the Francais, there is some pretension of telapte,
piece, which is" Clemency of Augustus," alte..
if the President resembled the founder of to
dynasty of the Ciesars, one would hardly fix 'f,e
likeness on his virtues. At the °Mete the putouts
KUM is entitled the " Filet do l'Empereur." The
presentations at the other theatres seem se!to,d
rather out of consideration fur the audience than the
occasion.

There is a tremendous article in tho S4.‘'t !o.
day. about tho gas contract. It seems the no l.
tumidity, purged by a decree of the
torship of all but creatures of the
ment, have prolonged the contract for li„).•
Paris with gas from Petid to lb'4l, that is, tor
and twenty years, without publicity or couipen:.
two essential conditions of all such engages„
' This concession, made in a manlier wholly u.. ..
cedented in the annals of French municipal goe.
ment, is denounced by the leading liberal paper a- an
intolerable abuse of administration and a gross job
It involves an outlay of twenty-four millions sliding,
and will, us the Sircle argues, from a cornpari,on of
the prices paid by other towns for gas lighting, frte
the Parisians to pay enormously dear for lighting
which is notoriously inefficient. The affair may be
referred to the Council of State, and it is hoped
that the iniquitous bargain may be thus annulled, a,
contrary to all usage and law, as well as detrimental
' to the interests of the inhabitants.

The number of pardoi a to be declared in the
tear of to-morrow is expected to be about rasi.
President has already signed upwards of 000 for non.
political offences. It is to be hoped that those Ira
no part of the 800. The lists will apply, it
thought, to only obscure names.
Tho Constitutionnet is about to lower its price to
32f., to undersell the Pays.
Prince Jerome left Brest on the 11th, for Nantes.
He proceeded by land, on account of the state of the
sea. He arrived at Lorient ou the 12th.