The Press.
London, England, 1858-07-17 00:00:00

THE PRE S S, JULY 17, 1858.

the hand which the Emperor of the French extends
with cordiality and amity to our nation in the person
of our Sovereign; and this treatment of his Majesty
is felt to be an insult to all France as well as to
him personally. Every partizan of the Anglo• French
alliance, French and English, denounces it bitterly
as impolitic and mischievous. Even the enemies of
that alliance—and they are, I assure you, neither
few nor powerless —think that the manner in which
the Times goes to work is disgraceful ; the two
countries, say they, can become estranged and
quarrel, without one acting towards the other like a
churl. You can have no conception how much such
language as that of the Times lowers our national
character in continental estimation. We have
already the repute of not being at all polite in our
private relations, and of being ever ready to show
a wanton disregard of what the French call
procedis in our public transactions; but to meet
proffered friendship with jibe and jeer is regarded
as a proof that we are utterly incapable of anything
like generosity, and that our souls are made of
nought but mud.
I could fill half a dozen of your columns in
relating the speculations that are made as to what
has been done in the Conference with respect to the
variouspoints arising out of the settlement of the clues.
tion of the Danubian principalities—such as whether
there shall be one flag for both principalities or two ; one
commander-in•chiel of their armies or two; whether
their Hospodars shall be nominated for life or be
hereditary ; and so on. But really these speculations
are perfectly idle ; for,jeonsidering that the members
of the Conference are pledged to secrecy, it is im
possible that they can rest on any solid foundation.
All that is known with anything like certainty, and
all that the public can care to learn for the present,
is that an understanding has been come to between
all the great powers, and that this understanding
is based on the propositions for which the English
Cabinet stood out from the first. The triumph of
English policy, and no rupture with France or
Russia—no war between any powers—such, in a
word, is the result of the Conference; and far attain-
ing that great result the nation owes gratitude to
Lord Malmesbury and his colleagues.
The resident English in this city are enchanted
with the manner in which the Conservative Cabinet
conducts its foreign policy; and I venture to say,
though I happen to be one of them, that the opinion
of that body on such a subject is entitled to no little
weight. For to Englishmen abroad foreign questions
often present themselves in a different light to what
they do to Englishmen at home ; the former regard
them not isolatedly, but as parts of a great whole—
not in a mere party, but in a broad national view.
Now all that Lord Malmesbury has done has been
eminently national ; his standing no nonsense with
the King of Naples—his firmness about the Danu-
bian principalities—his prompt despatch of a ship
of war to Jeddah to avenge our murdered country
men—and last, though not least, his dealings with
France—all are acts which the " English abroad "
wished to see, and all are thoroughly national.
And—a most important thing in diplomacy—his
lordship's manner of doing these things was equal to
the national spirit which dictated them ; for it has
not exacerbated ill-feeling that may have excited
towards us, and hos not weaned from us, nor even
wounded, a friend.
Do any of your lady readers care for the small
gossip of the Court? If so, you may tell them that
since the departure of the Emperor for Plombiers
the Empress has had French dishes banished from
her table, and those of her native Spain substituted.
To French palates these Castillian messes, fiery
with Cayenne pepper, and not devoid of grease, are
aught but agreeable; but as the Empress likes
them, the courtiers eat of them with resignation.
You may also tell your fair readers that this very day
the little Imperial Prince gives a grand ball—the
first in his life, I believe—to some fifty children, sons
and daughters of great State dignitaries or of noted
partizans of the Imperial regime. It is at the
Palace at St. Cloud, where the Empress is now
staying, that the ball comes off. And, apropos of the
little Prince—he is stout and vigorous beyond his
age, and very intelligent; but it is found that his
sight is not strong, as it is observed that when out
riding he frequently closes his eyes, as if the glare of
the light pained him. Extremely juvenile though
he be, he has been taught in his daily drives to kiss
his hand right and left in ackeowledgment of the
salutations of the people ; but he frequently manifests
by his manners that this part of Imperial duty is to
him a frightful bore. What will he think of that
sort of thing when he grows older? The Emperor
has resolved on having the Palace of the Tuileries
thoroughly repaired—an operation of which it stands
in great need, some parts of it actually appearing
likely to fall down. His Majesty has also resolved on
having it raised a story higher—a work which
it is
feared will spoil its architectural beauty, and which,
at all events, will modify its historical c.haracter.
repairing and the raising will occupy, it is expected,
not fewer than two years, and during that time the

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Emperor and Empress when in Paris will reside at
the Elysee Napoleon, which is not far from the
English Embassy in the Faubourg St. Honore.
Though less stately, the Elysee is a far more
agreeable residence than the Tuileries, if only
because it possesses a vast inclosed garden in which
its Imperial tenants can take exercise unobserved,
whereas at the Tuileries there is no such conve-
nience. The Elysee is being fitted up and furnished
in grand stile for the reception of the Emperor and
Empress. I huvo heard an estimate made of the
cost this will occasion, but the figure is so large that

it had best not be repeated.
PS. I hear it said that the Austrian Government
has caused a representation to be made to the
French Cabinet that Russia bee excited the agita-
tion that prevails in Turkey, and is, consequently,
morally responsible for the atrocities that hare been
committed.
The French Government has sent orders for
vessels to be despatched to the Red Sea forthwith,
and for others to go to Candia. It has received a
telegraphic despatch from the Turkish Government,
announcing that it has sent 2,000 troops to Candia,
and will punish the assassins at Jeddah.
A new pamphlet on the Principalities question,
especially directed against Austria, is to appear, but,
as it will nut be "inspired,' it will attract litt!e
attent ion.
Marshal Castellane is about to go to Corsica to put
its coasts in a state of defence.