The Express.
London, England, 1864-12-29 00:00:00

EXPRESS FROM PAM&

(nom on on onsserwrozwr.)
PARIS, WEDIZSDAT EVININO.

The Emperor contradicted the rumours of his
being indisposed by skating for two hours yester-
day at Suresne. The Italian, Prussian, and Dutch
ministers, the Marquis de Galiffet, and many other
distingu4 personages shared the exhilarating exer-
cise with his Majesty. The water meadow which
forms the favourite imperial skating ground has
been railed in, and placards warn off trespassers, and
purport to show that it belongs to a newly-formed
club. There is in effect a club, to which almost any-
body may belong who chooses to pay 20fr. ; but
the title of the club to the locality is doubtful, and
yesterday afternoon, when the Emperor was gone,
the public asserted its rights and took forcible pos-
session of the place. To-day there is a thaw in
the centre of Paris, but it still freezes in the Bois
de Boulogne, and the wind being northerly, I
think the frost will prevail again to-night. In
various parts of France the weather is extremely
severe. The Loire is frozen over at Orleans.

The Saone, at Lyons, is blocked up with ice-
bergs, and it was expected that the river would
soon be completely frozen. Navigation is stopped
at Rouen. At Cette, Carcassonne, and Narbonne,
an extraordinary depth of snow has fallen.
A very successful monster rat hunt took place
in Paris yesterday. The main drains were simul-
taneously scoured by dogs, and legions of rats
were driven out upon the icebergs in the Seine.
As these floated down to the bridges means were
taken to shake them, and the rats were drowned
by wholesale in the water.
M. Dufaure, whose political indolence and dis-
like to fracas about his name, prevents him, to the
great regret of his friends, from coming forward to
contest the vacant seat in the Charente Inf6ricute,
which he might have for the asking, has written a
letter recommending the opposition to vote for M.
Paul Bethmont, the son of the well-known Beth-
mont of 1848. If (says M. Dufaure)the small mo-
dicum of parliamentary liberty granted on Nov. 24
is to endure, it is highly important that young
men should be returned, in order that they may be
trained in the good school they will find in the
small minority of independent members, which con-
tains many experienced and illustrious men.
The representatives of protestant orthodoxy in
Paris seem to be jealous of catholic orthodoxy. In
obedience to the li►t of M. Guizot, who has been
not inaptly styled the Calvinist Pope, the Pres-
byterian Council of Paris has just refused to accept
M. Thomas Rives as a suffragan of M. Coquerel,
sea. It is admitted ou all hands that M. Rives is
not only an honourable, zealous, and pious man,
but that he is moderate iu the expression of his
opinions. However, the leading French protestants
will not let him preach if they can help it.
There is a rumour that, in consequence of the
misconduct of a member which the general body
refuses to atone for, the Doniinician friars are to
be expelled from Paris within six mouths.
At the Palais de Justice, yesterday, a young
advocate with a fully upper lip, who rose to ad-
dress the court, was stopped by the observation
that mustaches were against the regulations. "I
thought," he respectfully replied, "that wine were
too short for the court to take judicial notice of
them." "It is not a question of quantity, but of
principle," gruffly rejoined the president. "In
that case," said the advocate, " I can only ask to
have the case put off.- "No," said the judge,
"go on now, but remember to shave another
time :"

M. Alex. Dumas, jun., is going to be married to-
morrow to a rich Russian widow, Madame Na-
rischine. The name is one of the best in the book
of Russian nobility. Great Russian ladies have a
pow/taut for French literary men. Balzac enriched
himself by a Rwsian alliance.
The Bourse is steady, but realisation of profits
produced a slight fall (sc. only) in the Reute.
Mobilier fell Ur.