The Express.
London, England, 1853-01-18 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 18, 1853.

newspapers submitted to government inspection pre-
vious to publication, and forbidden to publish any-
thing displeasing to government. Nay, the contra-
diction of a scandalous story against any member of
the government in a Parisian newspaper, is such
strong evidence, that the rumour is widely spread,
and generally credited in society, as to induce the
many to whose knowledge it comes for the first time
thrmigh that chainel to believe there is something
in it.
This combination of voluptuous splsndonr, with
monetary pressure and sharp practice in bargains, ii
not unnatural in a scheme of government, projected
in the purlieus of Leicester-square, and established
by the mitraille on the Boulevards and operations on
the Bourse, after the ludicrous failures at Strasbourg
and Boulogne. The decorations and festivals of the
Empire uniformly call up by some strange
fantastic association of ideas, tho images of Thurtell
and his associates singing Diem's melodies at the
piano, and hanging the gold chain filched from their
victim round the neck of one of the females, while
the naked corpse was submerged in their garden
pond.
His Imperial Majoty. has promised that an en-
quiry shall be instituted into the truth of the allega-
tions prevalent on the Bourse. It might not be
inexpedient to give the commission a wider range of
investigation. Under the Presidency strange stones
were told of stock-jobbing operations by many of the
inferior members of " the family" at the Elysee. And
a natural wish exists to know how the proceeds of
such portions of the confiscated Orleans property '
as have been brought to the hammer have been dis-
posed of. Did any of it flash in the Imperial
diamond shoe-buckles, which so dazzled the eyes of
the special "court newsman" kept resident at Paris
by one of the papers ?
To certain friends of peace who have a strange
power of believing whatever they wish, or whatever
chimes in with their own theories, the cordiality
evinced towards England, the eagerness testified to
do honour to its representatives at the first Imperial
state ball, must be most gratifying and consoling.
The Emperor opened the ball with the English
Amssadreas for his partner, and her lord for a via-
ci-eis. Throughout the evening Lord Cowley fol-
lowed as close in the wake of the Emperor as
one of King Charles's spaniels might have
done in the wake of the merry monarch,
and was as often and as honourably noticed
for his pains. The matron dignity of Lady Cowley,
hung upon the arm of the Emperor, was a kind of
repose and relief after the more free and dazzling
display of charms by the Princess Mathilde, when-
ever the duties of hostess separated the Princess for
a time from her cousin. And the admission of
English to the ball was unlimited ; not confined
to the exclusive though tolerably longitudinal list of
the Ambasssador—all were welcome who offered
to come. The Emperor did not shut his doors
against old enemies of his London days, provided
they could afford to dress decently. The class of
English society which most sympathises with the
Emperor abounded at his ball ; the entente cordiale
between it and him is as warm as ever. _ _

, Nevertheless, though by no means attached to war
or invasion panics, we would not advise any friends
of ours to rely too coufldently on these symptoms.
France is no longer a living realm ; she is politically
deed. Esau like, she has transferred all her right,
all her power to think or act politically, to one man.
The enormous social mass, " stretched out huge in
length," from the Mediteranean to the North Sea, is
now animated only by the vampire existence of an
army and its chief. the immense physical strength
of France must obey the influence of his spirit, by
which it is possessed, whether it will or no. While
France had a political existence—as monarchy or
republic—an innumerable diversity of interests and
wishes had to be won to acquiesce before it
could be involved in a war. But now that

one man alone possesses political power, the
whims or imaginary interests of that one man may
at any moment bring it to the battle-field. The
manufacturers of England and the wine-growers of
the Garonee may wish to remain at peace ; the
scholars and men of science on both sides of the
Channel may deprecate the interruption of their
combined resources by war ; Jacques Bonhomme
and John Bull may be moat reluctant to come to
blows when they entertain no grudge to each other;
all these things were guarantees for peace before the
political life of France was extinguished ; but now
they may all be trampled on and overruled at any
moment by the military chief and his retainers, who
stir up dead France to an unnatural galvanisation.
In days of yore, in the vicinity of Bt. James's,
Lord Noodle and Mr. Banker Doodle, might cast a
main, and hob-a-nob in burgundy or imperial tokay
with Captain Macheath, and if the dice run right
for the gallant captain, and he left the room with
full pockets, Lord Noodle and Mr. Banker Doodle
might find their way home in safet. But if it so
ure
chanced that the pockets of thegallant captain had
been cleaned out—most ass yif those of Lord
Noodk and Mr. Banker Doodle had theirs well lined,
they might count upon meeting the gallant cap-
tain, pistol in hand, by the light of the moon, and
being. compelled to pay tribute to him. The
principles of international law, the views of policy,
which prevail under the empire, have been learnt in
England, in &school that is the only legitimate re-
presentative in these days of that of Macheath.
If all things continue prosperous with their host and
his understrappers, no bill will besent in to the Eng-
lish its of the Tuileries. But if this confounded
ea the Bourse continues, some other method
mint be devised of finding means to pey for chomp
raand diamond shoe-buckles. And a dash at
Beank of England, with all its =sunned heels
of Californian and Australian gold, will be the very
lMt resource that presents itself to the &indium I
esemitiperte of the Maeheaths, Mats of Ma Mid, mad
Raise of Bagahot, who have run up the im-
promptu Empire. France and Frenchmen have
no good will in the work, but France and Frenchmen
count in this matter at present only for as much as a
good locomotive engine that has got into queer hands.