The Express.
London, England, 1867-06-29 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY EVENING, JUNE 29, 1867.

redeem the pollution of that abandoned little city.
The passage from Florence to Rome is " from
" death to life." n In the Papal frontier no
searching of luggage, no passports ; but whether
this surprising change is the result of an under-
standing
with the Italian Government, or only a
temporary relaxation in favour of distim,fuished
pilgrim, M. VEUILLoT forbears to state. The
celebration of the eighteenth centenary of Sr.
Pares and Sr. PAU L's martyrdom will indeed
have done something for humanity if it abolishes ;
the search of luggage and passports.
Once at Rome, M. VEIJILLOT is in his •
element ; or rather in his purer element. Ho I
writes with fervour and unction ; but with a
calm superiority which he too often forgets I
amidst the " Odours of Paris." In describing the
magnificent ecclesiastical ceremonials of which the
daily modern " majesty" of Rome consists, and to I
which the present picturesque assemblage of the
hierarchy, and clergy, and religious orders from
all parts of the Catholic world contributes, the
effect of vast numbers and variety of cost 1111 l c, he
touches with a light and skilfhl hand the awnings,
the tapestry, the ,garlands, and all the scenic de-
corations and appointments. And while in a few I
words, the force of which all who know the Eter-
nal City will understand—" you feel that you are
" in Rome"—he presentato the reader's imagination
a background unsurpassable in affecting grandeur,
ho concentrates the light upon that central figure
of the venerable POPE on his knees, and rapt in an
ecstasy of adoration, borne aloft through the crowd
of worshippers amidst the booming of guns and the
clangor of the trumpets. The picture is exe-
cuted with rare skill, and with that conti-
nence and compression of style which may be re-
commended to some of the word-painters who per-
form such prodigies in the English language. No
doubt even ecclesiastical ceremonials have their
unitize . There is a slight touch of the thea-
trical in representing the venerable Pore "on his
" knees," when in sober fact he is sitting under a
convenient disguise. " You feel that you are
" in Rome," exclaims M. Yee ; but it is not
in the Rome of the catacombs and the martyrs.
It is in the Rome "of Neao's circus," of "the
" obelisks erected in honour of ATIOUSTUS and
TIRERIUm, and raised again by SIXTUs QUINTUS."
Even so staunch a hater of Ciesarism as M.
Vatiim.or cannot deliver himself from the tyranny
of these tremendous Pagan memories. This is
the " majesty of the situation ;" these are the
names that possess him while he contemplates the
successors of the Christian martyrs, marching with
deeply-felt but somewhat dissembled humility
through the Piazza, glowing with colour and resound-
ing with military music. M. VEUILLOT does not fail
to make a point of the contrast between the weak-
ness and defencelessness of the temporal power and
this immense act of duty to the spiritual authority
of the Head of the Church by the faithful from all
parts of the earth. But he judiciously abstains
from pressing the logic of his comparisons too far,
as it might prove that as the spiritual authority
was never so strong as when the temporal authority
was most weak, it might be even stronger if the
temporal power were abolished altogether. We
dare say there were sincere Catholics present in
the Piazza of St. Peter who could not escape the
impression that the &moves of the Foreign Legion,
and the gendarmes, and the artillery, were some-
what out of place in a celebration of the martyr-
dom of ST. PETER and ST. PAUL, unless they
might be supposed to figure as theatrical repre-
sentatives of the Roman soldiers who " kept the
" ground " during the crucifixion of the Apostles.

of the Pope seems to be unalterably established. It will
be impossible for the Holy See to blind itself to the indif-
ference with which the decrees of the council will be re-
strived by the outside world. The Russian government,
which now alone continues or revives the old practice of
persecution, cares little whether an anathema provoked by
logical adoption of the principles of the allocution is ut-
tered by a pope or by a council. Antiquaries will watch
the show with interest, as ill the ancient forms will be
carefully observed ; an 1 perhaps a lay politician here or
there may believe that tho council will strengthen the
Pope for good or for evil. There is no reason for any
anxious protestant above the level of the Birmingham
rioters and their instigators to be alarmed at the prospect
of a general council.

On the Irish church the Saturday Review sums up by
saying that nothing will be done in calm and compara-
tively promising seasons. The Irish church will be dealt
with some day, and as there is little hope of its being
fairly dealt with, there is every chance of its being un-
fairly dealt with. As the patient will take no medicine,
the probability is that he will be poisoned souse day or the
other by quacks. When reform is impossible, revolution is
certain.

It in more than probable, it is almost certain, says the
Spectator, that one of the strangest scenes of an age fertile
in strange scenes is about to transact itself in Rome. The
Spectator is informed on good authority, which cannot on
such a point be mistaken, that Renter's unnoticed tele-
gram of the pith inst. is true, that the Papacy, in its
despair, has resolved to use its last resource, to wield once
more the weapon which for three hundred years Popes
have dreaded to unsheathe, lest it should be turned against
themselves, to 'ummon once more the body which
even the II tramontanes hold to be greater than
the Popes, the mystic depositary of inspiration,
the sovereign parliament of the universal church.
After remarking on the reluctance which may exist on
the part of the Pope and souls of his cardinals to convoke
a council, the Spectator proceeds. The Pope may recede,
even now, busily as Archbishop Manning works on to his
end with the full approval of the Vatican, but if he per-
sists and the gathering to canonize Arboes be changed into
an (Ecumenical council, 1867 will be marked in history by
an event greater than Sadowa, nothing less than the pro-
clamation throughout the world of the descent of a new
Avatar. Imagine !it is not only possible but likely that
in the nineteenth century the larger section of Chlisten-
dom may be called on by irresistible authority—for the
decree of a council is to Roman catholic' throughout the
world irresistible— to believe that the written utterance of
a single human being is equivalent in obligation to a reve-
lation from on high. It seems incredible, but in spite of
the denials with which, if the scheme is postponed, we
shall be flooded, it is true.
Without Mr. Henley the Spectator doubts very much
whether Mr. Disraeli could have got through his difficul-
ties. Here alone was to be found an indisputable tory
squire, always opposed to touching the church, or even to
opening the universities, apt to get angry about the
parochial Poor-law system, and to speak of the agricultural
labourer's position as providential, if not provident, —a man
with no little weaknesses about the game laws, with no
hysterical feeling as to the horrors of hovel-life, with a
certain squirearchical kindness, but also the due
aquirearchical hardness of nature,—and yet all in
favour of the old "historical" borough franchise, and quite
willing, when told to "name this child," to answer, in
clear, deep, guttural accents, " Household Suffrage," and to
renounce the tempting devil of municipal vestries, and all
his works in the shape of the small tenements, and other
local compounding acts in its name. No wonder Mr.
Henley has obtained a great position in relation to this
bilL He is at least as much its author as Mr. Disraeli
himself. And while Mr. Disraeli's parental anxieties
about it have necessarily been selfish, Mr. Henley has
held a purely disinterested position as an unretained,
voluntary counsellor of the house, with all the influence
and honours of that dignified independence.

Eta Court.

WINDSOR CASTLE, Jr= 28.
The Queen, the Queen of Prussia, and Princess
llearke, drove in the grounds yesterday afternoon.
The Queen, the Queen of Prussia, Princess Louise,
Princess Beatrice, and Prince Leopold, walked and drove
in the Home-park this morning.
Prince Leopold, attended by Mr. Legg, went to London
yesterday afternoon.
Prince and Princess Louis of Hesse, attended by Ham.
ness Schenck and Captain von Westerweller, arrived at
the Castle this afternoon from Marlborough-house.
Princess Louise and Prince Leopold, attended by lady
Caroline Barrington, Colonel Cavendish, Lord Alfred
Paget, and Mr. Legg, honoured the performance at Her
Majesty's Theatre with their presence last evening.
Their royal highnesses afterwards returned to Windsor
Castle.

The Dean of Windsor and the Hon. Mrs. Wellesley
had the honour of dining with the Queen and the Royal
Family yesterday.
The Earl of Tankerville, Lord Steward, had an audi.
once of the Queen at three o'clock to-day to present an
address from the House of Lords for a Royal Commission
to inquire into the revenues of the Established Church
in Ireland.

Viscount Strathallan, the Lord in Waiting, was in
attendance.

The Prince of Wales, accompanied by the Dake of
Sutherland, and attended by Captain Ellis and tho Hon.
Oliver Montague, left Marlborough-house yesterday
morning for Paris.

A Committee of the Lords of her Majesty's Most
Honourable Privy Council sat yesterday at the Privy
Council-office, Whitehall, on the subject of the cattle
plague. The lords present were the Lord President and
Lord Robert Montagu.
A deputation from Birmingham, consisting of the
Mayor, Mr. Sneyd Kynneraley (Stipendiary Magistrate),
and Mr. Hibbert, had an interview with the Right Hon.
Gathorne Hardy, at the Home-office, yesterday, on the
subject of the recent disturbances in Birmingham.
Despatches were received yesterday at the Colonial-
office from the Governors of Malta, the Straits Settle-
ments, and Heligoland.

ISAUGURATION OF THE ALBERT ORPHAN
ASYLUM BY HER MAJESTY.-(THIS DAY.,

THE CEREMONIAL.

BAUSHOT HEATH, SATURDAY.

The village of Bsgshot, in Surrey, is expected to be
a scene of considerable commotion to-day, owing to the
festive preparations incidental to the inauguration of the
Albert Orphan Asylum by her Majesty the Queen.
The Albert Orphan Asylum, named after the late Prince
Consort, is situated at Collingwood Court, a beautiful and
healthy site upon the Chobham Ridges. The existing build-
ing is an ornamental Italian edifice, to which it is in•
tended to add another wing with dining-hall and
chapel, and the laying of the foundation stone of
this new edifice was the important portion of the
day's procedings. The asylum stands in the midst of
about 200 acres of ground, part of which are cultivated.
The building commands some lovely views and is ap-
proached from the Bagshot Road by an avenue
of some extent and the entrance to which is adorned
by triumphal arches on the present occasion. At
present there are 169 boys and girls in the institution
The boys are trained in horticultural ►nd field labour, and
the girls in domestic work of every kind. The asylum
is about six miles from the Sunningdale station of the
South Western line, and three from the Blackwater sta-
tion of the South Eastern Railway.
For the accommodation of the 2,000 visitors a large cere.
menial marquee was erected at one end of the present
building by Mr. White, of London, and furnished with
tiers of chairs facing the foundation atone and royal dais.
The tent was artistically decorated, and near it was
another in which the Messrs. Staples, of the Albion,
Alderegate-street, had made preparations for lunching
1,000 guests.
A suite of apartments, including reception, dijeuner,
and retiring room, were most tastefully fitted up near the
ceremonial marquee, by Mr. Seaton, of the Hampstead-
road, who, to his great credit, did this at his own expense.
Her Majesty leaves Windsor Castle shortly after :i o'clock
in the afternoon, and drives by road through the park and
so on to the asylum, where the Queen snivel about half-
past 4 o'clock.

Her Majesty will be received at the entranceof the
ceremonial tent by the Right Hon. Gathorne Hardy, Home
Secretary ; the light Hon. H. T. L. Corry, First Lord of
the Admiralty ; the Earl of Lovelace, Lord Lieutenant of
Surrey ; J. More Molyneux, Esq., High Sheriff of Surrey ;
and the Right Rev, the Lord Bishop of Winchester, Bishop
of the Diocese, the band playing the " National Anthem."
The Hon. Secretary V. illiam Williams, Esq., will read
the following address:
" May it please your Majesty,—We, the president, com-
mittee, and friends of the Albert Orphan Asylum, hail
with delight and gratitude your Majesty's condescen-
sion in favouring us with your presence this day.
We humbly desire to express our thankfulness
to the Giver of all good, that he has so long
preserved your Majesty in health, and so graciously in-
dined your Majesty in heart to encourage and to counte-
nance efforts that have for their object the glory of God,
the extension of the Saviour's kingdom, and the spiritual
and social welfare of the destitute poor in your Majesty's
realm ; and we fervently pray, that He to whom all power
is given in heaven and on earth, may long vouchsafe to
your Majesty His grace to will and His power to continue
those acts of Christian effort and benevolence
which have so signally benefited your Majesty's subjects,
commanded the admiration of surrounding nations, and
rendered illustrious your Majesty's reign. The first idea
of this institution occurred to some here present, who,
when sorrowing in common with the rest of the people of
this country for the loss of a prince so esteemed as- your
Majesty's late beloved and lamented Consort, felt that •
suitable and practical memorial of our grief would be the
establishment of an Asylum for Destitute Orphan Children,
selected from a class in which his royal highness had always
taken a great interest—the working men of England; and we
have always fostered the hope that, in consideration of the
illustrious prince whom this institution is intended to cam-
memento, and the class whom it is desired to benefit,
your Majesty would one day sanction the undertaking, by
performing the ceremony we are this day assembled to
witness. We tender our humble thanks to your Majesty
for having so graciously complied with our request, and
for having thus gratified our long-cherished wishes; and
we now beg to hand your Majesty a more detailed report
of the history and object of the institution."
Her Majesty will then lay the foundation stone of the
proposed dining hall and chapel, and will declare the insti-
tution open to receive for all time destitute orphan
children, and to be called " The Albert Orphan Asylum."
After the reading of prayers and the pronouncing of the
benediction by the Bishop of Winchester, the ladies will
parr before her Majesty, laying their purses on the founda-
tion stone, and a list of contributions collected by the
stewards rill be banded to the Queen.
The ceremony was to conclude with the National An-
them, sung by the children of the Asylum and assembled
company, after which her Majesty will retire.

The Earl of Bradford, the Lord Chamberlain,
and the Countess of Bradford were honoured by the com-
pany of the Duchess of Cambridge at dinner last evening
at the family mansion in Belgrave-square. The following
had the honour of dining with her royal highness
Excellency the Austrian Ambassador and the Countess
Apponyi, his Exoellency the Marquis of Abercorn, Emily
Duchess of Beaufort, the Marquis of Hartington,
the Marquis Conyngham, the Earl of Shrewsbury and Lady
Gertrude Talbot, the Earl and Countess Spencer, Lord
Strathnairri, Lady Beillie Hamilton, Hon. Frances Bridg-
man, Sir George and Lady Julia Wombwell, Mr. Baillie
Cochrane, M.P., and Mrs. Cochrane, Mr. Greville, &c.
Covers were laid for 22. Later in the evening the noble
countess had a concert, at which a numerous and fashion-
able company assembled.

- - .
Lord Kenlie entertained at dinner last evening,
at his residence in Grosvenoustreet, his Excellency the
Italian Minister, the Marquis of Waterford, the Earl of
Gafford, the Earl of Bective, Lord Methuen, the Hon.
Spencer Ponsonhy, Mr. Henry Lowther, Colonel Crealock,
the Hon. Lionel Ashley, Hon. Major Henniker, and Mr.
Francis Lowther.

Lady Hoare's ball at Cromwell Houses, South
Kensington, took place last night. Nearly 800 persons of
distinction thronged the saloons, and the carriages had not
discontinued setting down company at half-past 1 o'clock.
The Advertiser states that the Premier is suffer-
ing from severe indisposition. " During the debate raised
on Thursday evening by Earl de Grey and Ripon on mili-
tary administration, Lord Derby was compelled to retire
from the House of Peers, and an attack of the old malady
now confines him to his chamber. It may be some days
before the noble earl is able to resume the active duties of
office."

The four grand gala carriages of Versailles have
been brought to Paris to be placed at the service of the
fiultan daring his ate, in the !mach capital,