The Express.
London, England, 1866-10-12 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 12, 1866.

EXPRESS FROM PARIS.

(MOM OCR OW

PARIS TetrasnAT Evaniro.

That Englishmen have a right to sell a wife forfive
shilling's in Smithfield market is as firmly believed
in France as it is (or at least lately was) believed
in England that all Frenchmen wear wooden shoes
and live principally upon frogs. There is no
'object more ready to the hand of a French
journalist when he wants to contrast French
civilisation with English barbarism than the custom
of wife selling in England. But it would seem
from a paragraph in the Moniteur du Caleafjps that
civilisation is going backwards in France. That
Norman journal states that a peasant who
recently sold his wife for five franca has
been arrested, as well as the purchaser,
and that both are lodged in prison at Caen. I
shall watch the progress of this trial. The lawyer
who can find in the Code Napoleon any article ap-
plicable to such a awe will deserve a high prize
for his ingenuity. The French law punishes
I adultery only at the snit of the husband, and he,
by an extraordinary exception of the penal code,
enjoys the royal prerogative of pardon even after
; a suit commenced. But how a formality of sale
—which is just as null and void in France as in
Smithfield—can involve both the husband and the
. paramour in a misdemeanour cognisable by law I
am at present at a loss to conceive.
The new Chaasepot rifles, now being turned out
with great rapidity, will cost the French govern.
ment exactly double the price of the old weapon
70fr. instead of 35fr.
The Evinement says that Baron James de Rothe-
' child has within the last few days entirely lost the
sight of one eye. It had been ailing for some time,
and several of the most eminent oculists in Europe
tried in vain to save it. The other eye unfortu-
nately shows symptoms of sympathetic affection,
and, it is feared that the great Paris banker, whose
intellectual faculties are yet as vigorous as ever, will
' become totally blind. Baron James is 74 years of
age, but does not look so much.
The Bourse is again depressed. Rente, for ac-
count, fell 15c., closing at 68fr. 65c. Italian fell
; 30c. ; Mobilier, 3fr. 15c. ; and Credit Fonder, 6fr.

STATE ENTRY OF THE PRINCESS DAGMAR
INTO ST. PETERSBURG.

(111011 0111 SPECIAL CO1ILZ810)Imarr.)

ST. PRTERSBI7RG, Oar. 3.
In my last I gave you an account of the Princess
Dagmar's arrival at Peterhoff ; for some days after
her Royal Highness remained at Czarako Selo to
recruit her strength for the state entry into St.
Petersburg, which took place on Saturday, the
26th ultimo. I must begin my description
of that wonderful spectacle by the usual
notice of the condition of that important element
in fetes—the weather. The sun again shone
with a warmth and brilliancy fitted for the best
days of Midsummer, shedding, in the poetical
language of the Journal de St. Peterabourg,
"as it were a visible blessing of the Almighty over
the arrival of the Princess, who had been called to
unite her destiny with that of the heir of a dynasty
towards which Russia has sworn a love the most
respectful and the most absolute, and which she
venerates with such gratitude for the past, her
heart meanwhile filled with the most confiding
hope." It is really quite true, that if that ca-
pricious functionary, " the clerk of the weather,"
had been appealed to by the Emperor of All
the Russian in person, ho could not have
been more polite, or more determined to
show the young flaw& her future home
under a more attractive aspect. It was
therefore under these most propitious circum-
stances that the imperial cortege left Czarsko Selo,
by rail, at half-past 10, on Saturday, and arrived
at the terminus in St. Petersburg about an hour
later. Long before that time, however, dense
crowds had taken possession of all the foot pave-
! ments along the line of the procession. The roofs
of the houses were dotted with spectators, male
and female, and the windows looked like so many
cartes de visite of happy families, young couples,
selfish bachelors, and envious maids. As on all
similar occasions, the troops, two deep, had enough
to do to keep the populace from encroaching on
their position, and there were also the identical
dogs that attend racecourses and other places
of human congregation. The Nevsky—the Regent-
street of St. Petersburg—has, from its length and
width, at all times an imposing appearance, but on
. Saturday it wore an almost magical aspect, and
afforded a antp-tfceil quite unequalled, especially
as the glittering throng rolled on and filled up with
the gayest colours the broad avenue which had been
reserved for it. First of all, or rather first of any
note, came the Circassian body-guard, composed
entirely of Caucasian noblemen. This first troop
was preceded by two officers attired in rich crim-
son velvet tunics, the rest of their uniforms being
of various bright colours, rendered yet more
brilliant by gold embroidery on every available spot.
The love of these fine Asiatics for ornaments of
precious metal is carried so far that at least one of
the body guard had decorated the tail of his horse
with a mosaics silver bracelet. The Lesghians, in
their shirt& of mail, over scarlet coats with black

and silver facings, were however the most attractive
feature of this part of the procession. They were
followed by a Groom of the Chambers, on horse-
back, who preceded twelve valets, six runners, and
eight negroes, in full livery, walking two and two.
After these, the procession was marshalled as
follows :