The Express.
London, England, 1868-07-02 00:00:00

►i'HHIRI) EDITION.

OUR PARIS LETTER.

SIR ROBERT NAPIER IN PARIS.

(THOM UCH OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, WEDNESDAY EVENING.
If the hour Of General Sir Robert Napier's
,•rival at thl• Lyons railway station, on his way
..,ut Marseille, 1,. England—where a grat•ia:

nation 111 Wlllllllgto 191111tV 111111119 the auctio,sfit:
',inkr of a campaign of no ordinary difficulty and
,holgcr, 1111101 has renewed. the renown of tho
bad het n publicly announced, thor..l
tl.,,a,ands of liritish rc<i.lents anti visitors in
and twiny I,i cuclinnat. who would not
;tudgeil to i-a-s Iwo', in :1 crowd only :Too
lb, (lance of Linn a transient. glimpo.

i lii iraturr. LOl.O Of M v.741,111t p %.,L. 1

:Jong in a, cal Thank.: to Lund Lywis, wli,)
NVatCht S $i I ri i nity to fulfil his
oi :!.i. l: ^; N%:ty poßs.l,!e, an 1

to nu f.ii , ti>.,l ~-I::r.iittt•e, who list' to art in a
to-,Hy tow of a Itrivili•goil
,ttly 1., rause short
Judi., l.i.•vtlitra prit.y others from taking iltlvitil-
-I;..gt• of ti.c (Trott unity to :LI ltiCillatl•
r. tie ruception wltirli awaits Sir Itobert Nitpirr in
. .

England, by pre., ut lug hint with a eutigTatulatory
behalf of the British residnits in Paris.

,sir Robert Napier received the deputation in
tlw Yellow Drawing-room, on the first-floor of
the Einhasy.

The address, presented and read by Captain
J.vueli. R.N., was in the following terms:
%p„ General Sir Robert Napier, G.C.8., K. 5.1., Cora-
u,..udet-tvt-Chief of the army lately engaged in Abyssinia.
Sir, Your excellency's arrival among us, 111 route to
=•urns a fitting opportunity to offer to
Not& mum congratulations on your safe re-
win t" Europe hum your Abyssinian campaign.
Ire s t!,l.etl your progress with deep interest,
I.lt tt, difticultica you had to contend with, and
selatintthe consummate skill, determination, and judg-
r.rt with which you led the gallant mon under your com-
e:awl to a successful termination of one of the most ex-
toootinary campaigns in military history. The nations
of Europe have seen that England is deterred by no ob-
stacles in redressing the wrongs of her countrymen, and
it will doubtless be gratifying to you to be assured that
the feeling of admiration and esteem which has prompted
us to address you has been shared by the great and gene-
-11.A12 nation among whom we have our temporary homes.
—We have the honour, &c.
Sir Robert, in thanking the deputation most
cenlially for the address, said he should bo inex-
cusably vain if he took to himself any very large
portion of credit for the success of the expedition.
He attributed that success to the admirable quali-
ties of the officers and soldiers whom it had boon
Lis happiness to command. He was very proud
to think that the campaign conducted under his
orders had met the wishes and fulfilled the expec-
tations of the nation. Ile could safely say that
much as they had all desired that liberation of the
itrisoncr.s which h•ul been accomplished, they
Lad all along the honour of the nation still
more at heart. Ile himself, his officers,
and his men, had steadily resolved to shrink from
no sacrifice, whether of life, health, or comfort, to
fulfil their duty, and attain the object in view.
And he was persuaded that so long as England
had such soldiers as he had seen in Abyssinia there
there was no task which the interest of the country
might require which the British army could not
fulfil. It had been sometimes said that the British
soldier could fight but not work. This axiom was
strikingly contradicted by the Abyssinian cam-
paign, lweanse the soldier might be said to have
built a bridge four hundred miles long, which
was traversed to lead to victory. It was a
distinguished feature of that campaign that
the whole success of it depended upon the line of
communication being kept unbroken as long us it
lasted for 400 miles.
Sir Robert then bowed, and the deputation
withdrew. Three ladies only attended, and to their
very great delight an aide-de-camp called them
dock from the top of the staircase to say that the
general would lie very happy to show them some
photographs of Abyssinia. Sir Robert Napier,
who is a plain. unassuming, hut not like
Marc Anthony a blunt'' man, for he
I:as a ren at kably soft voice, entertained
these holies a long time. he and his military /mere-
I:try, et donel Dillon, showing them photographs of
Blamlida, of the British camp in various positions, a
ketelt of the Emperur Theodorus taken immediately
after his death—not, by the way, at all the face
of a barbarian, and some most curious Abyssinian
missal, illustrated in a style of art by no means
eentemptible.
tits lida•rt Napier leaves Paris for England, via
Calais, tilts evening.
Very wild reports fly about as to the expense
of military raal.(euvres. It was lately stated in
all the pals-r.. and, although it has never been
publicly contradicted, I am sure the news cannot
be true, that the general commanding the handful
of troops in the Saint Maur camp blew away
powder to the value of 1,6001. in s single after-
noon. The proportion of the exaggeration may
judged of by a coininuniqui from government
to the Opinion Nationale, correcting an assertion
of that journal that the " grand manceuvres "
executed before the Emperor, on Thursday last,
test snore than 36,0001. The Muniteur says, the
whole extra expense for the troops of all
/11118 did not exceed 90/. The ordinary military
expenditure of France so much complained of in
the Corps Legislatif, not only by the opposition
but by liegemen of the guvenuuent like M. Louvet,
is so heavy that opposition papers which tell ridi-
culous stories about the extraordinary expenses,
only divert attention front the real, the terrible
the standing grievance.

The fourth and lust representation of the (Prge
at lime. Viardot's villa at Baden took place last week
and was honoured by the presence of the Queen of
Prussia, the Grand Duchess of Eiden, Princess William
I Baden, Prince Ilerinann of Saxe-Weimar, Prim*ases
Rotsehoubey and Belozelsky, Count and Countem de
I hnouiug, General Richter, the ladies of the court, and
va..telowd of fashionables. Mme. Viardnt received the
1.. Hour.. of the evening in her triple capacity of composer,
aim:trews. Three new moreeaux of here were
"•,..lu..ed—a comic air for l'aul Viardot, • trio for
v..iees, and an instrumental introduction to the

:lint
Tiitt WAlleft VELOCIPEDE.—Art ingenious aP-
riseoos of the principle of the velocipede to water-loco-
motiop now be seen on the Lake of Enguien, near
A arts_ The form of this new species of naval construction
is that it fiw twin ship tried some years back on the
Theme', thb Ini4ive power being placed in the middle in-
'feed of on 111,1. side as in ordinary Paddle eteeinera. A
pair of hollow water-tight pontoons, about 12 feet long, 10
iochos wide !h.. thickest part, and tapered to a point at
each end. are fastened together about twenty inches apart
by trensverse furs near the extremities. In the centre is
Plated the best, ridng about two feet above the water, and
"Mort.llll iron rods. In front is the paddlewheel, about
three fret in diameter and eight inches broad, proyid
with eixteen floats, the axle turning on stout iron uprights,
and the rotary motion being obtained from cranks
worked by the feet. This little venal is steered by rudders
at each of the sterns, and moved by lines. The pontoons
Lein; made of thin mahogany planks, the whole construe-
lion is very light, and glides along with astonishing rapi-
dity. This water velocipede, having been built as a first
experiment, is no doubt susceptible of improvement in
some of its details but the principle may be already. pro-
nounced a complete success. The inventor is M. Tluerry,
as architect, of Paris.—Golignani.