The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-11-11 00:00:00

PARIS.

Insoat OCR CORATSPOWDZYT.I
Posts, Nov. 8.
I mentioned to you in my last letter, that the arrest of
M. Cousin, by the Prussian Government, was attributed
to his having been denounced to the Prussian police by
M. Tronchet ; this fact is now established beyond a doubt.
The situation of M. Cousin has excited, as I before observed,
deep interest at Court. M. de Corbierea is the only per-
son who is of opinion that the French Government ought
not to interfere in favour of the young Professor. N. de
Dames, First Gentleman of the King's Chamber, has
taken this scandalous affair much to heart; and the
Dauphin, who has evinced the most generous solicitude fin
M. Cousin, has insisted on seeing the despatches of the
Minister of Foreign Atrairs, to ascertain whether or not
they were drawn up in sufficiently strong terms. Unfor-
tunately the liberty of M. Cousin appears greatly to de-
pend, at this moment, on the success of the Prussian
claims of indemnity, which have been presented in such
an absolute and imperative tone, that there is great
reason to believe that the Prussian Government is resolved
to push things to extremity, and that it feels it will be
supported by some other Power. At the date of the last
despatches M. Cousin was strictly guarded at an inn; but
it is to be feared that his situation has since become mote
distressing, on account of his weak health.
Our police is not content with denouncing country-
men, abroad, Sc Foreign Governments, but it employs all
its invention to fabricate conspiracies at home, to make the
King believe that his life is in danger, anti to prevent his
appearing in public with confidence and assurance of se-
curity. The fact reported in the Courrier Fralica;s of to-
day (the Bth), respecting the bre, •!les de nitwits aux trois
coidetirs (the tri-coloured riband braces), will give you
some idea of the paltry manoeuvres its agents are capable
of resorting to. The transaction is reported with ti e
greatest exactitude. The agent of the police, who figured
in this scandalous conspiracy against a respectable citizen,
is one Dubois, who is under the immediate orders of
Rousset, the Commissaire de Police for the Luxembourg
district in I'aris; but it is not to facts of this kind that the
inventive genius of M. Franchet confines its operations.
The following is another instance of his powers of imagina-
tion. On the day following that on which the King ap-

prated so unexpectedly in the midst of his people in the
galleries of the Louvre, and inspected the whole of the
exhibition of paintings, on which occasion he met with the
most enthusiastic demonstration of the public affection for
his person, an individual was arrested in the Cafe de la
Bourse, who is a pretended retired Captain, named Noel,
and upon whom was found—what? a note addressed to a
person at the Court, conceived in the following alarming
terms:—"Je pu executer lc coup tiler au metre; it chit
trcp loin." (I was not able to strike the blow yesterday at
the Museum ;he was too far off.) This affair has not yet
been made public, but the depositions have been taken.
It is believed that this artifice has been considered by the
Minister Corbieres as too grossly and stupidly planned,
arid that it will not therefore be made public.
The Archbishop of Paris (M. Quclin) has just published
a Mandate, in consequence of the stealing the sacred pyx
and other articles from the cliureli,of Sur. snes, a village
near Paris. This Mandate shows the impatience with
which the clergy look for a new law agairst sacrilege.
The robbery atSuresnes came very appropriately to furnis:i
them with an occasion for pressing the subject, and they have
not failed to profit by it. The Archbishop has introduced into
his ceremony of expiatien for sacrilege the most extraordi-
nary pomp and solemnity. It is remarkable that robberies of
this kind were never so numerous as within the last two or
three years ; and it is equally remarkable, and there is
scarcely one example of a saciilegious rubber havin3 been
taken into custody. This singular circumstance has tended
to excite doubts in the public mind as to the reality of
these reported robberies. Sonic people are disposed to be-
lieve, that a sort of pious fraud is committed in these in-
stances by the clergy. It is now some time since these ar-
tifices have been put into practice, particularly in the south
of France. In the poor villages, where the sacred vases
are generally either copper-plated or washed with silver,
they arc frequently stolen ; a collection is then set on toot
to purchase others, which often disappear in the Same man-
ner as the former ; a new collection takes place, and, by
playing the trick over three or four times, as the collection
usually exceeds the cost of the original copper vases, a fund
is at length raised for purchasing silver vases for the
altar, and when once this point is gained the robbers
disappear.

A fine pedestrian statue of Charles X. was yesterday ex-
hibited in the large room leading to the long gallery in the
Louvre. Ilia Majesty is represented in his regal robes,
which are studded withfleurs-ile-lis; the folds of the drapery
are bold and graceful. The head, which is au nuturcl, is
well done, and is a fine spirited likeness. His Majesty is
holding the Charle in his right hand, his left reposed on
his sceptre, which, with the crown, is supported on a
cushion. The lout ensemble is majestic and imposing, and
may be considered a masterly pit ce of modern sculpture.
The king's journey to Compvigne leads the public to
expect a paitial change in the ministry. This was the
custom under the uncial regime. it is remembered that it
was during a journey made by Louis XV. to Chuisy that
the Duke de Choiseul was disiiiis*ll from office.
1 Tare before mentioned, that my letters are frequently
quoted in the Frcue't papers as being extracted from the
Morning Chronicle, the Times, and other London journals,
which I suppose copy them front you without acknow-
ledging from whence they obtain them. The article I sent
you reipecting M. Depouilly, the silk manufacturer, is
to-day copied verbatim into the Courrier Frunea::, as front
the ..If..r tin; Chrunick.

••• Our Correspondent does not seem to admire the freedom with
which tea contemporaries r ppropriute our good things to themselves.
We hare supplied nearly the whole of them fur some months with
Pori: news. Sometimes they take the trouble to alter a few sentences,
and give the ankle a fresh appearance, het of course there are only
the fsets we furnished them. Bat inure frequently ,he letter is copied
exactly as we give it originally. Our Curetspontlevt alludes parti.
eidarly to this comniunicatioti respecting the French silk trade, which
he twin,' copied at full length into the Chronicle. In the saute paper
of yestesilay he will find his last letter about 31. Cousin, which we
publistoil the day before. We might iu justi, oto except the Srtu
from the nullity, of those which borrow twin us without leave anal
without acknowledgment.

Th. late banking-house in Bond-streat was fitst sot up
between 50 and GO years ago by Messrs. Here:, and Birch,
gentlemen more respected for th•-ir prod puce in business
than for the extent of their property, although that, too.
was respectable ; afterwards a Mr. Hobbs, their Chief
Clerk, was admitted as a partner. and so the firm remained
till tla death of `lr. Hercy, when it was alter:al to Birch
and Hobbs, in which it continued for a considerable
number of years; and at last, ul.im the demise of Mr.
Hobbs, Mr. Chambers, who had also been a clerk, came in
as partner with Mr. Birch, who died in twZo.
There is at present existing at Sampford Peverll, Devon,
a r:•markable instance of longevity ; there are four men
employed in conveying coal to and irmi•. Taunton, whose
united ages 3/1101111t 313.