The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-08 00:00:00

The Emperor of the French at Vichy,

A letter from Vichy, of the 3d, smys—" T nis
bathing place contains at the present moment an
Emperor, a King, a Pasha, and a great nomhe' r of
eminent personages, and 10,000 bathers and. Wi iter
drinkers. The King, however, is on the po in', of
departing. Ascending from the new park, fo 110 w-
ing the capricious windings of the river, o a th e
right are seen the imperial chalets inhabited b. p the
Emperor and his suite, These chalets, six in i mum-
ber, are entered from a fine boulevard of r( .cent
creation. They stand in the middle of spa aious
squares very prettily laid out, and their principal
entrance is at the back, towards the English park.
The ground floor, which is raised on a bases cut
story, consists of a saloon, a dining room, a la rge
bed room, and a study. The first floor is distri'au ted
in nearly the same manner. The chatint at
present occupied by the Emperor, and ,eur-
mounted by the French flig, is nearly the
same as that on the left hand which he
inhabited last year. Besides the Emperor's chalet,
only two others are officially occupied. Imme-
diately to the left is that of the ornerly officers,
while that of the right is appropriated to M. Moc-
guard and his Majesty's cabinet. M. Drouyn de
Lhuys, during his stay at Vichy, also inhabited this
chalet. The other chalets belong to the Marquis
de Clermont-Tonnerre, M. Fould, and M. Ernest
Andres. There is no kitchen in the Emperor's
chalet, and the basement story of the building on
the left hand is appropriated to that purpose, and
an underground passage constantly lighted with gas
forms a communication between the two buildings.
Opposite, on the other side of the Boulevard Napo-
leon 111., is a slip of ground 50 metres long by 24
wide, on which stand eight cottages surrounded by
gardens enclosed by breast-high palisades. Five of
them have been purchased by the Emperor and pre.
sented by him to his friend and physician, Dr. Con.
neau ; M. Lean,his first valet de chambre, an old and
faithful servant; M. Dupuis, first controller; and
M. Felix, first huissier of the palace. The other
three are for sale. Eighteen more cottages are to
be built further on. All these constructions, both
chalets and cottages, of elegant style, built of brick,
stone, and wood, with basements of red cement in-
crusted with pebbles, have a light and cheerful
appearance, and are very pleasing to the eye, being
in perfect harmony with the natural scenery around.
The Emperor rises early, takes a bath at seven,
breakfasts at ten, and dines at five. From half.
past eleven to one, or oven later, his Majesty walks
in the park, like the other bathers, sometimes ac-
companied by General de Beville, at others by the
Marquis de Clermont-Tonnerre, or Colonels the
Marquis de Toulongeen and Count Lepic, his orderly
officers. Wherever he passes the crowd respect-
fully salute him. A day or two ago a little girl,
five years of age, who was selling flowers, offered
the Emperor a carnation, without knowing to whom
she spoke. His Majesty took the flower and gave
her a napoleon, with which she scampered off in
great delight. A similar occurrence took place two
mornings since, when a little boy, who was selling
journals, meeting the Emperor returning from the
bath, offered him the Moniteur du Soir, which was
accepted and paid for with a napoleon, to the young
dealer's unbounded amazement.

The Walpurgis Dance at Washington,

-WRITTEN FOR THE "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS" BY

" ITIIT.TRIEL."

[lt is hardly necessary to hint that " Ithuriel"
is no other for the nonce than Dr. Charles Mackay,
the 7trnes' Correspondent.]

The night was heavy and mirk,
The moon shone dusky red,
The air had an odour of sulphurous smoke
And of corpses newly dead.
And I saw in fact, or dream,
Or both confused in one,
A dance and a revel and maniac rout
Too hideous for the sun ;
And out of it came a cry :
" Blood ! blood ! blood !
" Let the witches' caldron boil
" With a nation's tears for water I
" Blood ! blood ! blood !
" Slabby and thick as mud,
" To sprinkle the hungry soil
" For the carnival of slaughter;"

Beneath the caldron cracked
A pool and whirl of flame,
Around the caldron garnbord and howl'd
A crowd without a name;
Fierce war zealots and preachers,
Buffoons, contractors, thieves,
Liars, blasphemers, and parasites
As thick as the Summer leaves,
And still they clamor'd and shouted,
" Blood ! blood ! blood !
" Let the hell-broth sputter and boil
"'With a nation's tears for water I
" Blood ! blood ! blood !
" Shabby and thick as mud,
" To sprinkle the hungry soil
" For the carnival of slaughter I"

111.
Naked, obeoene and cruel,
They screamed and jibed and roar'd,
They know their God was the Devil,

Their King and Chief and Lord;
And they worshipped at his footstool,
And said, "Thy kingdom come,
" When the world shill be to the strongest
"And be ruled by beat of drum,
"Drum beat and flash of cannon I
" Brood ! Blood ! Blood !
" Let the witches' caldron boil
" With a nation's tears for water I
" Blood ! Blood ! Blood !
" Slabby and thick as mud,
" To sprinkle the hungry soil
" For the carnival of slaughter I"

Iv.
One tall, and bony and lank

Stood forward from the rest,
And told a ribald story

With a leer to give it zest,
And said, " Our fire burns feebly,

" We must pile it up anew;
"Tell me the fuel to feed it with
46 Ye friends and comrades true! "
And they shouted with read rejoicing,
"Blood ! blood ! blood!
"Let the witches' caldron boil
" With a nation's tears for water!
"Blood! Blood! Blood!
Slabby and thick as mud,
" To sprinkle the hungry soil
For the carnival of slaughter I "

He cut down the Constitution
That grew so fair and well,
And chopped the oracioue tree to logs
To feed hie fire of hell.
He threw in the crackling caldron
With a satisfied " Ha: ha I"
Reason and Honor and Ju.stice,
Liberty, Right, and Law;
While his greedy comrades shouted,
" A'ood ! blood ! blood !
". Let the witches' caldron boil
" With a nation's tears for water
" Blood I Kood! Blood!
" Slabby and thick as mud,
" To sprinkle the hungry soil
6' For the carnival of slaughter I"

TI,
i Let the old men dio in their beds,

' Let the children grow and thrive,
6 We crave the blood of the young and strong

' To keep our dance alive.
4 We crave it, and will have it;
Though the wives bewail and mourn,
And the mothers sob in anguish
' O'er the g: eves of their early born,
' 'Tis the afterbli-th of a nation 1'
" Blood ! b4ood ! blood !
" Let the hell-broth sputter and boil
" With a nation's tears for water /
" Blood ! blood ! blood !
" Slabby and thick as mud,
" To sprinkle the hungry 13Dil
" For tho carnival of slaughter I"

vi'.
What more they did and said
New times may render plain,
But if Retribution come not,
Gibbet and rope are vain
Gibbet and rope and dungeon,
Or the whip in honest hand,
To lash such coward dregs and scum
Affrighted through the land.
Meanwhile the streets re-echo
Their furious cry for blood!
And the witches' caldron boils
With a nation's tear for water !
Blood! Blood! Blood!
Slabby and thick as mud,
And debts and troubles and toils,
And the carnival of slaughter.

SECOND EDITION.

SUN OFFICE, HALF-PAST 4 O'CLOCK.

GERMANY.

FRANKFORT, Aug. 6.—The Legislative Body of
this city at its sitting yesterday gave its unanimous
adhesion to the customs union based on the Franco-
Prussian Treaty of Commerce.

THIRD EDITIOIi-

SUN OEFICE, SEVEN O'CLOCK.

TATT-ERSALL'S—This Evenings

"WOLVERHAMPTON STARES.
Even on Dollar (taken)

GREAT EBOR HANDICAP.
4to 1 agst East Lancashire (taken)
7to 1 ag6t Caller Oa (taken)

ST. LEGER.
7 to 4 agst Blair Athol (offered)
3 to 1 agst General Peel (taken and offered)
100 to S agst Baragah (taken)

ARRIVALS AT WOIXERIIA MPTON.
t 'Revolver, Blendin, Spring Gun, Sloth, Tourterelle,
Dollar, Contract, Major, Anna, Prosperity, Spain, Attache,
King of Greece, and Victorious.

ARRIVALS AT HUNTINGDON,
Fanfreluche, Equinox, Vicksburg, Regina, Corsica,
Jack Jukes, Nebula, Vedette filly, Cordelia, Duchess,
Alea, His Royal HiAhness, Echo, Munchausen, Ram-
rod, Merry Hart, King Cotton, BaUerdash, Marigold,
Batsman, Vision, Wicket, Aurelian, Lady Florence, Sister
to Blarney, Bowzar colt, King Arthur, Belleisle, Scent,
Balham's dam filly.

HUNTINGDON RACES.—Carriages will be placed on the
train that leaves liing's-cross at 10 o'clock, and stop at
Huntingdon.

CHLOROFORM MISADVENTURES.

(From Ma Medical Times airs' Gazette.)
We don't in the least object to professional responsibility.
When a man does any given act, on the due performance of
which hangs the life of a fellow-creature, he ought to be
and to feel himself answerable for any bad consequences'
which may:follow from want of care and skill. But then he
must have discretionary powers to match ; he must be a free
agent and not a mere tool of others, and must have his hands
quite unshackled in all that relates to his department. Any
one who administers chloroform will do well to bear this in
mind for the future, and may take more than one useful hint
from the proceedings at a late inquest at St Mary's Hos-
pital. It was a great toe case—an operation highly painful,
but not dangerous to life, and unluckily not surrounded
with surgical interest which begets intense caution at every
step. It was, too, just on that part of the body which is
shown to retain its morbid sensibility the longest. The
chloroform was administered, and in a short time the
patient was found to be dead. The post mortem ex-
amination showed that there was fatty degeneration of the
heart, which would enfeeble its action. Mr Edwards, the
chloroformist, said ho examined the chest of the patient be-
fore the operation, and although he thought him an un-
favourable subject, he thought he had not the right to re-
fuse chloroform, as he was called upon to do so. On the
otherhand, Mr. A. B. Wall, who had attended the patient
many years, thought there was no extra risk ; neither did
Mr. Lane, who significantly said that Mr. Edwards
had 'not expressed any unfavourable opinion of the
patient, and that if he had he would have
been relieved of the responsibility of administer-
ing the chloroform ; for, of course, if the surgeons had de-
termined on giving it after hearing his objections, they
would have taken on themselves a responsibility which was
plainly inferred now rested with the chloroformist. The
jury, after along consultation, returned a verdict affirming
that the patient died "from the mortal effects of chloroform,
administered whilst he was labouring under organic disease
of the heart, and that the said death arose from misad-
venture." Not much in this, some may think; but they
would be wrong. The verdict is not a verdict of " acci-
dental death," but implies a grave censure, and so we once
heard it laid down by the late Mr. Wakley at an inquest un
a death from the same cause. "In a case of misadventure
(a) the law presumes negligence, or at least a want of suffi-
cient caution in him who was so unfortunate as to commit
it; who, therefore, is not altogether faultless." But the
law books show a number of fine shades by which what is
"misadventure" at one time may be "manslaughter" at
another ; so chloroformists had better beware in time, and
take care that their degree of responsibility is clearly laid
down, and that a commensurate degree of authority go
therewith.

It will never do for the future that the chloroformist shall,
on the one hand, find himself saddled with a verdict of mis-
adventure ; and, on the other, that he shall be able to say to
the jury, as Mr Edwards did, "My duty is only to give the
chloroform, and I know nothing of the patient." The first
point every chloroformist ought to have cleared up is, who is
responsible for the patient's fitness? All justice and common
sense show that this usually lies at the door of the persons
who know the patient, and have treated him, and recom-
mend an operation. It is absurd to require a young man,
called upon to administer chloroform to a dozen patients in
succession whom he has never before seen, to pronounce
off-hand that each has no organic disease of the heart. In
this very case the practitioner who had attended the de-
ceased for years, and the surgeon who operated, knew
nothing of it, and it would be preposterous to censure Mr
Edwards on this ground. It is quite clear that some one
ought to be called on to say whether a patient is or is not
fit to take chloroform, and that if this is to be the task of
the chloroformist, he ought to be called in in consultation
beforehand, and enabled to learn all the patient's history.

But with respect to this "disease of the heart." Let us
be frank ;—it is a little too like the "cat in the cupboard"
that devours the cream and breaks the crockery.
What are the evidences of diseased heart? Breathless-
ness, faintness, angina, or even gouty palpitation ? But
if these be evidence, where is the person past middle
life who has a sound heart P If we except the most
athletic young men in the prime of life, where is the
man whose heart would not, if it could be got at, betray
"traces of fatty degeneration ?" As for the fat and lazy
men, the lean and haggard over-anxious men, the studious
sedentary men, and the fast men,—the women of all ages
who lead town lives, the " motherly;women," full• bosomed,
the "fat, fair, and forty, or "fat, puffy, and sixty," and the
people of either sex who have bees long ill or bedridden,—
what kind of hearts have they ? We cannot see the heart,
but we can see the calves of the legs, and judge that what
makes the one wasted and soft will not spare the other.
Then if we recollect the tricks of acute rheumatism and
gout, we suspect that there are not 6 per cent of the popu-
lation above 30 whose hearts, if carefully cut up, would no
betray some " traces of fatty degeneration," to solace the
misadventures of the chloroformist. And are all these, the
suffering and invalid part of our race, par excalence, to be
denied chloroform in labour, or operation, or injury ?
Most assuredly not. 'We entreat our dear brethren the
chloroformists just to take for granted that all hearts are
fatty, and to take their time ; and then the patient will be
safe, though his heart be ricketty, and there will be no mis-
adventure. The chloroformist must make himself master cf

the situation. He ought to have the imperturbability of a
Turk, and be as incapable of hurry as a German postillion.
It is the fifth operation of the day I the theatre is crammed
the air vaporous and carbonised! the students anxious to
get off to their afternoon lecture I 'and one of the great
ornaments of surgery, who has a dozen consultations before
dinner, waits to get his last operation done ! Never mind.
The ohlorofermist should not budge an inch. The opera-
tor must wait for him. The timid young practitioner at-
tends Lady Frail at her dentist's, and spares her ladyship's
consciousness the horrors of feeling a stump extracted. The
patient is a little flurried, and sitting upright—all bad for
chloroform. She gets a little noisy. "Can't you push
it ?" says the dentist, looking at his watch, Take
your time, good chloroformist, we Bay, or there will be
a misadventure. Entice the patient into sleep, slowly
and gently. He cannot resist even a feeble
vapour if given long enough. Pot your faith in
the rule of three. If 3 per cent. of vapour
will stop a degenerate heart in four minutes, halve the vapour
and double the time and the heart will not Stop.
Fe Put this label on your chloroform bottle,
and there will be an end of misadventure.