The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-26 00:00:00

the rapacity of the invaders. Some dark mystery
has apparently been in the background thus to
enable such a desperate wrong to be wrought in
this enlightened ege in the most civilised part of
the world. If it be impossible altogether to fathom
the recesses and scrutinise the causes which have
combined to produce such disastrous effects, we
cannot shut our eyes to the fact that we have bees
witnesses of that disgraceful passage in history ;
we have taken a retrograde step in a path when
we were bound to go forward. If hope bade the
world farewell for a season at the fall of Poland, the
rights of nations in their integrity and independence
were extinguished in a great measure by the tame
and truckling course pursued towards Prussia
during the recent contest. It is not likely that
the smal;er States of Germany will now be willing
to place themselves under the guidance, or live in
amity with a kingdom that has shown itself so
fertile in resources to dupe and cajole, and so merci-
less in its bitter revenge when its wrath bas been
roused by resistance. This affair of the Duchies
may eventually be a boon on the minor States, for
it may warn them to look to themselves and not
take the word of a treacherous friend, who may be
a covert foe of the worst description. Some
people may think that the worst of the war is over,
and thus seek to put away unpleasant reflections,
but the truth is that the fatal effects have as yet
hardly begun to show themselves. It is never during
the first shock of an event, in all the excitement
or irritation that the intelligence arouses, that we
can judge of a change or feel its bitter consequences.
It is time that brings this knowledge, as well as
many other pieces of information, to our minds,
and thus the nations of Europe have still to witness
the results of this busy year in the sad and still
period of reaction. When the conviction steals
upon the minds of observers that a double game
has been played, then may we expect a second state
of transition to arise. It is idle to expect that,
with all the interests and influence at work, one or
two kingdoms will be allowed to usurp the progress
of emancipation and the cause of freedom which
have gradually but surely been extending their way
through the people of many lands. It is not in the
terr)rs of revolution, or the fire of popular exaspe-
ration, that the real foundations of freedom
are laid; it is rather in the still voice of
wisdom that the tidings are preached that
lead to improvement and renovation. Some
such benign influences seemed at work in the
centre States of Europe for some years past, but
unhappily a check has been interposed. It now
remains to see how long this intrusive cgency will
be suffered to work irs evil way, but there can be no
doubt that the day will come when Austria and Preis
sia will find their powers of no avail in con trolliog
and guiding those lesser States which they were
fondly tempted to sway with no delusive rule.
The tyranny end the recklessness displayed so
manifestly in all the dealings with the Dachiee,
the Danes, and all the invaded territories, and
attacked people, have been confirmation strong of
the original intention and deep-laid schemes of the
aggressors. It is to be hoped that this proposition
of Wurtemberg will be carried into effect, and thus
some barrier interposed to the insidiLui and en-
croaching progress of Prussia. Nothing can be
better than to forestal her at once in every possible
way, for there can be no doubt that unless some very
striking proofs of resistance are evidenced without
delay, the course of events will hurry along until
it will take a vast deal of time and trouble to arrest
the progress that misguided and mischievous king-
dum is making so rapidly in the wrong direction.

"I! n'y a plus de Pyrenees" exclaimed the Grand
Monarque, on a memorable occasion, but the words,
instead of preceding the ultimate union of the
two countries in peace and plenty, foretold the
desolation cf the War of Succession, and the general
disturbance of Europe. The two great countries
or either side of the mountain range has, since his
day, been at least similar in discord, in bloodshed,
and in misgovernment. For many years, indeed,
their fates were closely entwined under the First
Empire, but still the moral as well es the physical
Pyrenees reared themselves immovably between the
grave, vengeful Spaniard, and the reckless, mer-
curial Frenchman. It remained for our own day
to see the prophecy brought to an actual fulfil■
merit, through the mighty agency of that inventive
skill, that potent application, that enterprising
science which so peculiarly distinguishes cur time.
The snows of the Pyrenees, indeed, are still there,
and wayfarer and wanderer may lose themselves' if
they will, among the pathless wastes, or amid their
deep crevasses; but, nevertheless, a line of com-
munication has been opened so direct, so rapid,
and so certain, that he who sees one sun set in
Paris may see the next but rise on Madrid. and the
pleasure seeker, with but a few leisure days, may,
if he will, take a trip to " the airy and bright.
minded city of the Seine," and thence to the stately
old Castilian capital, without so much delay as he
world formerly have experienced in getting from
London to Edinburgh or Glasgow. An excursion
train between Paris and Madrid ! Very certainly
the Grand Monarque never contemplated such an
illustration of his aphorism, a triumph which all the
victories of TURENNE never equ %lied, an achieve.
went which all the engineering skill of VAUBAN
never devised. Our sober modern days cto eclipse
the brilliancy of that hear less reign after all ;
and if our cannon balls are less active than in his
time, our iron is put to better purpose. The great
invention of the nineteenth c2ntury will prove a
valuable auxiliary to the great invention of the
fifteenth. Ready communication will remove those
prejudices and antipathies which militate so much
against the mutual welfare of nations, and will
educate and enlarge the sympathies of one com-
munity by a glimpse of the ways and feelings of
another. It is very difficult to give a faithful
picture of the tone end spirit that animates a civi-
lieed life, and the most conscientious traveller re-
fleets it but faintly in his pages. Englishmen have
often had occasion to smile at a Frenchman's at-
tempt to represent English life and manners on the
stage, or in the feuilleton, but oar continental neigh.
boars may as frequently been tempted to smile at
an English transcript of the sayings and doings of
their vivacious nation. Countries further removed
by distance, and less on a par by education, must
naturally understand each other still less. It is
easy enough to describe the life of the prairie or
the backwoods in a few brief phrases, but the subtle
influences of a European existence, whether of
States or individuals, is less easily caught.
Now, when a few hours' easy and commodi.
ous journey places the forces of one county
within reach of another, it will be more
difficult for nations to cherish those animosities and
misunderstandings which sow the seed of war. The
visit of the King of SPAIN to Paris has been a
source of fruitful speculation to the political gossips
of the French capital, but its chief importance is
undoubtedly owing to the mode of the journey.
Royal expeditions are in our day no novelty, but a
trip through the Pyrenees is certainly an achieve-
ment not to be overlooked even in this age of
wonders. The inauguration of the North of Spain
Railway, at San Seb istian, was something more
than a mere empty ceremoni 1,), and it was not
wanting in an arator to descant upon the "idea" of
the occasion. M. IIAAC PEREIRE, in addressing

the King of SPAIN, found =IA opportunity for
indulging in those lofty generalities which French
speakers are fond of employing, and which in this
instance were not too large for their subject. The
rapid transit of produce, benefitting trade and
commerce, the free expansion of ideas and ready
interchange of sympathies between the two great
peoples of France and Spain, were all dwelt upon,
while the hopeful signs of union and progress which
were perceptible in the prosperous results of so
arduous an undertaking, formed part of his com-
plementary address. If we congratulate our-
selves," said the speaker, " upon these pacific con-
vests, it is because they powerfully second the
religious tendency of societies to unite their forces
towards a common end. Oa all sides the way is
opened by treaties, whose first result will be the free
exchange of the various products with which nature
has gifted each country," The material obstacles
previously by nature herself being now removed,
or rather evaded, commerce will, he thinks, have
free scope; and looking on the successful termination
of such prolonged and arduous labours, the happy
discharge of so great a responsibility, the speaker
might well be allowed to be sanguine in his antici-
pations of the future. The works of the past have
been safely brought to a conclusion, what c-Aise,
then, had he to distrust the prospect be:ore him.
We heartily congratulate our continental friends on
the accomplishment of their arduous design, and
trust that it may fulfil their most confident auguries,
for the patience, the industry, and the scientific
skill which have completed so vast an undertaking,
deserve a more substantial realisation of their visions
than any which followed the premature prophecy
of LOUIS MATORZE.

Confederate Werking.

d-- -

St. James's Church, PiccadP:iy, was yesterday the scene
of a romantic episode in the fratricidal war now raging on
the American continent ; as at the altar of that sacred
edifice Miss Belle Boyd, whose name and fame are de-
servedly cherished in the Southern States, pledged her
troth to Mr Saul Wylde Hardinge, formerly an officer in
the Federal naval service. The marriage attracted to the
church a considerable number of English and American
sympathisers in the cause of the South, anxious to see the
lady whose heroism has made her name so famous, and to
witness the result of her last captivity, the making cap-
tive of the Federal officer under whose guard she was
again being conveyed to prison, Miss Boyd, it will be re-
membered, is the Virginian lady who, during the terrible
scenes enacted in the Valley of the Shenandoah, rendered
such essential service to Gen. Stonewall Jackson, by pro-
curing for him information of great value as regards the
position and condition of the Northern forces, and who
signalised her devotion to the cause of her country by so
many other services. Capture and imprisonment did nos
damp her adventurous and patriotic ardour, as she was
twice humored, once for seven mouths, and once for ten
months. She was again seized, and while on board a
Federal vessel on her way to the North, made the ac-
quaimance of Lieut. Hardinge, with whom, having crossed
the Atlantic, she has entered into the bonds of matrimony.
Mr Hardinge needs no excuse for the step he has taken in
renouncing his allegiance to the Federal cause, and
espousing the fair "rebel" whom he has now sworn to
love, honour, and cherish. Though in obedience to the
wishes of his father he served for some time in the Fede-
ral navy, in which service he rose to be lieutenant, his
Southern sympathies were notorious in the North, where
it was well known that he had long tendered his resignation,

which Mr Secretary Welles refused to accept, and thus he
was forced to continue in a service which he would gladly
have renounced long since. Though more than suspected
of Southern sympathies, he kept his word when he pr.anised
the executive of the Federal navy that the name be bore—
s name which had descended to him from a long line of
ancestors in Great Britain and America—should not be dia•
graced, and proved his readiness to perform his duty on
many occasions, especially by heading a body at 120 men,
sent ashore to storm a breach at Wilmington, and capturing
the fort, though, when the muster-roll was called alter.
wards only 25 survivors could respond. He did not escape,
as he received a severe wound in the cheat, and will carry
his honourable scar to the grave. Having now finally
qvtitted the service of President Lincoln's Government, he
intends to signalise his devotion to Secessia by entering the
ranki of her army, and thus winning his way to confidence
and that command which his birth and education give him
a right to expect. The command he might long sitce have
obtained, for, although only 22 years of age, a major's own-
mission in the Federal army was offered him as the price of
,he renunciation of his intended wife and his. Southern
sympathies.

The bride was attended to the altar by Mrs Edward
Robinson Harvey, the bridegroom by Mr Henry Howard
Barber, and the marriage service was read by the Rev.
:llr Paull, of St James's Chit-eel, in a manner which deeply
impressed all present with the solemn nature of the contract
entered into. AmongrA the friends of the bride and bride-
groom, and of the confederate cause, who attended were
the Hon. General Williams, formerly United States Minister
at Constant'aople ; the Hon. J. O'Sullivan, formerly
Minister from Washington at Lisbon; Major Hughes, of
the Con.iederate army ; Captain Fearn, Confederate army ;
the Rev, Frederic Kill Harford (who gave the bride away) ;
Mr Keen Richards, of Kentucky; Mr Henry Hodge, Mr
Warren Adams, Mrs Paull, Madame Cerbelle Reay, &o.
At the conclusion of the ceremony the bride and bride-
groom and their friends proceeded to the Brunswick Hotel,
Jerwyn_street, where a choice and well-arranged breakfast
was partaken of, and at a fitting moment, towards the con-
clusion, Mr Barber, in a most elcquent speech, proposed
the health of Mr and Mrs Hardinge, eulogising the services
the lady had performed, and prognosticating that the bride-
groom would soon win fame in the service on which ho is
about to eater, The toast, as maybe anticipated, was received
with much delight, and was replied to by both bride and
bridegroom, who expressed their acknowledgments to the
many ti lends they had found in this country. The toast of
" The Queen" was afterwards given by Capt. Fearn, who
assured the English portion of his hearers that her Majes y
was greatly revered in all parts of the Southern States of
America, an assertion which was most warmly corrobo-
rated by all present who were qualified to speak from ex-
p ;rience, "President Davis and General Lee," and many
other toasts followed in due order, till the growing hours
warned the bride and bridegroom that it was time to depart
for Liverpool. Mr Hardin-6e Purposes, in a few days, to
leave fur the South, Walther, in spite of the blockade, he
intends to convey a goodly portion of the wedding-cake, for
distribution among his wife's friends,

Lord Kinnaird's Entertainment to the

Dundee Sweeps,

The Dundee Advertiser describes an interesting event--
the entertainment tt, Rossi° Priory, of the Dundee chimney-
sweeps and their families, the whole party numbering forty-
two individuals :
""The 'l..us halted, with great cheering, at the west
trout of the Priory, about twelve o'clock. Here they
received a cordial welcome from Lord and Lady Kinnaird.
1-he party then took a saunter through a portion of the ex-
tensive policies, landing at the ancient chutch of Rossie.
The inscriptions in the kirkyard' were scanned with
interest, and the interior of the now restored church being
open to the party, proved a great attraction. The beautifut
marble effigies of the late Masters Victor and Charles led
to much serious observation. The children here began to
Sing Rest for the weary,' which had a beautiful and
startling ethet in the place. After a further saunter, the
company sat down on the grass at the cricket-ground,
and, after a blessing was asked by the sweeps chaplain,
they were suitably entertained to a substantial dinner.
Atter dinner they were swinging at various kinds of swings,
and various gymnastic exercises were engaged in by old and
Young. Races were run, and also games of fcotball, &C.,
engaged in, the prizes being handsome pocket Bibles.
The juveniles were all supplied with toys. Lady Kin-
naird emptied a large basket of mixtures not only among
the juveniles, but also the adults. In the course of the
afternoon a visit was paid to the fruit and fbwer gardens.
Lady Kinnaird also conducted sections of the party
through the house. On all being again assembled at the
cricket ground an exoellent tea was served, after which
Mr Charles Dye, on behalf of the party proposed a hearty
vote of thanks to Lord Kinnaird for his very great kind-
ness at this time, and also for the famous festival he pro-
vided for them in Dundee last winter. His lordship re-
plied. He said he was very much pleased with the
appearance they presented, especially the wives and children.
He said wo were all the children of the same Heavenly
Father, and the same Saviour died for us all. God in His
good providence had blessed him with means, and he felt
bound to do what he could with them for the advantage of
others. Nothing gave him greater pleasure than seeing
others happy. He was happy to-day in seeing them at the
Priory, and he was sure that they were all thoroughly
satisfied that they could spend a day happily without
whisk). (Cheers.) An interesting conversation ensued
between Lord Kinnaird and several of the party, of a kind
not usually seen in the columns of a newspaper. At the
cicee the chimneysweeps, as by one instinctive impulse,
went and shook hands with his lordship, and as the vehicle
was about to leave hearty cheers were given to Lord and
Lady Kinnaird, and also to the lion. Major Ogilvy and
Mis Ogilvy, who were present. The 'bus drove off from
the friendly Priory amidst much cheering. The whole pro-
ceedings passed off with entire success."

Mr. Edward Lazard, a French merchant of
lloorgate-street, has opened a subscriptiun fer the sufferers
by the recent fire at Limoges.