The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-30 00:00:00

"possibly" for the obnoxious word "conveniently." In
consequence the whole affair very nearly miscarried, ts,n4
the fair assemblage dispersed--tho strong-minded among
them asserting that French milliners and Foreign importers
had packed the hall ; and the rest going home, strongly
minded to wear what they pleased, if they could afford to
purchase it, and to do all in their power to . perpetuate the
reputation which the gentle promenaders of Proarlway have
established, of being the worst awl most expensively dressed
women En the world, It is asserted in most of the papers
that Mrs Lincoln, who is not, however, a leader of fashion,
has refrained from lending the countenance of her name to
the movement " lest foreign Powers should take umbrage 1"
A lady, who signs herself Jane (. awisshelm, Arid
is said to he one cf thb female clerks employed in one of the
public offices at Washington, says that not only Mrs. Lin-
coln, but the President is of this opinion, and in a letter to
a western journal, to the columns of which she is a trequent
contributor, takes credit to herself for letting the people
know that the chief magistrate 'considers his foreign rela-
tienn ill eo precaricus a state that the people must continue
to buy more velvet and lace than they can afford, for fear of
a rupture with their European customers. She raises her
voice against such a scandal, and desires the "American
people to know that their Government is afraid to decrease
the amount of purchases of street silk mops, lest the thun
der of French and English cannon should be heard on their
shores." It would appear from the postscript of Mrs Swiss-
helm's epistle. that the information of the President's no •
tions on this delicate subject was communicated to her in
confidence, but that the honour of the country being at
stake she declined to keep it secret. "Our officials," she
says, "need not in future fear to express their sentiments
fully, as no one will be likely to tell me anything that may
not be published , but I do not imagine that President Lin-
coln had any objection to having the country know his
opinions on this or any other question," But whatever
be the cause—whether it be the President's disapproval, or
the ridicule of the male sex generally—the movement is not
fashionable and cannot apparently be made

MAY 18.

Posts,ripl--I. have but little time before the departure of
the steamer to allude to the forged proclamation attributed
to President Lincoln, which was published in two of the
morning journals to-day and refused insertion in all the
rest. In these days, when it is considered a good joke to
forge official documents, and not discreditable in a ?minister
of State to give them currency, it was scarcely possible for
any one to read the document without a suspicion that Mr.
Lincoln never penned or published it, but that it was the
invention of some unscrupulous Confederate, designed to
injure the Federal cause, to turn the President into ridi-
cule, and to paralyse the arm of General Grant in face of
the army. It appears that one of the morning joarnals had
printed off about 20,000 copies of its ordinary issue when
the attention of the editor or manager was drawn to this
proclamation, and that he immediately ordered the sup-
pression of the whole number rather than give it currency.
Everybody Who read it was startled, Many were scan-
dalised, but the bulk of the public, if any opinion can be
formed of the meees by the remarks made in public
places, incline to believe that the document was
genuine, that it told unmistakable truths in unmistakable
language, and that it was eminently characteristic of the
style and the mind of the President. To set the matter at
rest, I telsg,raphed to Washington to know if anything had
been heard of it in that city. The reply just received is
that the proclamation is "bogus" and a "wicked forgery."
It had the effect, however, during the short term in which
it was believed, of sending np gold from 178 to 184, from
which same people infer that it was concocted by speculators
in this city. The forgery, however, is not likely to go un-
punished, if any clue can be obtained to its perpetrator. It
may be a joke to forge the name of Mr. Mallory, or of Lord
Lyons and Mr. Jefferson Davis, but it is no joke to forge
the name of the President and the Secretary of State to a
document which, if it reached the army of the Potomac,
'night have have produced a very disastrous close et the
campaign in Virginia, by the complete discouragement and
demoralisation of the troops. So the forger, whoever he
may be, may expect a short shrift and a long rope as the
sentence of the drum-head court-martial before which he
will indubitably be brought, if he is discovered.