The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-26 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY, SEPT. 26, 1863.

The cleverest of the Orleans Princes, his Royal
Highness the Duke d'AtataLE, has recently been
delivering a capital speech, in good sterling Eng-
lish, down in Worcestershire. Though a sojourner
amongst us as an exiled Frecchmar, he spoke
throughout as a thoroughly naturalized Englishman.
A member of the younger branch of the House of
Bourbon—that great obsolete dynasty the records of
which are so inextricably intertwined with the an-
nals of Christendom through so many past centu-
ries—the Duke d'AumaLE could yet on Wednesday
last, so completely realise his new position as an
English landowner and country gentleman, that,
French Prince though he is, he contrived to preside
as Chairman on that day down at Evesham as
well as any true-born Englishman in the land
could possibly have done, or ever yet did, over a
farmers' banquet at the close of the proceedings in
connection with the local Agricultural Association.
The courtly grace with which his royal highness
proposed the loyal toasts at the outset of his oratori-
cal labours as Chairman, was but the preliminary
to the very able and indeed remarkable address
delivered by him to the assembled company when
proposing the toast of the evening. This speech,
in its entirety, will be found in another part of our
impression of this evening. To the perusal of our
readers, we would heartily commend it. Not a sen-
tence of it all, but may be read now most pleasur-
ably.
It affords, in a quite casual or incidental way,
conclusive evidence that, not without good rea-
son, have these exiled Princes have been
taken home, as it were, into the real heart-born
affection of the English people, in the midst of
which they have now for fifteen years been living.
In his own person, the Duke D'AUNIALE is a dis-
tinct indication of the fact that, intellectually, this
race of princes cannot be said with any truth to
have degenerated. Other dynasties may be declared
undeniably—and, for the most part, we believe, by
reason of the deteriorating influence of perpetual
intermarriages, to have sunk, generation after
generation into an effete condition, until
at last they ha7t become mere drivellers or
nonentities. Not so, has it been with regard to the
Orleans Family. SO far from degenerating, they
appear to have made no inappreciable advance•
meat in this way, that is, intellectually. The
grandsire of H.R.H. the Duke D'AUMALE, it must
be confessed, enjoys (to say the least of it) a very
dubious reputation, indeed,. in modern history.
His sire, the late Citizen King
of the FRENCH,
beginning his reign under happy auspices
enough, closed it under some of the on
happiest, and has left :behind him a name,
among modern rulers, somewhat dubious (to say
the least of it) in its character. The ability of King
LOUIS PHILIPPE, while undoubtedly considerable,
was of a kind principelly,reaprkeble for its wili-
ness. He was a Monarch so excessively astute in
his policy that the time at length arrived when, by
reason of that same over-astuteuess, he himself
ended in being overreached by eircernstances. Not
in the least, of this nature end quality are the
talents for which the descendants of the late ex-
KING are undoubtedly noteworthy amen ust their
contemporaries. Not such. are the kind of
abilities, by the display of which hi, Royal
Highness the Dsko D'AtrM.tLE wins our admi
ration. He has learnt from adversity, He 6
essentially:manly, as:well:as princely, in his view of
things as they have come to be around him and
his. He is no intriguer. Ho is content to take,
according to the old Pagan phrase (a good
planer, though Pagan) with thankfulness the
goods the Gods have given him, or have left him,
might be said, remembering how much larger, more
varied, and more numerous they were wont to be.