The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-10 00:00:00

gents could not be pursued, and therefore Colonel
Nostiz withdrew the troops to bivouac at the town
of Bielsk, and next morning effected a junction with
another division of troops, and definitively resolved
to march against the rebels."

In Warsaw the women of all classes are preparing
lint for the wounded men in the fores's ; and it is
stated that the nuns of the St. Felicia Convent wish
to proceed to the woods to nurse their countrymen.
Some persons suspected of the attempt to poison
the Margrave Wielopolski and his family have been
apprehended, and have been examined, but the
official report does not state whether the accused
are Russians or Poles. In the Russian camp the
reform-seeking Margrave is looked upon as the
cause of all the evils, and particularly those which
press the Russian Government at St. Petersburg
on the road of liberal refcrms.

THE GREEK REVOLUTION.

(From the Times' Correspondent.)
ATHENS, Jan. 31.

On Tuesday last Mr. Elliot received a telegram
stating that Duke Ernest of Saxe Coburg was ready
to accept the Crown of Greece if it were offered to
him ; that he was warmly supported both by France
and England; that he would retain his paternal do-
minions ; and that, having no children, he reserved
to himself the right of proposing at once to the
Greek nation a successor who was ready to adopt
the orthodox religion.
Good news from Europe has been scarce of late,
but the scarcity has been made up for by this last
intelligence. Since it arrived we have received the
mails, which bring us more or less reliable details
and ornamentations, and the impression produced
by the news may be judged of from the eagerness
with which these details have been seized upon and
discussed. Among these are some further condi-
tions which Duke Ernest is said to have laid down
—these are, an accession of territory towards Epi-
rus and Thessaly, through the mediation of Eng-
land and France, and a loan of £BOO,OOO.
Even after reducing these two last conditions to
their true value, as a disposition on the part of the
Western Powers to see what can be done both with
respect to a regulation of the frontier line towards
Turkey, and to a future loan, which is indispensable '
to Greece, enough remains to satisfy all but the
most unreasonable, for the support of Duke Ernest
by France and England presents chances of a
speedy solution of difficulties.
And this is more than could be
.hoped for. In
spite of all that has been said, written, and done,
the name of Prince Alfred has not been eradicated
from the minds of the people. Under all circum-
stances, it would have been difficult to allay so
general and spontaneous a feeling, and to direct
minds into another channel ; and it was much more
so in this case, where there were so few other chan-
nels open. All those who were in any way connected
with the three great powers were excluded by the
protocol. The choice of an Italian Prince would
have offered almost equal difficulties on the part of
those great Powers. The very name of Austria is
hated ; the doubtful Constitutionalism of Prussia
was little calculated to attract eyes in that direc-
tion; so nothing remained but to study the Almanache
de Gotha, and find out the least objectionable in the
numerous list of little German Princes, or else, as a
coup de desespoir, to enquire whether any of the
numerous sons of the late Sultan Abdul Medjid was
disposed to be baptised and to undertake to annex
Turkey to Greece.
There was the additional difficulty of hitting upon
one who, if not supported by the three great Powers,
would at least not be objected to by them; and, in
spite of all the grand ideas of popular sovereignty
which are now the fashion, this was a very serious
consideration. There was, indeed, the example of
Italy, which did a great many things in the very
teeth of divers great Powers ; but the Italians
are a nation of 22 millions, and the Greek race all
over the world numbers little more than one-tenth
of that number. And then Italian national unity
was a great idea which carried away every one,
but how could the Greeks be expected to get up en-
thusiasm, or even a unanimity, for any one of those
whom it was still left open to them to choose ? With
such difficulties before them no one can blame the
Greeks, or call them unreasonable, if they are faith-
ful to the choice of their hearts, and will not give
up until those who oppose the choice can agree
upon some one who might be acceptable to them.
They say, " We have made our choice, and we have
no other. It is for the Powers who prevent us from
having him we want to find a solution ; on them be
the responsibility. What is the use of our choosing
again but to risk another refusal ? So let the
Powers come to an understanding and make a pro-
posal, and we will see whether it suits us." Such
has been the language all along of everybody, and
no one has even troubled himself about another
choice.

In the meantime the people at large ar© still wait-
ing for the arrival of Prince Alfred. Were it not for
the unanimous accounts which come in from ali the
provinces, it would be almost incredible to what ex-
tent his name has become engraven on the minds of
the masses. Only the other day Mr. Scarlett made
a trip along the coast in her Majesty's ship Queen,
and stopped for a couple of days in the secluded
little Bay of Kranidi, to the south-east of Nauplia.
It is as wild and little visited a spot as any in Greece,
with only a couple of small villages on the hills. In
the afternoon the party took a walk on shore, along
the narrow path which leads up the hills, when
they were met by a peasant driving half-a-dozen
donkeys before him,. Hearing one of the ladies speak
Greek, he immediately inquired when Alfred was
coming, and would listen to no reasoning, insisting
that Greece cannot get on without him. Wherever
the party went it was the same—at Poros, Nauplia,
Argos, everywhere addresses and demonstrations.
In vain were all devices resorted to to avoid them—
the whole population had conspired to make their
wishes manifest. Whenever a stranger makes his
appearance he must submit to be questioned and
harangued on the subject. The nationality of the
stranger matters little, and only 10days ago I heard
a most amusing account of Alfred manifestations
made for the benefit of a French gentleman and
lady who were making a tour in the Peloponnesus.
The only awkward thing is the hard-sounding
foreign name of Alfred. Even by affixing the en-
dearing diminutive and making " Alfredalis" of it
it cannot be naturalised, so the simple-minded
people have taken to calling him " the Son of the
Widow."

Such being still the feeling of the masses, it was I
not surprising that the first quality which seized
hold of their imaginations when Duke Ernest
was announced was his relationship to Prince
Alfred. Ho is " the uncle of his nephew."
"Ernest" is even more difficult for a Greek tongue
than "Alfred," so the candidate goes among the
people under the name of " the uncle." Whether
the qualification of being " the uncle" was taken
into consideration by diplomacy or not I don't know,
but it certainly is the one which is most calculated
to recommend Duke Ernest to the masses of the
people. As it is also known that he wishes to
propose a nephew as his successor, the transition
from illusion to reality becomes so much the more
easy.
To those who think as well as feel, his greatest
recommendation is that he comes strongly sup-
ported by France and England. Prince Alfred
promised such real and fancied advantages that
every one would have braved any displeasure
on the part of Russia and France, but no one
dreamt of doing so for any one else who could have
been named. The warm support promised by Eng-
land and France to the Sovereign proposed is a
guarantee that the Western Powers again work to-
gether in the Eastern question; and this is of no
small value for a people who so eagerly look for-
ward in that direction.
Since he has beroposed, every one inquires
eagerly about the e
Duke's personal qualities ; and
these can only strengthen the disposition which
exists to look favourably on the new candidate.
The man who alone among all Continental Sove-
reigns was not frightened by the events of 1848.49,
and who alone resisted the general reaction in 1850,
which was so fatal to Constitutionalism—
he who
has warmly espoused the cause of German
nationality, and has stedfastly adhered to the pro-
mises he had made to his people,--is the very man