The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-21 00:00:00

THE SUN.

LONDON, FRIDAY, NOV. 21, 1862.

" Write France down coward" is one interpre-
tation of the " able dispatch" of M. DRODYN DE
I.,'HizrYs. "Write France down tyrant" is the
other ; and, in a reasonable sense we might add,
" Write France down hypocrite," is a third. If
hypocrisy be profession of religious sentiments we
do not feel, then, for the great nation, nearly all
whose leading minds are sceptics, to profess a
religious interest in the POPE, and especially in his
temporalities, is hypocrisy. The only thing which
can defend it from the charge is, that the obvious.
ness of the pretence classes it rather with diplo"
matic formalities than with hypocrisies. There is
some thing, indeed, ineffably ludicrous in the idea
of a religious France doing in her zeal the part of
an ABISHAG, the Shunamite, to give a little heat
to the decrepid old Papacy—acting the part of a
caressing female lover, while she really loathes the
shrivelled old man.

The religious cant is laughable or revolting as
we choose to view it, but the cowardice is con-
temptible. It is not the first time it has shown
itself; indeed, the shaking fit has exhibited
itself in stronger forms before. French soldiers
are brave—brave for a dash at least ; no one ever
denied that, and the leas reason for M.
k.c. +sal us so. The really
courageous warriors of France must have blushed
that the clever civilian should have thought it ne-
cessary to tell Europe that "the French flag never
retires before any menace !" Were Lord RUSSELL
to publish such a boast of the English flag, every
general in the kingdom would be ready to kick him
out of the Foreign-office; they would thank him as
much as they would for proclaiming that English
officers were gentlemen. But we must draw a line
between France, it would seem, and her soldiers. The
latter are brave ; France is a poor timid damsel, who
is terrified at the thought of a moderately strong
neighbour. Half the terrors of Villafranca might
be the Quadrilateral—but the other half was the
vision of a uniting Italy. So frightened was the
defenceless creature, that she demanded, and got,
Savoy Nice, lest Piedmont with the duchies
should
too panyr for her." The accession of
be and "
Naples and the Legations to the uniting kingdom
again made timid France shiver, as in the cold of
winter sbe lay before Gaeta doing all she could to
delay the completion of the union. And even in the
last despatch the old fear of a strong Italy, and the
consequent desire for a divided Italy, peeps out. It
is easily seen that by the " interests of France" is
really meant the weakness of Italy"—its consisting
of separated confederated states, through some of
which the overbearing neighbour might dictate to

the rest.
But shameless above all things in so civilized a
nation is the open avowal that the interests of
France are to be thought of before everything.
" Inspired—he says—above all things by the in-
terests of France," &c., again he speaks of " his MA-
JESTY'S firm and irrevocable resolution to take the
interests of France for the only guide of his con-
duct ;" and again be quotes the EMPEROR'S " de-
clining all solidarity with acts as well as counsels
dictated by the interests of Italy." Thus in every
;'orm he gives the Italians to understand that the
interests of France and Italy are antagonistic, and
that he will occupy himself solely with French in-
terests. This is at least plain spoken. It is a pity
hep should introduce all the stuffing out about the
boe.P.rEe,c.:nnedi,h,edistheainregsol him, and what Europe ex-
pectedf him, and his zeal to bring two never-to-
y- French interePsatsp"acayre
interpretation of the entire despatch.
h.atnhde Italy—into
y —to
harmony, t 4
inter •
he surrendered the Conimistsi inthtoe
despatch by which
When Mr_ SEWARD in
On to tell us that Americang inteillaegusiarleimtayu's.tw
Trent, after acknowledging Zeta seized in the
gijpreme, and that if they went
had re
CommiOioners must have been kept, it was thought,the
in France as well as here, an outrageous dictum
1 enough. It was forgiven, partly from contempt,