The Sun.
London, England, 1853-09-29 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING T , SEPEMBER 29, 1853.

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON'S FIRST
VISIT TO THE NORTHERN DEPART-
MENTS OF FRANCE.

LITEBATURE.

so frequently associated. In going over one of his lec-
tures alone, they seenied to grow and expand under your
own reflections. We know not how to express the effect
they produced. They seemed to give new pleasure on
repetition, to purify your thoughts scarcely less than they
animated your onward studies. In studying their more
suggestive passages, you would now and then feel sur-
prise at the number and variety of important practical
relations arising out of a single proposition. We are
here merely stating our own early impressions of his
power ; what we really felt always was, that great as
was the excellence of these lectures in a scientific or pro-
fessional sense, there was something more excellent still
in the element they contained of intellectual expansion
and of moral improvement. We cant ot, indeed, say they
had no faults, but we should be hard driven to point
them out, and although we feel how short our attempt
to give some idea of his mode of proceeding must fall of
doing him justice, still, if there be any truth at all in our
representation, it is quite clear that his negative excel-
lences alone must have implied no ordinary powers."
It is somewhat curious that the profession of a
surgeon was not that chosen by Abernethy, his pre-
dilections having been for the bar. He used some-
times
to say in joke, " Ah, if my father had let me
be a lawyer, I should have known every act of
Parliament by heart." It is not to be doubted,
says the author, that in the legal profession he
would have attained the highest eminence ' • but he
has bestowed a greater benefit on humanity by his
improvements and discoveries in the practice of
surgical science.
So much has been said of the roughness of his
manner, and so many anecdotes told to his disad-
vantage, that it is difficult to separate the true from
the exaggerated. It is asserted that to the patients
at the hospital he was invariably kind and atten-
tive, saying that others need not come to him if
they did not like, but that those at the hospital
must remain there.

QUARTERLIES.

The British Qua'i terly Review. No. XXXV.—
Conspicuous among the contributions to the last
number of the British Quarterly is an exquisite
paper upon the life and genius of "Horace," an
essay at once critical and biographical. The article
to which we here make allusion would reflect Inonour
upon the oldest and the most honoured ofthequarterly
periodicals. It is characterised throughout by the
most admirable freshness and the most exhilarat-
ing vivacity. The opening sentence indicates the
key in which the whole is pitched. " Fancy,"
says the reviewer, " a frank and highly-
educated young fellow, of four-and-twenty, short,
and rather thick-set in body, with weak
eyes, and a strong compact forehead, turned adrift
upon Londoi with a very slender purse, and
nothing particular to do, and you will have an
idea of our friend, Quintus Horatius Flaccus, at
the time w-aen he returned to Rome, after his
escapade Philippi." The reader is then reminded
of Horace being removed, when just about enter-
ing on his teens, from the grammar-school at
Venusia, " kept by one Mr. Flavius," to the
care of a respectable old military schoolmaster—
Orbilius of Beneventum. Orbilius, by the way,
" Plagosus Orbilius," is described as a fine old fel-
low, who lived to be a hundred, and who conse-
quently " must have flogged two generations of
Horace's contemporaries !" Guided by the agree-
able scholar writing for the British Qvarterly, we
follow the stripling Horace in his eighteenth year
to Athens, whither he went to complete his studies
at the critical epoch " when the Caesar and Pom-
pey business came to an end," the great Julius
having vigorously seized upon the dictatorship.
For years afterwards (namely, when Horace was a
little more than " of age," in other words, just
22) we find him serving with Brutus in Macedonia
and Asia. Shortly after the world had once more
been " thrown into confusion by the shock of
Caesar's assassination." We behold the young
Roman cadet suddenly invested with a com-
mission as military tribune. We see him
actually in command of a legion ; we observe
him scuttling off the battle field of Philippi. Re-
cognising, with Falstaff, that the better part of
valour is really and truly " discretion," Horace so
closed his soldiering. A penniless adventurer, he
hastened to the capital, and entered Rome pre-
cisely at the moment when the young Octavian was
" restoring Italy to order, by proscriptions and
confiscations
in the name of the Triumvirate."
Lepidus, being just then differently occupied in
another part of the empire, and " Antony in the
East, swaggering about as a conqueror, and getting
near and nearer to Egypt and Cleopatra." Octa-
vian, of course] ultimately obtains the mastery, as
all of us who have thumbed those glorious annals
remember not without emotion ; causing, in
his new capacity, and under his new name
as Augustus Caesar, the imperial splendour
to swallow up the gorgeous but divided pomps
of the Triumvirate. It is under his rule,
therefore, that we follow Horace to the capital,
where daring poverty drove him to the making of
verses—

BOULOGNE, WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.
After the departure of my hurried letter of yesterday
the Emperor and Empress proceeded to the Napoleon
column, where they were received by a number of vete-
rans of the Empire, drawn up in two lines. After in-
specting the column and the troops, their Majesties re-
turned through all the principal streets of the town, pro-
ceeding twice along the quay and through eight or nine
triumphal arches, some of which were covered with
evergreens and flowers, i,nd others made to represent
marble columns ; one of the most remarkable of these
latter was situated on the quay, close to the Custom-
house. It was surmounted with a representation of
Napoleon le Grand, as he is generally depicted crossing
the Alps, and the one pillar was dedicated to the glory of
the war of 1804, and the other to the glory of the peace
of 1853.
After returning to the sous-prefecture, where their
Majesties arrived about half-past six o'clock, the Em-
peror entertained at dinner a party of the military and
civil authorities of the town, covers being laid for be-
tween 60 and 70, and a military band being stationed in
front of the house to play during the repast.
In the evening the whole of Boulogne was most bril-
liantly illuminated, scarcely a house, however small or
however obscure, being without some testimonial of re-
spect to their Majesties—whilst the principal streets,
from the quay to the rampaeo, presented one continuous
blaze of light, intermingled with flowers and evergreens.
The streets were, throughout the evening, most densely
crowded, not only by the inhabitants, but by thousands
of visitors, there being scarcely such a thing as a vacant
bed to be found in Boulogne, and the numbers would
have been much increased but for the difficulty expe-
rienced in obtaining conveyances from Calais and other
towns, and the unfavourable weather which prevailed
during the three or four previous days.
The ball offered by the municipality of the city to
their Imperial Majesties took place in the evening, and
was a very brilliant affair. The whole interior of the
theatre, from the back of the stage to the boxes, was
converted into one splendid salle de danse, and, in the
centre of the audience portion, state chairs were placed,
under a beautifully decorated canopy, for the use of the
Emperor and Empress. The guests, including the
leading residents of Boulogne ; and all the English
visitors who had taken the trouble to leave their names
at the Maire had the honour of receiving invitations.
About 1,500 persons may have been present when the
Imperial party entered the theatre. The Emperor and
Empress were received with the warmest acclamations,
cries of " Vive l'Empereur" and " Vive l'lmperatrice"
resounding from every part of the salle. Their Ma-
jesties appeared to be much gratified with their recep-
tion, and, before sitting down, acknowledged in a very
gracious manner the enthusiasm of the assembled company.
Twelve young ladies, attired in white, with wreaths of
violets in their hair, occupied a position immediately
below the throne as demoiselles d'honneur to the Empress.
The band of one of the regiments of the line was in at-
tendance, and before dancing commenced a selection of
operatic music was performed. At 10 o'clock the Em-
peror descended to the ball-room, the Empress resting
upon his arm, and the members of the imperial suite fol-
lowing. A quadrille was now formed, in which the
Emperor honoured the wife of the Mayor of Boulogne,
Madame Fontaine, with his hand. The Empress danced
in the same quadrille with the Mayor. The members of
the imperial suite completed the set. The grace and
beauty of the Empress was now first observed to the
fullest advantage. Her faultless delicacy of feature, and
the elegance of her figure, were well displayed by a very
chaste costume of white lace, ornamented with ribbons
of violet colour, falling half way down the skirt. The
head-dress was exquisitely beautiful. Her Majesty's
hair is of a beautiful light brown tints and it was dis-
posed last evening in tasteful rolls over the forehead,
leaving disclosed the ears, from which diamond drops
were pendant. Her Majesty wore a diamond necklace,
of marvellous brilliancy, every stone of which reflected
its myriad hues, and a pair of somewhat small bracelets
en suite. During the quadrille the Empress chatted
familiarly with the Mayor and also with some of the
young ladies by whom the Imperial party were sur-
rounded. There was a sad want of unanimity in the
musical direction of the dance—probably arising from
the distance at which the orchestra was situated—and
after passing through the three first figures, and endea-
vouring to proceed with the last, the Empress, with a
charming smile, betokening the utmost good humour
and amiability, gave it up in despair, and returned with
her Imperial Consort to the throne. The shouts of
welcome now again broke forth, and some exuberant
Englishmen, jealous of allowing their French neighbours
to monopolise the vocal expression of their loyal enthu-
siasm, called out in a burly voice, " God save the Em-
peror !" The sentiment was infectious. In a moment,
others responded with " God bless the beautiful Em-
press," and for a short time John Bull had it all to him-
self, until, until one hearty fellow, more noisy than the
rest, occasioned a burst of laughter by calling for " One
cheer more l" The Emperor could not repress a smile
at this truly English method of paying respect to his
august person ; but his Majesty appeared much pleased
at the evident good feeling which had prompted the com-
pliment. At this period of the evening the presenta-
tion of several persons to the Emperor and Empress
took place, Mr. Hamilton, the English Consul, was
among the number permitted to an audience. The con-
descension and affability of both the Emperor and the
Empress were remarkable. A second quadrille was
now formed and danced before the Emperor and Em-
press. This was followed by a beautiful cantata, com-
posed for the occasion, which was sung by the pupils of
the Ecole de Musique stationed in the peristyle
of the theatre. At 11 o'clock the Emperor and
Empress, attended by their suite, again descended
into the ball-room, round which they perambulated,
receiving as they proceeded the respectful salutations of
the company. After partaking of some slight refresh-
ment at the imperial buffet, their Majesties retired from
the theatre amid renewed shouts of "Vive l'Empereur,"
" Vive l'lmperatrice," agreeably diversified with some
good English cheers.
The extraordinary beauty of the Empress appeared to
take all the English visitors, who had not previously
seen her Majesty, by surprise, and by general acknow-
ledgment it was admitted that no portrait, hitherto pub-
lished in England, does justice to the exquisite expres-
sion of her Majesty's features.
There was also a gratis ball at the Tintilleries, an open
piece of ground containing between two and three acres,
which was illuminated with a taste and elegance that
threw the glories of Vauxhall, with its 10,000 additional
lamps, completely in the shade. The doors were thrown
open at nine o'clock, and the Jullien of the evening
having waved his baton, the dancing commenced, and
was kept up with great spirit until long after midnight,
notwithstanding a light drizzling rain which prevailed
throughout the evening. Though there could not have
been less than 3,000 or 4,000 persons present at a time,
the evening passed off with the utmost good humour and
order.
This morning the Emperor and suite left the sous-
prefecture shortly after ten o'clock, and proceeded in
open carriages, preceded only by about a score of
soldiers as a guard of honour, by the Grand rue, the rue
de la Lampe, the pont d'Ecluse, and the quay, to view
the docks and the new sluice bridge. His Majesty, who
was received at the docks by the municipal authorities,
was received throughout the whole route with the
greatest enthusiasm, the cries of " Vive l'Empereur"
and " Vive Napoleon" being most incessant and hearty,
whilst the ladies in the windows of the various hotels
and private houses were waving their handkerchiefs and
bouquets. His Majesty returned to the sous-prefecture
shortly before twelve o'clock, and about a quarter to
one a discharge of artillery announced that their Ma-
jesties were about to take their departure. About ten
minutes to one their Majesties' carriages arrived at the
station of the Chemin de Fer du Nord, which had been
elegantly decorated with flags, eagles, evergreens, &c.
Their Majesties entered the station through an elegant
tent of red velvet, looped with gold and decorated with
mirrors and flowers. Their Majesties having been con-
ducted to their state railway carriage, the train de-
parted amidst loud cheers at five minutes past one. The
royal train was almost immediately followed by the
ordinary train, which ought to have left Boulogne at
half-past 12, but had been detained a short time in order
to give precedence to the royal train—and a smart
shower of rain soon dispersed the crowds which had
assembled to witness the departure of their Majesties.
At twelve o'clock to-day there was a gratuitous per-
formance at the theatre, which in a great measure
retained its decorations of last night, when a new piece
de circonstance was represented, illustrating the funeral
of Napoleon, on his body being brought from St. Helena.
In the afternoon the fetes were brought to a close with
rowing matches by sailors, matelots or fishing women,
jousts in canoes with spears, sailing matches, &c. The
naval fete, as it was styled, was held on the Liane, the
surface and banks of which were crowded with spectators,
notwithstanding that the weather was far from favour-
able.
In honour of their Majesties' visit, wine, bread, and
meat were yesterday distributed to the poor, and it has
been arranged also to distribute 500 counterpanes to the
most necessitous at the commencement of the winter.
Vin d'honneur was presented by their confreres of Bou-
logne to the Sapeurs Pompiers, from Hisdin, Fruges,
and other neighbouring communes, and the municipality
accorded 25 centimes per day, and 15 cents to the pri-
vates of all troops who participated in the Imperial
reception. The troops also received to-day a litre of
wine per man to drink to the prosperity of the Emperor
and Empress.

"It is true his roughness was very superficial ; it was
the easiest thing in the world to develop the real
kindness of heart which lay undoubtedly beneath it,
and it is very instructive to observe how a little yielding
to an absurdity may occasionally obscure one of the most
benevolent hearts that ever beat in a human breast with
the repulsive exterior of ungentle manners. Still pa-
tients could not be expected to know this, and therefore
too many went away actually dissatisfied, if not dis-
gusted. The slightest reaction was in general sufficient
to bring him to his self-possession. A lady whom he
had seen on former occasions, was one day exceedingly
hurt by his manner, and burst into tears. He immedi-
ately became as kind and patient as possible, and the
lady came away just as pleased as she had been at first
offended. Reiction of a different kind would answer
equally well. One day a gentleman consulted him on
an affection of his shoulder. Before he had time to enter
on his case, Abernethy said, ' Well, I know nothing
about it.' The gentleman sharply retorted, Ido not
know how you should, but if you will have patience till
I tell you, perhaps you then may.' Abernethy at once
said, Sit down,' and heard him out with the greateot
kindness and patience.

" Sometimes Mr. Abernethy would meet with a pa-
tient who would afford a useful lesson. A lady, the
wife of a distinguished musician, consulted him, and
finding him uncourteous, said, I had heard of your
rudeness before I came, sir, but I did not expect this.'
When Abernethy gave the prescription, she said, 'What
am Ito do with this ?" Anything you like. Put it in
the fire if you please.' The lady took him at his word,
laid his fee on the table, and threw the prescription into
the fire, and hastily left the room. Abernethy followed
her into the hall, pressing her to take back her fee or
let him give her another prescription, but the lady was
inexorable, and left the house.
Such anecdotes are curious, as related of one so
really kind that he would cover the instruments
before an operation, that the patient might be spared
the sight of them. To the professional reader
there is much in these volumes of the greatest in-
terest, affording subjects for study and considera-
tion and to the uninitiated they will give much
entertainment, while presenting at the same time
some of the elements of that physiological science
which, it is much to be regretted, is so little
known. The author may, therefore, be considered
as having faithfully fulfilled his duty to the me-
mory of Mr. Abernethy, in defending it from the
detracting opinions frequently held, and as having
given to the general reader an interesting and in-
structive history. The volumes contain a portrait
of Abernethy, and an autograph letter addressed
to the author.

" Paupertas impulit audax ut versus faceret."

The reviewer at this point carries the reader
quite away with him to the old classic city and to
the old classic times. Under his guidance we see
the Paternoster-row of ancient Rome in the street
Argiletum—we see the pomp and the squalor of
that vast pagan metropolis, where 200,000 free
citizens were daily fed like paupers—we see Horace
formally installed in the clerkship he bad bought
in the Qumstor's office, " corresponding" says the
critic, " as nearly as possible, to a situa-
tion in our Treasury, or in Somerset House."
Further on, upon this bead, the writer
in the British Quarterly observes—" From being
a military tribune and commanding a legion, to
being a clerk in the Qustor's Office and casting up
accounts was certainly a fall ; but we have expe-
rience enough to know that an ex-colonel of a de-
feated revolution does not rank with a colonel in
the regulars, and that there are many refugee officers
in London who would be glad of 80/. a-year on the
Great Western Railway." The reviewer speaks, a
little later, of Horace wandering about ancient
Rome unrecognised but observant, just as in our
own days a celebrated author, like Dickens or like
Thackeray, may rove unnoticed but watchful about
the streets of London 1 It would be impracticable
within our limit 3 to afford any adequate notion
of the abounding vivacity and pleasantry of this
delightful contribution. It shines conspicuously
in the latest number of the British Quarterly, as
we have already remarked ; and this, moreover,
though the number is adorned with several other
articles of a merit more than ordinary. Before
closing our allusions, however, to the paper on
Horace, we are tempted to make one other excerpt
from the contribution. It is the following :

YEARS. POET'S AGE. EVENT.
B.C. 35 ... 30 ... Satires, Book 1., published.
„ 34 ... 31 ... Gift of the Sabine farm from
Maecenas.

Battle of Actium leaves Octavianus
master of the Roman world.
35 ... Satires, Book 11., published.
36 ... Epodes published.
38 ... Octavianus takes the name of Au-
gustus.
25 ... 40 ... Virgil finishes the Georgics, and be-
gins the Aneid.
Odes, Books 1., 11., and 111. pub-

31 ... 36

THE LATE ACCIDENT IN THE STRAND.—Since the ver-
dict of the coroner's jury, impanelled to investigate the
circumstances connected with the late fatal accident in
the Strand, additional supports or shores have been put
up to the house No. 183. It will be remembered that
it was given in evidence that the shores had not been
continued up to a sufficient height, and to secure the
adjoining house, which appears to be in anything but a
safe condition, shores are put up to the top of the party
wall to support it.
AMERICAN FISHING SCHOONER STARLIGHT.—In refer-
ence to the American fishing schooner Starlight, which
was brought into this port for condemnation, charged
with an infraction on the treaty existing between Great
Britain and the United States regarding the fisheries,
we learn that she was detained on the coast of Lower
Canada, and that the captain of her Majesty's steamer
Devastation, in obedience to his instructions, brought
her to this port, when, after some delay, he was advised
that the Vice-Admiralty Court of Prince Edward's Is-
land had no jurisdiction over that portion of the coast,
and that she ought to have been taken to Quebec. In
consequence of the inconvenience and expense to the
owner likely to ensue from delay, and with a desire, no
doubt, to deal as leniently as possible, Captain Campbell
judged it expedient to release her from detention,—
Charlotte Town, Advertiser,

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURIVALS.

THE EASTERN QUESTION.
(From the Morning Herald.)

THE NEW ORDERS TO THE AMBASSADOR
AND THE FLEET.

In spite of reports and contradictions, we nevertheless
believe that special orders have within the last six days
been sent out to Vice-Admiral Dundas, C. 8., the com-
mander-in-chief, via Marseilles and Malta, to hold him-
self in readiness to proceed, with all the naval force
under his command, from Besika Bay to Constantinople
on the requisition of the British Ambassador.
We believe that it will turn out as we have stated,
that these instructions to the gallant admiral are fresh
orders, and that for the first time he is informed that he
is to place himself and his fleet at the disposal of Lord
De Redcliffe. We believe that hitherto, as in the in-
stance when Colonel Rose demanded the presence of the
British fleet at Constantinople, the gallant, and always
ready, admiral has referred to the home Government for
confirmation of orders before moving.
We believe that hitherto a responsibility has been
thrown upon Lord De Redcliffe, which, in justice to
himself, he could not or would not incur ; hence the
energy of the French ambassador and the hesitation of
the British representative.
M. de la Cour, be it remembered, was the " first" to
summon the small squadron of steamers. Lord de Red-
cliffe was obliged for the sake of appearances to demand
from Admiral Dundas a similar force to accompany the
French to Constantinople.
We believe that up to this time Lord Stratford De
Redcliffe has acted on his own discretion, and looks to
the Government at home for approval ; but we believe
now that within the last six days special dispatches have
been sent to Lord De Redcliffe, increasing the scope of
his power, and extending his sphere of action at his dis-
cretion, and that he is now (he was not previously, ex-
cept on his own responsibility) empowered to call the
British force under Admiral Dundas up to Constanti-
nople, and that Admiral Dundas, who has been ready
for any service ever since he reached his station and
assumed the command in chief, is now ordered to obey
the call, requisition, or demand of the British Ambassa-
dor at Constantinople, without referring Lord De Red-
cliffe's order previously to the Earl of Clarendon affirma-
tion.

We have no doubt that these orders reached Malta
last night or this morning, and that by this time they
are on their way to Besika Bay and Constantinople in
the first available steamer that could be procured at
Malta.

With respect to Admiral Corry's fleet, we repeat, and
it is not denied, that the gallant Admiral had orders to
take the entire force under his command, and proceed
to sea yesterday morning, the First Lord of the Ad-
miralty accompanying the fleet for a short distance.
The orders were ostensibly for a three weeks cruise ;
but it is absurd to suppose that, with the new instruc-
tions sent to Admiral Dundas, and the great probal.ihty
that the Mediterranean fleet has passed up the Darda-
nelles, the Government will not have a reserve or rein-
forcement of men of war between Queenstown and Con-
stantinople, the British fleet in the Bosphorus being
inferior in numbers to the French fleet.

It is also absurd to attempt to lull public apprehen-
sion for the security of our northern coasts, when it is
most likely that war is raging at this moment in the
East, and that British ships are engaged in it. In the
event of hostilities Scotland and England are totally
unprotected, and the powerful fleet of sailing ships and
steamers from Cronstadt could with ease ravage the
whole of our northern coasts, burn our coast towns,
and return back to Cronstadt without molestation. Can
the Government be so blind to consequences as not to
provide against such a risk, when the consequences of
such a calamity as a visit of the Russian fleet to Edin-
burgh or Hull would be their impeachment ? We be-
lieve, as stated in the Second Edition of the Herald on
Tuesday, that a portion of Admiral Corry's fleet will
go to the Mediterranean, and a division will go north-
ward, whilst other ships will be commissioned to recruit
the Channel fleet. All our correspondents confirm this
belief, at least so far as the reinforcements to the Medi-
terranean.

( From the Morning Chronicle.)

The next step which may be taken either by Turkey
or by Russia, can scarcely fail to be one of such im-
portance as to form a new point of departure in the
consideration of the Eastern question. In the mean-
time, it may not be altogether useless to turn our atten-
tion to a phase of the subject which has been brought
prominently forward by a certain class of logicians, and
especially since the sailing of our ships of war through
the Dardanelles, and the attempted interpretation of
that movement, by Russian sympathisers, as an un-
important and purely precautionary measure for the
protection of our own subjects at Constantinople, has
given a handle for departing from the question which
had hitherto been under consideration, and for raising
a different issue. The discovery that the Turks have been,
from beginning to end—in their first distrust and in their
final resolution—in their suggested modifications, as in
their rejection of the note of Menschikoff— altogether and
entirely in the right, has, it seems, been followed up
by a yet more notable revelation. It is true that the
Turks have every claim to our sympathy which the
spirited maintenance of a just and noble cause can give
them. But it is also true—undeniably true-- that the
Turks are Mahometans. And it appears to be thought
possible that, by a judicious use, or misuse, of the one
aspect of the case, attention may be so far concentrated
on it as to be withheld from the other. That Russia
should be permitted to consummate, without opposition,
her long-cherished, and, it may now be said, avowed
designs, it would be useless and inconvenient to main-
tain in the face of general indignation.
But it is easy for the advocates of that Power to
insinuate another view of the case, if not equally effec-
tive, at least tending strongly in the same misleading
direction. That the very existence of the Ottoman
Porte is an evil, only and scarcely second to that of the
full accomplishment of the designs of Russia, is an opi-
nion which, judiciously put forward, may yet find idle
and accepting auditors. It needs no argument to show
how strongly the general prevalence of such a view is cal-
culated, as its insinuation is intended, to work in behalf
of the invader of the provinces and the assailant of the
sovereignty of the Porte. Between evils so nearly ba-
lanced, why should we put ourselves so much out of the
way to choose? If the Turk in Europe is only by a shade,
and hardly by a shade, preferable to the Russian at Con-
stantinople, it surely cannot be wise to incur, for so
trifling a difference of evils, the risk of so terrible a cer-
tainty as war. Such will be the inference drawn by
superficial minds from the whole tenor of the arguments
to which we refer, and truly it is not uncharitable to
conclude that to such a conclusion they are intended to
lead. Even if they fail to carry conviction on this point
of intent, they have yet done a great work if they suc-
ceed, even partially, in alienating from the side of jus-
tice an all but universal sympathy. It is greatly the
fashion to represent John Bull as actuated solely by the
result of a somewhat close calculation of his interests,
in the lower sense of that very wide word. Those who
have studied that worthy personage closely, well know
' how often his view, even upon questions of the most
material kind, is nevertheless determined mainly by his
feelings—how often he invents reasons, of a cold pru-
dential character, for actions done not indeed in rashness,
but in obedience to other than mere logical conclusions.
He acts, in short, upon the dictates of what, for want of a
better word, we call feelings, which are but the instinctive
perceptions of higher than material interests. Persuade him
that there are really, in behalf of the course which he is
about to adopt, no reasons of the class adapted to evoke
a noble sympathy, no grounds except such as consist in
a slight balance of advantage, and you have done much
to deter him from adopting that course at all. Persuade
him that his sympathies are really due to the other side
of the question, and he will fling the balance of conflict-
ing selfish motives aside, and invent a hundred well-
seeming, prudential reasons for having done so.
And thus it might be on the present occasion, could
the merits, moral and material, of the question between
Russia and the Porte be obscured by depreciation and
abuse of the injured party. Lord Palmerston, in the
speech reported in our columns yesterday, while avow-
ing with a decisive sincerity, his faith that the Foreign
Minister would not, in this crisis, disappoint the expec-
tations of England, held out at the same time to his
colleague a fully warranted assurance of " the cordial,
the generous support" of his countrymen. Such sup-
port, in circumstances like the present, is indeed not so
much desirable as essential to the Ministry of a coun-
try like England. They may, by a judicious and decisive
course of conduct, aid greatly in creating it for them-
selves. But they must have it—they can do nothing,
take no effectual step, without it. To alienate it from
them is to paralyse their action. And a great step would
have been made towards alienating it, if the conviction
which it is sought to produce, with respect to the
Turkish character, could be thoroughly worked into the
English mind. Once it was asked, is the peace of the
world to be overthrown to spare the sensitive perverse-
ness of barbarians ? Now, however, it is admitted that
the sensitiveness was not perverse. The Turks, barba-
rians as they may be, had the plain good sense which
enabled them to detect an intended assault on their in-
dependence. and which, under the specious cover of
general phrases, bad escaped the acuteness of our culti-
vated western diplomatists. But what of that ? They
were, and are in the right—they stand merely on the
defensive. Their opponents are the assailants, and alto-
gether in the wrong ; but there is one thing which their
advocates cannot deny—they are Turks after all, And
then follows the definit'on of the Turk—an irreclaim-
able barbarian, a savage oppressor, an unimprovable
nuisance, a blot on the face of Europe ; in all things, ex-
cept force, what he was four centuries back, and ever
will be—a Mahometan, a misbeliever. What might not
the Emperor of Russia hope from the English Cabinet,
in the present and in coming years, could but the honest
Protestant Englishman be fully possessed with an appro-
priate horror at the idea that he is on the verge of war
against a Christian potentate, the protector of oppressed
Christians, and on behalf of a set of wicked misbe-
lievers ?

The controversy between believers and those who are
styled misbelievers—a word used with so much unction
as a euphemism for its synonym, miscreants—is not for
our columns. We are not in the era of the Crusades,
and though Prince Gortschakoff is prepared to bear the
red cross on li;s shield against the Paynim hosts, it
would tax a vivid imagination to see in him a parallel
either to the comrades of Coeur de Lion or to the heroes
of the " Fairy Queen." Certain vices, it would seem,
are not altogether incompatiable with the profession of
Christianity, or even with readiness to fly at the throats
of. Pagans. It may possibly also be found that certain
virtues are, in practice if not in theory, consistent with
the status of a misbeliever. The names which distin-
guish religions are old, but the difference between right
and wrong is older. Before Mahomet arose to propa-
gate a religion of which the wide-spread existence proves,
at all events, its partial appeal to something real and not