The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-25 00:00:00

THE FRENCH EMPIRE.

The approaching marriage of the Emperor con-
tinues to throw every other topic into the shade.
The Paris journals of yesterday which we have re-
ceived, are full of it. The Pays has a rather inte-
resting though lengthy article upon the subject,
portions of which we quote. That journal says :
" It has been said that the traditional policy of the
kings of France was to draw close their alliances with
foreign countries, by their union with sovereign families.
This opinion is far from being justified by history. With
the exception of some marriages contracted in periods of
war, in which it might be hoped, by diplomatic unions,
to detach some powerful states from the enemies of
France, or create useful interests, it was rare that the
chiefs of the monarchy ever obeyed any other motive
than their personal convenience or the interests of their
domination in the interior. The eloquent voice of the
past teaches us, besides, that the combinations of inter-
national policy have rarely attained their object, and
that these alliances, dearly acquired by sacrifices of all
kinds, too often ended in bitter deceptions and even
fatal treasons. It is not without interest to recal briefly
the marriages contracted by the kings of France, and
the consequences which it was hoped to produce. This
rapid page in our history will be the incontestable con-
firmation of what we have just said."
Here the Pays proceeds to cite a great number of
he marriages effected by the old kings of France,
rom the commencement of the monarchy under
the Merovingian race down to Louis XII ; but its
xamples appear, for the most part, to prove rather
the contrary of what it advances, inasmuch as they
refer to marriages which were decidedly political ;
and, in speaking of Louis XII., it says nothing of
his union with Mary, sister of Henry VII. of Eng-
land, which was effected for reasons exclusively
political. It then continues :
"We will not trace a picture of the alliances con-
tracted under the pressure of diplomatic projects which
the wind of unforeseen events carried away. From
Francis I. down to Louis XIV., we seek in vain for the
advantages which France found in the marriages of her
sovereigns the union of the great King with the
Infanta of Spain, who was to have brought him 500,000
golden crowns, but which were never paid, did not pre-
vent the sanguinary conflict of France with Europe, and
at a later period the war of succession. Louis XV. also
wished to marry a Spanish princess, but the project
failed, and for some time the official relation of the
two countries were interrupted ; and we know not what
happy effects resulted for the peace of the world,
from the marriage of that King with Mary Leczinska,
daughter of Stanislas of Poland. Let us not refer to
the sanguinary drama which terminated under the
terror, the unpopular union of the unfortunate Louis
XVI. The French people made vain efforts to extend
to Marie Louise the love which they 'felt for Napoleon ;
and the souvenir of his noble daughter did not check the
Emperor of Austria, when his interest engaged him in
an aggressive alliance with the great European States.
The marriages of the princes under the Restoration do
not present any remarkable incident. The union of the
Duke de Berry with the Princess Mary Caroline was
only a return to the old policy of the Bourbons. We
still remember under Louis Philippe, the negotiations
which made the parliamentary tribune ring with its cus-
tomary violence and its scandalous discussions. God
forbid that we *should insist on. the epoch so near to us !
The princesses whom the sons of the last King married,
merit, on all grounds, respect and sympathy ; if they no
longer wear the Royal Crown, they bear in our eyes the
double crown of virtue and misfortune, -which is much
more inviolable than the former. But did their entrance
into the family of the King of the French give much
force and security to the constitutional monarchy 1 1848
replies with its lugubrious lesson. The history of the
marriages of the Kings of France may be thus summed
up :—During the first and second race, politics had no-
thing to do with these family events, for the accom-
plishment of which French princes only followed the im-
pulsion of their hearts or their personal interests ; up
to Francis I. the Kings of the third race endeavoured
by able means to create the union of the territory at the
expense of feudality or foreign occupation. Then com-
menced the period of international diplomacy, and our
readers have seen in a few words its development and
results."

An article published in the Assentbree Nationale,
commenting on the address of the Emperor an-
nouncing his marriage, it is attributed, rightly or
wrongly, to a distinguished statesman now living
in retirement. The article in question is as fol-
lows :

" The speech by which the Emperor communicated
his marriage to the great bodies of the State is, above
all, a political one. If, from the person chosen, this
marriage appears at the first glance to be only a pri-
vate affair, the Chief of the State has, nevertheless,
himself felt the necessity of giving an explanation of
it, and in some measure a political commentary. We
are far from complaining of it, for we find in the speech
of his Majesty the formal confirmation of what we have
always thought and sometimes said on the true cha-
racter of the new Empire. It must be admitted that
the Chief of the State expressed himself with great clear-
ness and frankness. He definitively removed all veils,
and it is henceforth a well-established and solemnly ad-
mitted point that not only is the Empire not a mo-
narchy such as it is known in France, but that it has
little resemblance and analogy with all the monarchies
of Europe, for it places itself vis-à-vis to them by always
remembering its origin and preserving its own character.
Its origin is revolution ; its sovereignty the issue of uni-
versal Empire. suffrage. Such is the On the other
side are traditional monarchies. There are, therefore,

two principles confronted, the antagonism and the
struggles of which, from the year 1791 to the year 1815,
made the world tremble on its old foundations. On this
point the Empire of 1804 and that of 1852 resemble each
other, but here is where the difference commences :—Na-
poleon, the first of the name, had scarcely attained
the Sovereign power than he had but one idea—that
of entering into the Family of Kings. To arrive at
this, he multiplied his victories, and it was not until he
had twice conquered Austria, on the fields of Austerlitz
and Wagram, that he obtained an Arch-Duchess, and
became the son-in-law of the Emperor Francis. The
Emperor Napoleon thus made use of his glory to place
his throne on a level with those of the old Monarchies
of Europe. We think there has been a moment when
his successor had the same idea and the same desire.
However that may be, he has now relinquished it ; he
declares that it is not by giving an old character to his
blazon (vieillissant son blason), and in seeking to intro-
duce himself at any price into the family of Kings, that
he could make himself accepted. His uncle left to him
two examples—his union with Josephine (he was then
only a General,) and his marriage with an Arch-
Duchess. It is the first example, it is the virtues of
Josephine, that Napoleon 111. now invokes, and which
are to be revived in the new Empress. There is also in
the speech now engaging the attention of France and
Europe an expression which has caused us some sur-
prise. We do not think after having invoked the tradi-
tions of the first Empire, and after having taken the title
of Napoleon 111., one could be still a parvenu. A par-
venu is, as it appears to us, he who from the rank of a
simple sub-lieutenant of artillery comes to surround his
forehead with the Imperial band after passing over as a
conqueror the fields of battle of Italy and Egypt. But
when it is the illustration of a great name and the pres-
tige which that name exercises on the imagination of a
whole people which have placed the crown on the head
of a prince, he cannot call himself a parvenu. What
strikes us in the speech which we have now under exa-
mination is that the traditions of old policy, always
hitherto followed, even through the storms of revolu-
tions, appear to be now abandoned. We have also
asked ourselves why the chief of the state proclaimed
that he will not be less strong, since he will be more
free ; and why he adds that the new Empress will be
the ornament of the throne, as in the day of danger
she will become one of its most courageous sup-
ports. There are, therefore, dangers in the future !
There are, therefore, struggles to foresee since forces are
calculated and mention made of courgeous support. Is
the speech of the 22d January in unison with that of
Bordeaux? The latter a few months since told Europe
l' Empire, c'est la pair.' The speech of the 22d January
also addresses monarchical Europe in speaking to France,
and says. `The Empire is a new principle, a principle
contrary to yours ; it is the rupture with all the tradi-
tions of old policy. We know it, but it is the first time
that this truth has appeared clearly to every eye. We,
therefore, are not surprised at the serious impressions
which on this subject have passed through people's
minds."
The absence of several Deputies was remarked on
Saturday at the Tuileries, when the Emperor ran-
nounced his marriage. Among others are men-
tioned the Count de Merode, the Duke d'Uzes, the
Duke d'Albufera, and the Marquis de Talhouet.
A great number of persons of distinction have
entered their names at the Palace of the Elysee as
a mark of respect to the future Empress.
The preparations for the religious solemnity at
Notre Dame are going on very actively, and, in
order to avoid interruption, the usual office—high
mass—was dispensed with in the cathedral yester-
day. The wife of the Minister of State, who is on
j
rlng of intimacy with the Countess of Taft, is, if
we can rely on trust,d.female authority on this point, en-
trusted, the mother of the future Empress,
Litoh_t_l:eaprieparation of the trousseau, and the lace
:aPointe d'Atencon, purchased for the occa-
sion
seclued at 40,000 f. The usages of the old
as one Jrt to be gradually returning :it is stated
itself being
thernirlor facts of the day—the marriage
M6athilde
Princessimportant one of all—that the
a train a as well as the Empress, wear
-e eeremwofoilnl'ial. The Marquis de Bedmar,
Grandee of Spain.
one of the witnessee the First Class, is spoken of as
for the nuptial ataestc'e marriage ; and the music
Auber. The carriage will be the composition of M.
to Notre Dame will be draw elllpress on her passage
Yet it is believed that the iby six white horses.
e 30th, instead of the 31st, will be the day. It appears that it is incompatible with the canons of the
shuant
daanyu. ptwialhbetehneer-
diction be pronounced Chuff t
en the
an
is not ce exceprtain.tion will be made •
ui the present instance
We read in the Bulletin de parrs
the innumerable acts of gene° Some of
de Teba (Mlle. de Montijo) areZd of the Duchessp own among the
working classes. Lately,
as the Duchess wasass-
ing in her . carnage through one the quarters
which are so miraculously trausf9rn7f ed. at this time
by the will of the Em o per r 3 at the
moment when a