The Sun.
London, England, 1865-04-15 00:00:00

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The Emperor and the French Academy.-

His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon TTE.'fil-
appointment in regard to the French Academy is
thus commented upon by the Paris Correspondent
of the Times

The late elections to the French Academy have
revived a subject which was much discussed after the
death of Duke Pasquier. The former Chancellor
of Louis Philippe had for a number of years been a
member of that great literary corporation, and it
was said the Emperor had reason to believe that it
would have petitioned him to accept the vacant
armchair. The Academy made no sign, perhaps
from timidity ; and, indeed, nothing more than
vague hints that the invitation would not be con-
sidered an offence betrayed his wishes. It happened
that the Emperor was then busily engaged on the
" History of Julius Cesar," and on the presentation
of a new member, after the customary compliments
had been exchanged, he pointed to a writing-table
on which some sheets of the work were lying, and
observed that he had something there which he hoped
would not be unworthy of the Academy. The hint,
if indeed these words were meant for a hint, was
not followed up, perhaps not understood, and the
subject dropped. Since then two armchairs have
become vacant, and have just been filled up ; and
the first volume of the great work which still absorbs
his Majesty has appeared.

The idea of succeeding a man like M. Pasquier
must have had a peculiar pleasure for Napoleon M.
He had held office under the old regime, the de-
struction of which he beheld. He lived under the
Republic, and was very near mounting the scaffold,
like so many others, and was only saved from it by
accident. He had witnessed the triumphs of General
Bonaparte, and applauded the restoration of order
under the Consulate. He had held an important
post under the Enipire, and was one of those whom
Mallet so audaciously arrested during the Emperor's
absence in Russia. He held still higher office under
the Constitutional Monarchy of July, and held it
till that Monarchy collapsed, and it was said he was
not unwilling to give the benefit of his experience
and his services to Louis Napoleon, the President
of the Second Republic. A man who had lived so
long, and who had witnessed and survived the
mighty events which marked the close of the 18th
and the first half of the 19th centuries, afforded a
rare subject for an inaugural discourse. It is a pity
that the essay on contemporaneous history which
it would have called forth from such a hand should
have been lost to the public.
The rumour which I have alluded to is, as I have
said, once more rife among a few of the more fer-
vent admirers of his Majesty as an author as well as
a statesman. There should be but little weight in
the allegation that there are certain formalities
which the Emperor could not, consistently with his
high position, comply with. For instance, the can-
didate for the honours of the Academy is expected
to knock at the doors and canvass in person the 39
members of whom he aspires to be the equal, and
respectfully, though not humbly, request their
countenance and support. Assuredly it would be
strange to see the absolute ruler of a mighty Empire
go round soliciting audiences of certain Academi-
cians who are suspected of feeling no very great
enthusiasm for the Imperial rule, and meekly
answering whatever questions they might ask as to
his qualifications. It was at first suggested that
the Minister of State should perform that duty in
his master's name, but I am informed that these
preliminary visits, though customary, Lre not obli-
gatory, and that they would certainly be dispensed
with in favour of the Imperial postulant. It is also
customary for the Academician elect to be "received"
in presence of a crowded audience, to read his dis-
course on his predecessor, and hear in return a dis-
course delivered upon himself. As this would obvi-
ously be inconvenient and hardly decorous, it was
suggested that if the " Forty" resolved to take the
first step they should be invited to the Palace of the
Tuileries, bringing with them their armchairs if in-
dispensable, or, if not, accepting the accommodation
the Palace could afford, when the Emperor might
read his inaugural address, not before a promiscuous
audience, but in presence of the elite of the society
which has its entrée at the Tuileries, and hear at his
ease the complimentary discourse of his introducer.
To this plan there would be no reasonable objection.
It is in a hall of the Louvre Palace, and not, as
under former Governments, in their own Chambers,
that the French Parliament is opened by the Em-
peror, and the ceremony is not on that account less
imposing or, I presume, less constitutional. There
is no good reason why Academicians should not
attend his Majesty as well Deputies and Senators.
Their uniform is certainly not so brilliant as that of
the legislators and Councillors of State, but its very
ugliness would be a distinction.

I mention these rumours without venturing to
vouch for their correctness. The Emperor even
now counts several admirers in the Academy, and
it is now certain that the novelty of a great Sove-
reign suing for admission or accepting it from a
literary body would not make a few converts to
-Imperialism.