The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-24 00:00:00

the Note, of the Sened, and of the Convention, be
meekly submitted to by the AUTOCRAT ? Will the
"EMPEROR' s Cup for 1853"—that sickening cup of
most delectable Turkey Rhubarb, depicted by one of
the artists of our sagacious and inimitable Punch—
be quietly swallowed (with a wry face) by theAnTo-
CRAT t Or will his insensate policy be carried to
its utmost extravagance--will his forces cross the
Pruth, and advance to the occupation of the
Danubian Principalities ? In either event, the
ulterior and inevitable consequence must be satis-
factory. Supposing, for example, on the one
hand, that the CZAR consents to the intermediation
of Austria with a view to the negotiation of some
ingenious diplomatic compromise—the prestige of
his authority in the East will have altogether
evaporated. The pride of his despotism will have
yielded to the chivalrous resolution of Turkey,
aided by the support simultaneously accorded to
Turkey by the French and British Governments.
Russia may then " slope" as much as ever she
tzkes towards Asia, according to the famous phrase
of M. DE LAMARTINE—fOr thenceforth she can
never dream of " sloping" towards Constantinople.
So much, consequently, for the happy nature of
the result tinder that contingency. Now let us
consider for a moment the probabilities of the
result brought about by the opposite conjecture.
Suppose, therefore, on the other hand, that the
Emperor NICHOLAS, enraged beyond measure by
the inflexible bearing of the Sublime Porte—
in other words, wholly' beside himself on
finding his golden day-dream melting away
at the very moment when it seemed to give
promise of its realisation,—suppesing that his
wrath be such at the disappointment, that for
once he pays no regard whatever to the dictates
of prudence, but marches his troops across the
Russian frontiers, and so declares war against Turkey
and her allies—he will find himself confronted in
the attack, not merely by the patriotic ardour of
the Osmanlis, but by the combined armaments
also of the two most formidable powers of
Europe, by the allied influence of the two
mightiest races of Christendom. What the up-
shot of such an unequal contest would be,
it were not difficult, of course, at once to antici-
pate. To question the result for an instant would
be preposterous. The Pruth once crossed by the
Cossacks—the French and British fleets now at
the Dardenelles would advance to the opposite
shores of the sea of Marmora, and take up their
position in the waters of Constantinople. Pro-
bably they will penetrate yet further, traverse the
Bosphorus, enter the Black Sea, bombard Odessa, and
rifle the stores of Sebastopol. It was rumoured some
time ago that the Emperor NAPOLEON had re-
solved, in the event of the Cossacks marching
boldly upon the line of the Balkan Mountains, to
ship 30,000 French soldiers across the -Mediter-
ranean, and disembark them at Constantinople.
Whether this report be accurate or wholly suppo-
sitious, it is at least tolerably certain that there is
at this moment an exceeding probability of a
military as well as of a maritime movement against
the AUTOCRAT. Possibly, therefore, some speedy
advantage may arise both from Chobhani and
from Satory. Even Mr. COBDEN-the great
Apostle of Arbitration—will admit that it must
require an iron gauntlet to crumple up Russia like
a sheet of paper in the summary manner that he
was the first to indicate. Consequently, with
that knowledge before us, it is some satisfaction
to he conscious that England and France are now
equally on the alert in regard to the policy of the
Emperor NICHOLAS, and to remember that, at the
present moment, in proof of this, the union-jack
and the tricolor are fluttering side by side at the
Dardanelles.