The Sun.
London, England, 1840-08-28 00:00:00

A PATRIOTIC PARISIAN.

A ridiculous scene took place a day or two ago before
the Conseil de Discipline, a species of civic court-
martial, of the sth Regiment of the National Guard
of Paris.

One Monsieur Vidal is noted in his company for want
of zeal, and for never answering the calls of the serjeant-
major when invited to mount guard..
Vidal, summoned once more for those reiterated ne-
glects, presented himself before the Court, holding in
his hand, to the astonishment of all present, a London
newspaper.

President—Explain to the Court why, after having
been so often punished for not mounting guard, you
still continue disobedient to orders 2

Vidal—Because, Sir, we live in dangerous times ;
things begin to look very serious indeed, and it is now
the duty of every zealous Frenchman to show himself.
President—lndeed, but far from showing yourself,
you never come forward to do your duty at the guard-
room.

Vidal—Why, Sir, I despise the vulgar everyday
duty of standing sentry at some garden gate in the heat
of the sun, or at night, of parading the streets and
picking up drunkards. I haxe a nobler ambition ; I
feel I could do the state better service.

President—What do you mean ?
Vidal—l beg to inform the Court that from my ear-
liest infancy I hate, most cordially, whatever bears an
English name. From this general and patriotic feel-
ing, I accept only ale and Cheshire cheese, against
which I never entertained any animosity—quite the
reverse.
President—To what does all this tend.

Vidal—Sir, it tends to Ireland, Scotland, and the
East Indies, to everything that is British. I will stir
up Botany Bay, Dublin, and Edinburgh to play Eng-
land a trick. I must stir up something We are go-
ing to have war, and I will march to the frontiers.
President (laughing)—lt is not to the frontiers that
you are required to march, but to your guard-room.
Vidal— \V hat, gentlemen, will you have me wear out
my burning zeal, my glowing patriotism, in the sth
Parisian Legion only ? I am, I know I am, called
upon to save France, with the assistance of others, of
course. No, gentleman, I cannot limit my enthusiasm
to so narrow a field of action ; I will be placed upon
active service if we go to war with England, and take
my station in the front rank.
President—England has nothing to do in this busi-
ness. You are before the Court for neglecting to
mount your guard.

. -
Vidal—Sir, I will volunteer to mount guard ten times
for one on board the packet-boat that shall take me to
glory. lam quite ready to sail in the service of my
country, for I am never troubled with sea sickness.
In spite of these patriotic dispositions Vidal was sen-
tenced to twelve hours' confinement.

On leaving the Court Vidal exclaimed, " You sen-
tence me, you make a malcontent of a volunteer who
would have carried on the war at his own expense. You
will have to answer for this to our country, who is
greatly to be pitied, for one of her most brilliant stars
is set.' "—(General laughter.)—Audience.

A ROMANTIC ALDERMAN.—Perhaps the
most curious instance of true love for a Royal beauty was
that of an alderman of London, who, having at a great
cost procured a highly-finished miniature of the Queen's
lovely aunt, the Princess Amelia, always wore it in his
bosom, and resisting all fascinations of the fair citizens
his compeers, lived and died a bachelor for the sake of the
exalted and unconscious object of his admiration.—Queen
Victoria from her Birth to her Bridal.
CENSORSHIP IN MILAN. With axtreme
caution must those books be treated which touch on the
limits of temporal and spiritual power. Writings that in-
culcate the doctrines of Socinianism, deism, or material-
ism, must be repulsed. Nothing is to be printed respect-
ing the emperor and his family, however laudatory it may
be, without express permission. The theatres, also, are
subject to a strict censorship, since much may be printed
that must not be performed. Sanguinary and inhuman
pieces must be rejected, and modesty is enjoined in ges-
tures, dances, and costumes. A worthless king must not
be presented as the principal character, unless there be a
good and just king in the same piece, to counteract the
evil impression produced by the former.—Raumur's Italy
and the Italians.
AN EXCELLENT BROIL.--Lord Hertford, Cro-
ker, and myself, were at an exhibition of pictures. One
of them, a domestic scene, I think by Mulready, repre-
sented a husband carving a boiled leg of mutton. The
orifice displayed the meat red and raw, and the husband
was looking at his wife with a countenance of anger and
disappointment. " That fellow is a fool," observed Lord
Hertford, " he does not see what an excellent broil he
may have."—James Smith's Memoirs, 6.c.
Dr. Lardner will, we hear upon good authorit),
be removed from the Council of the British Association
for the Advancement of Science at the ensuing meeting at
Glasgow. He has always been conspicuous fur the pro-
minent part he has taken at the head of the Mechanical
section, and has had charge of many money grants con-
nected with steam improvement and mechanical discovery.
—Provincial Paper.
From a ref urn just presented to Parliament, it
appears that the general survey and valuation of Ireland
are completed in eleven of the northern counties of Ire-
land—the number of acres in which amounted to five mil-
lions and a-half. The eight counties now in progress of
survey and valuation, with an acreage of three millions
and a half, will be completed in 1842; but it will require
six years from the present time to finish the whole eleven
remaining counties of Ireland.
The Sdiblk Herald states that Fisher the
master of the Sudbury Union Workhouse, has been appre-
hended, and was committed on Friday the 14th instant,
to take his trial at the next October Bury Sessions, on a
charge of ernbezling goods, the property of the Guardians.
Ile denies the charge.