The Sun.
London, England, 1870-08-02 00:00:00

PRICE I d
STAMPED 2d

it ripe by Prince Napoleon and the Queen of Holland.—
Daily News Correspondent.

FORTIFYING PARIS.—If he (the Paris shopkeeper)
has been startled by the tone of the Emperor's procla-
mation, he was no less so on learning that the fortifica-
tions of Paris were to be put in readiness—these famous
fortifications which M. There bestowed upon us at such
an enormous cost thirty years ago, and which to no
Parisian eye have ever conveyed the slightest
Idea of war. The fortifications, with their
grassy vestment, seemed but a verdant girdle
put round the most pleasure-loving and pleasure-
giving capital in the world. To the lower classes
they represented only a zone beyond which rent and wine
(untouched by octroi dues) were cheaper; for the more
wealthy " beyond the fortifications " meant merely the
Bois de Boulogne, with its pretty cascades and its charm-
ing lakes. And now to think of drawbridges and
cannon, and to see trees cut down and villas
destroyed by the order of ruthless engineers.
This is, indeed, bringing war home to us. Besides,
when would the fortifications come into use ? is the
natural inquiry. After the iron frontier of France
has been forced ; after, at least, three great battles have
been fought and lost ; after all the natural defenders of the
soil have been drained off and vanquished, and when the
defence will upon the National Guard. Things will have
come to a bad pass with us if we ever have to fall back
on the fortifications of Paris, and to trust to the heroism
of the shopkeepers of a wealthy and luxurious capital.
No wonder, then, that the announcement that the fortifi-
cations of Paris were to be put in a state of preparation
has created an unpleasant sensation.—Freneh, Correspon-
dent of the Times

THE EMPEROR. AND HIS SON AT METZ.—The
Emperor's carriage followed, a plain barouche drawn by
four horses, ridden by postilions. His Imperial Majesty
occupied the right side of the back seat. He was dressed
in the uniform of a general of division and wore on his
left breast a star of the Legion of Honour. "He
looks ill," remarked a friend who was beside me ;
but this friend had never seen him before. A
sallow complexion is peculiar to the family.
The present Emperor has it ; so have Prince Napoleon
and Prince Pierre, and so had the Great Captain,
from whom the house has, its rise, and whose marble-like
pallor, turning betimes to an ashy,
,tint, is historical.
In my judgment Napoleon 111. is in excellent health,
but a little jaded, as well he may be. He smiled, not
the sickly sea-green smile that very incompetent
and partial witness, Mr. Kinglake, lent him, at
Solferino, where, forsooth, he played the role of
coward, but a gratified and contented smile. He was
accompanied by General de Waubert de Geniis and two
other aides de-camp. A squad of Cent Gardes followed
the carriage, and then came a second, open like the first,
containing the Prince Imperial, attended by two officers
of rank. The child was pale, he has the delicacy of
colour of his august mother; but he was full of boyish
animation, and lifted his cap and replaced it almost con-
tinuously as the crowd cheered him. At first the popu-
lace did not appear to know who the little lad in the sub-
lieutenant's uniform was, but the women, as if by some
acute womanly instinct, sprang to a conclusion at once,
and were first and loudest in their cries, " Long live the
Prince Imperial."—Letter in the Standard.