The Sun.
London, England, 1870-10-17 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1870.

IF any one had ventured to predict on July Ist
that by the middle of October NAPOLEON 111. would
be shut up in a German castle and Paris cut off from
all communication with the world, such person
would have made his friends uneasy about his sanity.
But if he bad gone on to prophesy that by this same
date, Rome having in the meanwhile become the
capital of Italy, GARIBALDI would be at large, and
not in Rome, not in Italy at all, but in detested
France, invested with tke command of a General of
Division in the French army—the prophet's friends
would no longer have felt any doubt. Painful suspi-
cion would have ripened into more painful certainty,
and they would have declared that he was stark
staring mad. Yet not only has all this happened,
but so interminable is the succession of startling
events in this annus nzirabilis that we have ceased to
feel astonishment at anything. It is no affectation
which has made us assume the nil culnzrari attitude
recommended by Horace. We have left off wonder-
ing, because our phrenological " bump " of wonder
has had so many demands made upon it that, like a
worn-out spring, it refuses to act. Henceforth there is
nothing that can astonish us. MAzzINI installed in
the Winter Palace at St. Petersburg, the Grand Master
of the Irish Orangemen elected King of lreland by
the Fenians, the POPE chosen to the pastorate of Mr.
SPURGEON'S Tabernacle, Queen VICTORIA taking up
her permanent abode at Buckingham Palace, what-
ever there is wildly improbable, let it all come to
pass, and we should now, sated as we are with
catastrophes and surprises, take it all as a matter of
course. Nevertheless, it is well to arouse ourselves
for a little ; it is well to try and grasp these porten-
tous events as they sweep past us. This year, 1870,
like 1848 and 1789, is an epoch in the world's
history. It is the starting point of a new order, and
its several incidents are worth noting with a careful
and intelligent eye.

Let us content ourselves on this occasion with one
incident only, the appearance of GARIBALDI in
France. As we have said, nothing more wildly im-
probable than that could have been dreamt of. In
the first place the great work to which GAR IBALDI
has devoted the larger part of his chivalrous
life is just now on tha eve of completion.
Ten years ago this very month he met VICTOR
EMMANUEL after the defeat of the Neapolitans
at Volturno, and said, " Hail, King of Italy!" Ten
years ago he vowed that he would never cease from
his work until he had crowned that same
Sovereign King in the Roman Capitol. Twice has
he made gallant attempts to fulfil his vow. At
Aspromonte he was shot down by the Italian
General' PALLAVICINI j at Mentana he was over-
thrown by the French General DE FAILLY. For
the greater part of those ten years he has been a
prisoner. Yet, now that he might safely have been
set at large, now that there was no danger of a colli-
sion either with Italian or French troops, he sud-
denly makes his escape and turns up, not on the
Tiber, but on the Loire ; not on the field at
the head of his red-shifts, but in a
French Prefecture at the hewl 4f
corps of that very nation which yobbo I him of
his birthright, and made him, in spite of himself, a
Frenchman. It was but in 1860 that NAPOLEON
i myendicated " Nice, and now the revendicator is
driven &op France,and the Nizzard who so passion-
ately protested agp,ist *.e apnexatiou hae made use
Of his enforced French nationctiq ti 9
,c9mmand a
French army. That army has for its mission two ,