The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-17 00:00:00

ME MOP OLITAN GOSSIP.-THURSDAY

A week or two ago a letter purporting to be from the
Prince of Wales to his brother the Duke of Edinburgh
was published in the French papers. The authenticity
of of that letter was subsequently denied. But what could
lave been the object of inventing it ? Was
it a mere hoax, or had it _ any specific pur-
pose ? The Memorial Diplomatique, a Paris journal
which is supposed to be in the secrets of all great
personages, declares• that the " mystification "is due to
the enemies of the Prince, "who affects a certain con-
tempt for public opinion, and, far from occupying himself
with affairs of State, in a manner to prepare himself for
the arduous task he will one day have to fulfil,
gives himself up to pleasure and amusement." - This
very influential, and usUally,' very discreet journal,
goes on to give sundry particulars with regard to the
Prince's private affairs, which an English journalist will
not care to repeat. Suffice it to say that the Queen having
refused to aid her son out of her resources, the assist-
ance of the Cabinet has been asked, and under
the guise of a great act of policy which will
assume the form of a brilliant court at
Dublin, Mr. Gladstone means to ask for a considerable
increase to the Prince's income. This becoming known,
the enemies of the Prince, says the paper above mentioned,

forged theletter with the view of rendering Parliament
less favourable to the idea. If this be a true account of
the incident it must be confessed that the foes of his
Royal Highness dissembled their hatred very suc-
cessfully. There was nothing in the spurious letter to
damage the Prince, but, on the contrary, it told in his
favour. The forgery might very well have come from a
friendly hand.
It will be remembered that early in the year the
Liberal papers and certain Liberal M.P.'s were
rather hard upon the Foreign Office because
a young Englishman, named Nathan, had been
apprehended by the Italian Government, sent to prison,
and was lying there month after month without triaL It
was alleged that Nathan was a most guilelesss, inoffensive
creature, and had nothing to do with any political move-
ments whatever. The pressure placed upon Lord
Clarendon and Mr. Otway made them place pres-
sure upon the Italian Government, and Nathan was libe-
rated. The next thing we heard of him was that he was
leading a band of revolutionists on the borders of the
Lake of Como. Of course they did nothing, but after
being paid their expenses by their youthful commander,
returned to their own homes. It is now said that this
hare-brained young Englishman with the Jewish name is
the son of no less a person than Mazzini. His mother has
long lived near Lugano, where Mazzini resides when he is
conspiring in the Swiss Canton of Tessino that runs down,
so inconveniently for the Florence Government, into
Italian territory. Nathan was born about 1850, and a
foreigner who visited London two years later remembers
how devoted he found Mazzini at that time to an
infant. It is supposed that this was the youngster who
has just been undertaking an abortive conspiracy in his
father's native country, and thereby shewing himself a
true chip of the old block.
To-night the first real battle of the session in the House
of Commons begins. It is unusually late. Ordinarily
the fighting is done before the middle of June, and after
that time wearied members assume the attitude of the
Lotos-eaters. But Mr. Gladstone got his Land
Bill through first as the most urgent measure,
and left until now the Education Bill, which
is the most disputed. Mr. Vernon Harcourt
heads the attack, and it is expected that the debate will
not be concluded until Monday or Tuesday. As regards
the Land Bill, it is safe. The resolution taken by the
Lords not to oppose the second reading removes all diffi-
culty out of the way, and the one peer who has moved
the rejection of the bill, will find himself the
leader of a very forlorn hope. Yesterday's
debate in the House of Commons was exceed-
ingly lively, the tie gave rise to much excite-
ment, and Mr. Disraeli's short speech was an in-
cident worth noting.
I am glad to be able to give a good account of the
Archbishop of Canterbury. He is ordered to be out of
doors eight hours a day, and he is regaining strength. Ho
is not, however, expected at Lambeth for some time to

T,OANS ON DEBENTURES.—The Directors
of the Great Eastern Railway Company are prepared to
receive Loans of Money for three, five, or seven years, at 4t per
cent., on the security of the Company's Debentures. Applica-
tions to be addressed to the undersigned.
By Order,
J. B. OWEN, Secretary.
Bishopsgate Terminus, 17th June, 1870.