The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-28 00:00:00

JOHN RUSKIN.

"After having made a fame by hanging on to the
skirts of a famous artist--after deluding those craving
for novelty into the belief that a dashing style must
imply precious discoveries --after having met the
humour of the time, by preaching thereligion of architec-
ture with a freedom in the use of sacred names and sacred
things from which a more reverential man would have
shrunk—after having served as an eloquent though too
flattering guide to the treasures of Venice—after having
enriched the citizens of this Scottish metropolis with ra-
ceipts how to amend the architecture of our city by
patching Palladian squares, streets, and crescents with
Gothic windows, balconies, and pinnacles—after having
lectured to decorators on the beauty and virtue of paint-
ing illegible letters on sign-boards and shop-fronts—the
wisdom of Mr. Ruskin has of late begun to cry in the
streets."

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Speaking of Mr. Ruskin.'s "Royal Academy
Vade Mecum, of 1855," the reviewer declares in its
regard " rarely has vanity, so overweening in
stature, so unblushing in front, so magisterial in
language risen up between a writer and his public."
During the course of a criticism upon recent effu-
sions of " Remusat and M.ontalembert," another
contributor to the Whig Quarterly, thus explains
for the benefit of the bewildered Bourbonists and
Republicans of France—the enthusiasm of—

ENGLAND'S RECEPTION OF NAPOLEON 111.
" Three or four causes contributed to its enthusiastic
character. In the first place we received him, without
reference to himself or his antecedents, as the ruler and
representative of our great rival natoin, with which we
had then for the first time formed an offensive and defen-
sive alliance of the closest intimacy. We were anxious to
show to France how hearty was our friendship; how sin-
cere our reconciliation ; how generous and earnest our de-
sire to bury in oblivion all former jealousies and animosi-
ties ; how unfeigned our delight at a union on which we in-
stinctively felt, and deliberately and profoundly believe, so
much of the future welfare of Europe and of humanity
must hang. Next, it should be remembered that Eng-
lishmen have a peculiar and inveterate admiration for all
who have raised thetuselves—who are the sons of their
own deeds—the architects of their own fortunes. We
always do honour to the man, be he lawyer, soldier, or
politician, who has risen from nothing. To this feeling
was added a vivid recollection of all that was romantic'
and picturesque in the history of the man then making
his progress through unexampled crowds in a royal
carriage ; how he who was now the Queen's guest had
once been a special constable in London streets—how he
' who was now Emperor of the first nation of the Con-
tinent, had seven years before been a poor and obscure
exile on our shores. In all this, it must be admitted,
there was much to excite the imagination and to excuse
the somewhat extravagant ebullition of welcome which
waited on his progress through the city. But, again,
much of this enthusiasm was due to the lady who accom-
panied him. Had he come without his Empress, his
reception would have been decidedly less warm. Her
history, no less than her rare grace and beauty, contri-
buted to this result. If the English people have
a weakness for a man who has raised himself from
an obvire miti,ol they klkyo Another . wotwas