The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-06 00:00:00

PROFITABLE READING.

The Dublin papers give, in two columns of small
type, the names of all the persons presented to the
new Lord-Lieutanant of Ireland at his first drawing-
room. This lively and profitable reading is followed
by six columns describing the dresses of the ladies.
The greater portion of this reading will be to male
readers an unknown language. For instance, what
on earth does this mean, "Jupon of rich white poult de
soie, with overskirt of tulle plissed, and panier of tulle
agraffed with ruban ponceau, carnarg,-o sash placed
derriere trimmed to correspond ? " It is taken quite
at random from about 20,000 words of .a similar kind.
Fancy any brained being sitting down to read such
stuff as this. It is worse than heralding, Free-
masonry, or deciphering "the number of the

FOREIGN NOTES,
TURKEY AND GREECE.
The eight days within which the Greek Uovernment *As
to announce its decision have terminated, and Athena is
subject to all the excitement of a dangerous Ministerial
crisis. King George has got rid of his warlike Cabinet,
but so far his good intentions are materially hampered by
his inability to find a peaceful one. To accept office means
to accept the declaration, and it is difficult to find
a politician who will commit himself to this course.
Nevertheless, the balance of opinion is of the optimist
character. The Independance Beige believes that Greece
will accept the declaration if Turkey withdraws her ulti-
matum. This means unreserved acceptance, for the
declaration is for the most part a transcript of the ulti-
matum which the Porte has already offered to withdraw.
The Liberty, which is entitled to be regarded as an
authority on this question does not believe in a favourable
settlement. Its information leads to the inference that if
Deligiorgi or Zaimis were to accept the office which has
been offered them, they would not retain it for a fort-
night. The chance of King George and Greece finding
themselves in the same position as Isabella and Spain,
is by no means insignificant. The London Conference in
1867 finished the Luxembourg affair in four days
and three sittings, and the consent of France and Prussia
was known in a few minutes. The Conference
of 1869 has been sitting or waiting for above a month. It
took one week to conclude its deliberations, it needed
another week to receive the answer of Turkey, and now
Europe has been waiting since the 16th of January for
the reply of the Greek Government, the telegraphic dis-
tance between Paris and Athens being only a few hours.
The Liberte knows that the delay of eight days has been
followed by another adjournment until Monday, nor is it
likely that this will be the last. The Temps says that
Comondouros has been offered the first post in the Greek
Cabinet, but has .refused. The New Free Press contains a
still more alarming piece of intelligence. It is informed
that the Greeks resident in England are forming a
committee to agitate in favour of a republic for Greece,
should King George give way to the Porte. This looks
very warlike ; but, if the Greeks go to war, what can they
do?

The Memorial Diplomatique says that the autograph
letter from the Emperor Napoleon was delivered to the
King himself by the French Ambassador at Athens. On
the previous day a telegram had arrived from Trieste
announcing that a courier of the Russian Cabinet
had embarked at that port to proceed to the Greek
capital, and that he was the bearer of an auto-
graph letter which the Emperor Alexander had
addressed to the King, urging him to accede to the decla-
ration of the Paris diplomatists. "The step taken simul-
taneously by the Emperors of France and Russia, with
the object of determining Greece to defer to the wishes of
the Conference, appears to have made a deep impression
on the mind of King George, who, after several consulta-
tions with his Ministers, finally pronounced for an accept-
ance of the declaration drawn up at Paris."

The correspondent of the Star is not satisfied with our
representative at Madrid. We pay Sir John Crampton
£6,000 a year, but English interests receive very little at-
tention from the official who draws this very handsome
salary. " One must go generally twice, sometimes thrice,
before one can deliver one's credentials even to the
deputy, the principal being seldom visible, or visible
only for a few moments. The only place where one is
certain to find him is at the Museum, copying, with more
or less success, one of the many masterpieces to be found
in that magnificent collection." Certainly the economy
which begins with quill mending ought not to leave out of
consideration the salaries of representatives at Courts
where there is little or nothing to do,

nussm.
Some of the Governments of Europe are not to be com-
plimented upon their successful preservation of social
order. The present seems to be the golden age of brigan-
dage. There are brigands in Spain, more in Greece, many
in Hungary, and multitudes in Italy. In Western Russia,
too, they are by no means uncommon. Their exploits
largely consist in carrying on a contraband trade across
the frontiers of Russia, and many severe combats take
place between the frontier guards and these depredators.
In one fight a band of thirty guards Vas in danger of anal-
hilAtioninau dgulge_tizgir =Aber of brizaudit but thtarrivAl