The Sun.
London, England, 1867-05-13 00:00:00

Tiiiscelianeous Foreign News.
(From Correspondents of the Auglo-American-Times.)
PARIS, May 8.
Now that the Luxembourg ouestion may be said
to have entered fairly into the " domain of diplo-

macy," confidence is felt that it will be settled in a
way to preserve the peace of Europe, and at the
same time satisfy the amour propre of the Powers
most interested. The much-talked-of Conference
is to be assembled in London to-day, and as the
stipulations which have determined this disinte-

rested arbitration on the part of England, Austria,
and Russia are well understood beforehand, it is
confidently believed that peace will continue as the
result of the deliberation. How to regulate the
neutralisation of the Grand Duchy, after the depar-
ture of the Prussian garrison, will be the only real
important question to be resolved, as the legitimacy
and necessity of its evacuation, tacitly acknow-
ledged by Prussia, and unanimously settled upon 1-y
the arbitrating Powers, will not be required to undergo
fuetrer discussion. The King of Holland, who in-
vited the Conference for the security of his king-
dom, probably cares but little what disposition may
be made of Luxembourg, provided the settlement
does not embarrass his Government, and whether it
be confirmed to him, annexed to Belgium, or estab-
lished as a separate State, with an independent
prince, it does not matter much, so that the ques-
tion is amicably arranged. France will have gained
her point in effecting the evacuation of the fortress,
and Prussia may calm her tender susceptibilities by
the certainty that France has acquired no additional
foot of territory; both may bury the hatchet for
awhile, and smoke the pipe of peace over a die-
mantled fortress, rendered useless to either from the
fact of its being neutral ground. The only possi-
bility of the negotiations failing to result in a peace-
ful solution arises from the circumstance that neither
France nor Prussia formally admitted, although
they have well understood, the bases of the pro-
posed arrangement, and one or both may not feel
disposed to accept all the conditions required.
In such a case the Conference will fail to
attain the object in view, and its arbitra-
tion will amount to nothing more than a
mockery, leaving the good faith of the powers ac-
cepting the peaceful invitation doubtful, since by
such an acceptance, and well knowing the terms to
be submitted, they virtually committed themselves
to the decision of the arbitrators. France evidently
means and expects peace. She willingly accepted
the offered mediation, and not wishing to embar-
rass the action of the three Courts by directly inter-
vening in the debate, she has resolved to leave them
free to discuss with Prussia a question which, in her
eyes, is one of public right and general interests. That
no pretext may be furnished public opinions for undue
agitation, the Emperor's Government has ordered
that all extraordinary military measures be discon-
tinued, and has assembled the Legislative Cham-
bers in extra session to acquaint them with the flat-
tering propects for peace.
It was not my intention to discuss political ques-
tions at such length, as I have done in several
recent letters, but I could not forego the temptation
to review complications which have well-nigh in-
volved Europe in the bloodiest of wars. For the
future I shall endeavour to deal in more pleasing
subjects, at least for those who care little for Euro-
pean politics.
An interesting suit, in which two sons-in-law are
prosecuting a party for defaming the memory of
their defunct father-in-law, is shortly to be defi-
nitely decided beiore the French high court of ap-
peals in this city. The question of defamation of
the dead, up to this time neglected by the code,
will be adjudged as an,amcnable offence over which
the civil courts have jurisdiction, or pronounced in-
admissable, inasmuch as no special provision has
been made for it by the laws of the land. Every
one admits the importance of enforcing a certain
respect for the memory of the dead, but if the
supreme tribunals sustain an action for slander in
such a case, it is feared that a precedent would be
established which would encourage serious abuse
hereafter. Indeed the moment it became impossible
to appreciate the conduct of a deceased person
without exposing oneself to prosecution, fines, and
imprisonment, the historian will find himself em-
barrassed, and criticism will degenerate into
contemptible and worthless panegyric. Per-
haps no court would be able to determine
clearly the line of demarcation between his-
tory and defamation, and any attempt to
do so would resolve itself into syllogisms so ab-
struse as to admit of endless argumentspro and con
without ever resulting in a satisfactory or reliable
conclusion. The lives of public men are presumed
to be open to criticism, and the historian assumes
the responsibility of impartially judging them after
- death. Whether that judgment be construed into
a defamation or not, it must be apparent to all that
the law cannot intervene without rendering ere long
all modern histories unsound and unreliable.
The French Academy has elected Messrs. Gratry
and Favre to the chairs made vacant by the deaths
of De Barante and Cousin. Gratry is a priest of

considerable celebrity as an orator and writer ; he

has been professor of biblical literature for several
years in the College of the Sorbonne, and has pub-
lished a considerable number of theological works.
Jules Favre is one of the most distinguished jurists
and politicians of France. In his most vehement
declamation at the bar or on the rostrum he pre-
serves a literary style remarkable for its force and
elegance. lie is the champion of many a forlorn
case, and his wonderful success as a pleader brings
him in high demand whenever an important and
seemingly desperate cause is at issue. The day he
was named by the Academy to fill the chair of the
lamented Cousin, he was prosecuting his arduous
duties at Libourne, where he had been called to de-
fend the baliker Pailhas in new suits, after having
previously obtained his acquittance by a jury in the
Gironde. His election has been welcomed by the
bar of Paris, who feel proud of the honour conferred

upon him.
Yesterday a grand mass, commemorative of the
death of Napoleon 1., was celebrated in the chapel
of the Tuileries, in the presence of the Emperor,
Empress, prince and princesses of the Imperial
family, the Ministers, the Governdr of the Palace,
maids of honour, and the chief dignitaries of State.
At the same hour a solemn mass was performed in
the Hotel des Invalides at the foot of the tomb of
the great Emperor. A guard of honour, composed
of disabled officers, was stationed around the tomb,
while au absolution was pronounced by the bishop.
I remarked as participants in the ceremony a depu-
tion of the soldiers of the Old Guard, the veterans
of the Invaliles, and a number of other faithful
servants of the ancient glory of France. A more
impressive scene I never before witnessed, and I
dare say sympathetic tears were found stealing
down other cheeks as well as my own, in realising
the religious devotion and respect paid to the
memory of the mighty dead, who " sleeps his last
sleep" in the marble sarcophagus around which we
were assembled on that solemn occasion.
A project conceived by Napoleon I. for decorat-
ing the avenues leading to the Hotel des Invalides
with statues of illustrious officers will soon be put
into execution. Napoleon, in a visit which he made
to the Invalides, found in going out that those
grand avenues had a cheerless appearance, and it
occurred to him to have statues placed there, but
political events prevented the accomplishment of

his idea.
The weather for the past week has been superb.
Old Sol in all his glory has gladdened our hearts
and blessed us with a whole week of golden sun-
shiny days. All Paris seers to have put on its
holiday attire; the Boulevards, Bois do Boulogne,
Umgchamp, the Exhibition, Champs Elysees,
are teeming with thousands of promenaders and
equip iges of every kind and nation. Apparently no
one has left the city, and the inhabitants and
strangers are indiscriminately mixed in this vast
hive of circulating myriads, On Sunday the races
at the Bois attracted a❑ immense crowd in that
quarter, and the return therefrom was particularly
brilliant and animating all along the Avenue de
l'lmperatriee and the Champs Elysees. The charm-
ing soirees at the Champs de Mars are now fully
inaugurated, and retain thousands of visitors within
the enclosure of the park until late hours of the
night. Nearly all the restaurants, cafes, and buffets
are kept open and brilliantly lighted every night.