The Sun.
London, England, 1866-02-16 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 16, 1866.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS,

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, Thursday Evening.
The Senate yesterday adopted the Address unani-
mously, of course, however not without another
rambling tirade from the Marquis de Boissy. A
word or two will illustrate the estimation in which
the Senete holds this man. As he was proceeding
with his voluminous comments, amidst general im-
patience, the first President, M. Troplong, hinted
that they did not want to hear his " developments."
The Baron de Heeckeren said, " We want to hear
useful things." The President, " Yes, the Senate
wishes to hear useful facts or observations, and not
digressions, which, for the most part, have nothing
whatever to do with the Address." Never, perhaps,
was there an orator like the Marquis de Boissy. He
talked away in spite of marled indications of im-
patience and disgust. Nay, he said he was
" enchanted" at the interruptions.
The religious commands as to the observance of
Lent of 1866 are framed in the spirit of allowing
the utmost indulgence compatible with the necessary
demands of religion. Not many years since almost
total abstinence from flesh was enforced during
Lent, but M. Darboy, the Archbishop of Paris, this
year makes the following regulations :—" We per-
mit the use of eggs during the whole of Lent, with
the exception of the last three days of Passion
Week. We allow the use of meat Sunday, Mon-
day, Tuesday, and Thursday of each week, from
Thursday after Ash Wednesday till Tuesday of
Passion Week, inclusive. This dispensation only
applies, even in regard to those who aze not sup-
posed to care about fasting, to the principal re-
past (Divine) except on Sunday, when fat aliments
may be used at every repast. We permit the use
of milk and butter at the collation, except on Ash
Wednesday and Good Friday. Thus permission
extends to every fast day of the year."
The last mandemant of the late Archbishop of
Paris (Cardinal Morlot) was made less indulgent
than the present. Indeed, a French writer of note
referring to it says that, though in theology absti-
nence from certain aliments is called fasting, in
medicine such changes would be considered as a
wholesome regulation of diet, in conformity with
proper sanitary regulations.
In looking over some ancient books, which treat
of fasts, I find it stated that it was not till the 15th
century that fasting began to be generally observed
at certain periods. In a work of M. Raoul de Croy,
published 30 years ago, upon the subject of Lent
fasts, he remarks that in Genesis it is said that, on
the fifth day of the creation, God commanded the
waters to produce fish, and that birds would fly on
the earth. Thus several Fathers of the Church
considered fish and fowl to be of the same species,
as they had the same origin. St. Basil and St. Am-
brose authorised this doctrine. In the life of St.
Columban it is said that, in a time of famine,
he fed his monks with game and poultry. Gregory.
of Tours relates that, dining at the table of Chil-
peric, and not usually eating meat, the King said to
him—" Take this soup. It is for yon. It is made
with fowl." In 817 the Council of Aix-la-Chapelle
made some modifications of the idea, but the Coun-
cil still left some birds in the same category as fish.
This anecdote is related in support of the hypothesis.
A monk of the Abbey of Cluny went home on a
visit to his parents. It was a fast-day. He asked
what there was to eat, and was told that there
was nothing in the house but fish. Seeing some
chickens in the yard he went and killed one and
brought it( in, and said, " That is the fish I shall eat
to-day." flis parents asked him if he had permis-
sion to eat meat. He replied, " No, but a fowl is
not flesh. Birds and fish were created at the same
time, and they have the same origin, as our hymns
tiach us." According to some French authors
certain aliments were forbidden in times of
fasting, not from theological considerations, but
on account of their scarcity. The Council of An-
gers in 1149 forbade the use of butter and milk.
Charles the Fifth, whose health was impaired after
the attempt made by the King of Navarre to poison
him, however withdrew the prohibition. In 1584
the Council of Bourges forbade the use of eggs in
times of fasting, but people were permitted to eat
them in some localities. Charenton, near Paris,
was one of those privileged places, and thus it be-
came the rendezvous of those who wished to avoid
the discipline of the Church. Bron tome, a courtier
of Charles the Ninth, relates a pleasant anecdote
about a fine lady who made a false and hypocritical
display of her desire to conform to church discip-
line. In a certain town there was a procession in
Lent. The lady appeared to be particularly
devout, and joined in the procession bare-footed;
and although she in general dressed very stylishly,
on this occasion her garments were those of peni-
tence, and intended to evince dislike of " pomps
and vanities." The procession over, however, the
hypocrite went to dine with her lover upon a
quarter of lamb and a ham. - The repast
diffused such a savoury odour that people could
smell it in the street. They rushed up stairs to the
dining room, and the lady was caught in the fact of
feeding on lamb, instead of the diet prescribed by
the Church canons. She was immediately seized,
and compelled to walk through the town with the
remnants of the quarter of lamb on the spit fastened
to her shoulder, and with the ham hung round her
neck.

In my account of the procession of the bceuf Bras,
which appeared in The Sun of Tuesday, there was
a misprint which should be corrected. It was not
a little goat, but a little girl, who was dressed as
Cupid.

A letter froth Dr. Tournes, connected with a
scientific mission to South Africa, appears in the
Siecle, which gives a lamentable account of the
unfortunate prisoners of the Negus of Abyssinia
and of the general condition of the country. Com-
plete anarchy prevailed, and there were three pre-
tenders to the empire. Theodore, the present
Negus, is a fugitive and a wanderer from
province to province. An engagement had taken
place on the day of the arrival of Dr. Tournes
at Halai, and 400 men were killed. The expedi-
tion wished to penetrate into the interior, but the
certainty of being made prisoners induced them to
retreat. On the 20th December the news respect-
ing the captives of Theodore was melancholy in the
extreme. M. Sterne, a Protestant bishop, had
died while being punished with the stick. Mr.

Cameron, English Consul at Manahonah, had suf-
fered the same treatment, and was at the point
of death. After having obtained permission to
repair to Theodore to treat for the deliverance
of Mr. Cameron, M. Rasam, first Councillor at the

Residence at Aden, received orders to stop at
Matala, a few days' journey from Gondar. His
journey would now be useless, unless, indeed, the
preceding news should be contradicted, which must
be earnestly hoped, but which, unfortunately, is
hardly probable.

A lamentable case of attempted murder has just
been tried by the Court of Assize of the Seine. The

accused is Jean Danga,"n law student, about five-
and-twenty, and the intended victim Francois
Etienne. The cause was jealousy. The prisoner
had lived for three years with a frail but beautiful
blonde named Josephine Delporte, but she left him
because she loved Etienne better. On the 20th

December Josephine and Etienne were together at
the concert Café Eldorado, when the prisoner in-
flicted some dangerous wounds upon his rival with
a dagger. He is now slowly recovering from them.
The prisoner was sentenced to hard labour for ten
years, and the court awarded 3,000 f. to Etienne as
damages for the personal injuries he had received.

REPRESENTATION OF BRIDGWATER.--A petition
from three electors of the borough of Bridgwater
was presented to the House of Commons on Tuesday
night, praying that the return of Mr. A. W. Kinglake at
the late general election may be declared null and void.
The petitioners state that on that occasion there were three
candidates—Mr. H. Westropp, Mr. A. W. Kinglake, and
Sir J. Shelley, and that the two first named were declared
duly elected after a poll. The petitioners, however, im-
pugn the return of Mr. Kinglake on the grounds of bribery
and corruption by himself, his agents, managers, and
friends, and by divers other persons on his behalf. Impu-
tations of treating and intimidation are also put forward
as grounds upon which the petitioners pray the House of
Commons to declare the election and return of Mr. A. W.
Kinglake null and yoid.