The Sun.
London, England, 1866-04-11 00:00:00

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, Tuesday Evening.
The telegraph having brought the news that
Prussia has submitted its project for the reform of
the Confederation to 4ohe Diet, and the Note of
Prussia in reply to that of Austria being in the pos-
session of the public, there is, for to-day at least,
a cessation in the warlike news respecting Germany.
The news from Italy is that Victor Emmanuel, in

mitation of the Government of France, preserves a

position of neutrality in regard to the dispute be-
tween Austria and Prussia. For the present, at all

events, there is no confirmation of the rumour in-
dustriously spread a few days ago, that Italy and
Prussia were about to sign a treaty of alliance, hay.:

ing for object material defence and assistance should
eventualities in regard to Germany render it de-

sirable.

M. Boillot, the editor of the scientific department
of the 3loniteur, gives a very interesting account in
that paper this morning of the thunderstorm on
Sunday night, and completely confirms my impres-
sion that it was of an extraordinary, if not unpre-
cedented character. In his description of it he says,
that the storm broke forth suddenly in Paris about
eight o'clock in the evening, after a warm, but not
overpowering day. The flashes of lightning suc-
ceeded each other after half a minute, a minute, and

at the utmost, two minutes interval. The thunder-
claps were loud, and denoted that the clouds were
very low. There was a lapse of a second and a half
between the perception of the lightning and the
metres stally zima 4l is

Thus the thunder fell several times in Paris. At ten

minutes past nine the fia sof lightning succeeded

each other at intervals of three seconds, and at a

quarter past nine eight seconds were countedbetween
the lightning and the noise of the thunder. The
storm, therefore, appeared to be receding ; but at

two minutes to 9 two seconds of interval only sepa

rated the electric light and the clap of thunder ;
the meteor, therefore, becoming nearer. It was

therefore supposed that several storms were crossing
each other. At 10 minutes past nine the thunder
came from the west and north-west, giving a con-
tinuous light, diminished only occasionally by the
clouds. From 21 minutes past nine the average
time bet Neen the noise of the thunder and the
lightning had increased to 7 seconds. It was clear
that the phenomena was passing away. Neverthe-
less, towards 25 minutes past nine, there were only
4 seconds of interval. With the sky covered with
clouds and an abundant rain, lightning traversed
the sky from the zenith to the west, spreading a
white light to within about a thousand yards of the
surface of the earth. The storm was nearly over:about
11, but the rain fell in great abundance. It did
not cease till half-an-hour after midnight. The storm
created great alarm everywhere. It was of a
character very rarely seen.
The march of music in Paris may in a certain
degree be estimated by the increase in the manu-
facture of pianos. In 1847 the number of pianos
made in Paris was 187, occupying about 3,000
workmen, and the produce of their sale was 12
million of francs, one million of which sum was
for the amount of exportation. In 1865 the value
of the instruments made in Paris and sold to
foreign countries was eight millions of francs. M.
Perrin retires from the direction of the Opera, and
is to be succeeded by M. Nestor Roqueplan, the
musical and dramatic writer of the Constitutionnel.
M. Roqueplan was director of the Opera from
1847 to 1854.
A widow lady, named Hainfroy, has just died at
St. :Aquilin-de-Pacy, in the Department of the
Eure, who was born on the 31st October, 1765.
She was consequently aged 100 years five months
and three days.
Castex, the man condemned to death for the
murder of a child at St. Denis, under revolting cir-
cumstances, which were stated at the time, was
executed on Monday morning. The prisoner was
quite prostrate. He made no- confession. The
storm on Sunday night seemed to have frightened
even the leaders of scenes of death, for it is many
years since such a small number of spectators as-
sembled in the Rue de la Roquette on an occasion
of the kind.
I informed you some time ago that there would
be a suspension of the sittings of the Congress on
the Danubian Principalities. The statement now
is that the Conference will not reassemble until the
people of Roumania shall have elected the new
Chamber of Representatives.
A recent official announcement, that the Emperor
had devoted a sum of 80,000 f. from his private
purse for improvements in the Dombes, requires a
little explanation. Tite Dombes is a vast territory
between La Bresse and the Lyonnais. A portion
of it is arid, and the other part marshy and sterile.
The monks of La Trappe have undertaken to im-
prove it and make the land fertile and productive.
In the Dombes was once a vast capital named
Trevoux, and in the middle age it was a fortified
town. In the time of Julius Caesar it was occupied
by the Seguisiani and the Ambani. In 1560 the
Principality was restored to the house of Montpen-
sicr, which was wrested from the Constable of Bour-
bon in the year 1527 by Francis the First. The
Parliament of Dombes was suppressed in 1775. As
to the Trappists these monks were formerly beggars.
The Trappists were originally a community professing
mortificetion. They made fasting a virtue, and taught
the doctrine that men should ever be thinking of
death. Their greeting when they met each other
was " Brother, we must, die." They now, however,
apply themselves to works of industry and utility,
and they have changed their salutation to " Brother,
we must work," Hence theix determination to fer-