The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-10 00:00:00

received, in 1814, the " lettre d'avis," letter of ad-
vice, of his nomination as an officer of the Legion of
Honour by the Emperor Napoleon I. at the fight
which took place at Berry au Bac (March 10, 1814),
and, as his travelling pass (for the purpose of joining
the depot at Callers, in 1838, as colonel and general
and prisoner of war by the French authorities) de-
scribed him, as " Officer of the Legion of Honour."
A preparatory investigation (instruction) took
place. It lasted twelve months, during which time
the undersigned Prince remained a prisoner, par
prevention, iu solitary confinement at the prison of
Mazas. During that time Mr. Brault, the Juge
d'lnstruction, wrote to all the Courts of Europe, in
order to establish proofs that the undersigned was
not Prince Alexander of Gonzaga Mantua. That
minute inquiry, without a precedent, entirely failed.
On the day the trial took place, although the un-
dersigned Prince produced all the deeds and docu-
ments relating to his family and genealogy, although
he produced certificates of his birth and baptism,
authenticated statements of his military services,
an attestation from the Minister of Wurtemberg
residing in Paris of his naturalisation at Stuttgart
in 1833, as likewise attestations from Generals
Trezel and De Lamarre, Colonel Chapuis, &c., he
was condemned.
He was condemned for infraction of the laws re-
lative to foreigners, and a thousand times more
heartrending, and still more astonishing, for swind-
ling ; and, as the sentence says, in the fact that he
caused several persons (five or six) to remit to him
sums of
.money for the orders he distributed.
But, Sire, the undersigned Prince, in his capacity
of Chief and Hereditary Grand Master of the Orders
of Redemption, Conception, and of Alexander or
Merit (or Devotion) belonging to his own house,
has distributed, it cannot be denied, more than 500
crosses in different countries. All the expenses have
been borne by him without his having ever dreamt
of having them refunded ; and because, out of that
number of 500, five or six to whom he granted di-
plomas (while he was residing in Italy) did, of their
own accord, think proper to pay to his. Secretary
the expenses of the crosses and diplomas, it has been
construed into swindling ; and he was sentenced to
three years' imprisonment and to a fine of 3,000 f.
The sentence of the Tribune of Police Correction-
elle purported to be, that the undersigned Prince
was a soi-disant Prince of Gonzaga Mantua, but
without being able to say who he was, and they
have never been able to invent any other name for
him, although they have used every endeavour so
to do.
The undersigned Prince appealed to the Court of
Paris. He demanded through his Advocate Monsieur
Avond the grounds of accusation moyens de droit,
maintaining that it was a question of civil right,
that the civil jurisdiction, according to the 326 and
327 articles of the civil code (Code Civil),was alone
competent to divide the regulations of his civil state
and to examine his rignts, declaring upon the pro-
ceeding in what he had transgressed the law.
The Court of Paris (Police Correctionelle), after
two days' discussion, rejected that demand, refused
an adjournment to go through the case, and refused
to give the grounds of accusation upon which the
jurists had founded his acquittal, and sentenced the
undersigned Prince Alexander Gonzaga not to three
years and 3,000 francs, but to five years and 5,000
francs fine ! ! And this, Sire, although the under-
signed had not been allowed to defend himself upon
any defined transgression of the law, nor been
allowed to say a word in his defence.
The undersigned had recourse to the Court of
Cassation. There Monsieur Mathieu Bodet, the
most illustrious jurist attached to that highest of
French courts, brought out a remarkable " Memoire
Ampliatif," in which he clearly demonstrated vio-
lation of the law, by the Court of Paris, false ap-
plication of the articles of the same law, abuse of
power, and consequently the necessity of reversing
the sentence of the Court of Paris, which had con-
demned him by default. But the Court of Cassa-
tion, presided over by Monsieur Laplage-Barris,
after four hours' secret deliberation, rejected his ap-
plication.

Victim of a judicial error, the unfortunate Prince
of Gonzaga Mantua appeals now to you, sire, that
your Majesty may not allow an incarceration that
has already broken his health.

The undersigned, sire, addresses your Majesty iu
full confidence that your Majesty will have justice
done to him. He begs of your Majesty his imme-
diate release. Should your Majesty wish him to
quit the country he will do so, complying in this in-

stance, as in every other, with the orders of your
Imperial Majesty, for whom he will for ever pre-
.

serve an imperishable gratitude.
_... _

The undersigned Prince of Gonzaga Mantua takes
the liberty to subscribe himself of your Majesty—
Sire, the most obedient devoted,
(Signed) Prince ALEXANDER, of Gonzaga
Mantua.

Conciergerie, Dec. 12, 1853.
The above petition was placed (Dec. 1853) in the
hands of his Majesty Napoleon 111., Emperor of the
French, by Lord Cowley, English Ambassador to
the Court of France, and his Majesty graciously
ordered the immediate release of the undersigned
Prince Alexander of Gonzaga Mantua, which took
place on the Ist of January, 1854, at 7 a.m., re-
leased of all expenses. After five days stay in Paris
the Prince started for London, where he now re-
sides under the protection of the English laws.
(Signed) Prince ALEXANDER OF GONZAGA

MANTUA.

London, Jan. 10, 1854.

MISS GLYN'S READINGS.

" Cleopatra" has always been one of Miss Glyn's
favourite parts ; and the story of the brave warrior
and beautiful woman who " kissed away kingdoms"
certainly forms the subject of one of the most
varied, and in may respects one of the most attrac-
tive, of the great Shaksperian dramas. It would
be impossible just now to see this work properly
performed on the stage, and it was most astonishing
that so many persons were present on Friday even-
ing at St. James's Hall to hear Miss Glyn read it.
Since this lady herself appeared as Cleopatra at
Sadler's Wells, now some dozen years ago, neither
stage representation nor public reading of the play
has been given. Yet although "Antony and
Cleopatra" contains no dramatic situations so strong
as the principal ones in " Macbeth," " Othello,"
and a few other Shaksperian works which appeal to
all tastes, it is full of beauty and variety, and ex-
hibits the many-sided genius of the great dramatic
poet as completely as any work that he has left.
_ _

Miss Glyn's chief success, if we are to judge by
the effect of her reading upon the audience, was
achieved in the two last acts. But her great dra-
matic power and her remarkable versatility of ex-
pression were equally shown in the three first, which
abound in lyrical and descriptive passages and ex-
emplifications of character, which Miss Glyn brings
out with admirable effect. Nevertheless, it was in
the two death scenes—of Antony and of Cleopatra
—that she appealed most vividly to the feelings Of
the audience, and here the triumph was not that of
a reader gifted with high appreciation and with the
most delicate perception only, but of a great tragic
actress.

Those dramatic readings are a severe test of
power, and they afford Miss Glyn an opportunity
of demonstrating the strength and comprehensive-
ness of her talent. She fills her imaginary theatre
with living personages, and, strange as it may all'
pear, represents the part of Antony as finely and
faithfully as that of Cleopatra.
Miss Glyn is announced to read " King John" on
the 23d inst. ; and she will give readings of other
plays, not yet named, in the course of January and
February.

It is reported in Paris that six bull-fights Will
Ake place during the Exhibition next year.
_ _

MARYLEBONE CRICKET CLUB.—The hon. secre-
tary of this club, Mr. R. A. Fitzgerald, has issued the fol-
lowing circular:—" A general meeting of tho Marylebone
Club will be held at the Pavilion, Lord's Ground, on.
Wednesday next, Dec. 12, at two o'clock, for the purpose
of confirming the appointment of Mr. T. Burgoyne as trea-
surer to the club, and of electing- an auditor; also for the
purpose of considering a proposal of the hon. secretary to
erect a permanent grand stand on Lord's Ground, for tho
accommodation of visitors on match days, and to dissent
from or assent to such proposal on such terms as at the
said meeting shall be agreed upon."