The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-25 00:00:00

TLIE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, AUGUST 25, 1866.

upon to pay enough during the last ten years to
have a navy respectable in point of numbers, if open
to criticism on some matters of detail. But the
fact is that caution has run mad nowadays and
has become extremely incautious. We are so afraid
of not having the very best arms for our troops,
the very best field gun, that we hesitate, and doubt,
and compare, and experiment, and appoint com-
missions and committees, and write, and talk, and
consider, until an alarm of war comes, and we sud-
denly discover that we have left our army with a
weapon which is admittedly inferior, we have weak-
ened instead of strengthening our fleet, and have
experimented on all our best field pieces until we
burst them Two thousand rounds from a single
gun would play a respectable part in an ordinary
campaign ; but our authorities, in their anxiety to
be sure that the gun will not play false, persist in
firing it until they destrol it. Why, in the name of
common sense, when a gun has been proved able to
do effectual service, should it be doomed to de-
struction ? We shall never have a good supply of
field pieces if this system is continued. England
spends quite enough money to have her defences
thoroughly efficient. It is absolutely disgraceful
that, with her wealth and position, her weakness
should be matter of European comment. England's
time has been lost in experiments and delays. Let
a reasonable place of action be laid down and car-
ried out vigorously. We have already expended
enough to give us the most powerful fleet and the
best arm in the world, and it is certainly not in ac-
cordance with the public wish that, instead of being
in the van, our Government have left us in the rear.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, Friday Evening.

There is no news of importance to-day respecting
the affairs of Germany, but it appears from the
Moniteur that a little change has been made in regard
to the territory which is to be ceded by Bavaria to
Prussia. It is now settled that it will comprise the
districts of Orb, Gersfeld, Hilters, and Tanu, which
contain a population of 40,0013. They are situated
to the north of the kingdom. The war indemnity
has been definitively fixed at 30 millions of florins.
Bavaria will still retain Lichtenfeld and Culmbach.
The ceded territory is situated at the extreme north
of the Maine, and stretches to a point between the
Saxon Duchies and Electoral Hesse. In French
money the little bill to be settled by Bavaria
amounts to 64 millions 800,000 francs.

Prussia is very restive about the press just now,
and is not disposed to allow it much latitude. The
Gazette l'Alle7nagne du Nord, of Hanover, of Mon-
day last, has six white spaces among its columns,
intimating that so many passages have been ex-
punged by the Prussian Censorship. Prussia seems
to have forgotten that the censorship in France led
to the expulsion of Charles the Tenth from the
Throne.

The Presse, of Vienna, cites a significant pro of
of American sang froid. General Manteuffel inti-
mated to Mr. Murphy, the American Consul at
Frankfort, that he could not prevent him and his
countrymen from being compelled to lodge Prussian
soldiers. Mr. Murphy, putting on his hat, said,
" General, allow me to inform you that our fleet is
in the Baltic," and immediately retired. No
Prussian soldiers have been sent to lodge with the
Americans.

A strange and terrible accident has taken place
at the village of Tilhouse in the Upper Pyrenees.
The commune celebrated its national fete at a wine
shop, and on this occasion all of them were open
during the night. In one of these establishments it
was customary to use for a candlestick a hollow
cannon-ball shell, which had been brought from
Lannemazan, and from which it was thought the
powder had been withdrawn. The candle was place
in the hole which serves for the train to ignite the
projectile. Towards four o'clock the landlord went
' '

All of a sudden the train reached the bottom of the
ball, which contained a heavy charge of powder.
There was a tremendous explosion. Four men were
killed instantly and two others grievously hurt.
Five others happily escaped uninjured. The furni-
ture was shattered to atoms.

At the last sitting of the Academy of Sciences,
M. Chevreuil related some curious facts to prove
that China had its age of stone. By age of stone is
meant those ante-historical times, when men, not
being acquainted with metals, manufactured their
arms and utensils in silex, stone, and other material.
Confucius was at the house of a certain learned man,
when the King perceived from a terrace in his gar-
den a bird of prey, which appeared to have three
wings, and which flew in a very strange manner.
The King ordered that it should be brought to him
dead or alive. The bird soon fell on the steps of
the palace. The bird had but two wings, but the
feathers of an arrow, which had penetrated through
his body, explained how it appeared to have three.
This arrow, very different from those of that period,
was armed with hard stone filed to a point instead
of iron or wood. The friend of Confucius was
ordered by the King to explain this fact, and Con-
fucius recognised the bird to be a species of hawk.
,L This bird of prey," said he, "is a native of the
north of Tartary, and very seldom comes to our cli-
mate." As to the arrow, it is very similar to that
which was offered to a Prince in sign of sovereignty.
It was a foot and an inch long, exclusive of the
armed point of stone. Look into your depots of
art, said the learned man to the King. This arrow
may have been preserved there. If one be found
let it be compared with this arrow, and if so, it must
be concluded that Heaven favours your Majesty,
since it sends into your hands the authentic signs of
sovereignty. The text (that of Amyot printed in
1788) adds that the King ordered the researches.
The empire had then existed for ten centuries. An
arrow was found exactly similar to that with which
the bird of prey had been killed.
The Nazione of Florence says that the Govern-
ment of the King of Italy has granted an amnesty
to Mazzini, and adds :—" We doubt, however,
whether Mazzini will be disposed to profit by this
amnesty, but that is his business, not ours. Should
he continue to be a martyr and an exile it will be
from caprice, and in that case we say, so much the
worse for him."

A very joyous wedding, contracted under war-
ranted circumstances, has just been celebrated at a
chateau near Herblay. The marriage ceremony
was performed in a small church in a quarter of
Paris inhabited chiefly by the working classes, and
never before were seen so many carriages or such a
numerous company of fashionables in the vicinity.
A handsome orphan work girl, Emma B----, lived
comfortably on the fruit of her honest labour, and
had for some months been courted by a young man
who was supposed to be also belonging to the work-
ing class, a journeyman carpet-maker. One day
the young girl said to him, " Charles, you have been
pressing me to marry you for three months, and I
have postponed the marriage. Now, however, I
will no longer delay it. A rich American has
offered me 1,000 dols. a mouth if I would consent
to be an honest woman, and that I should also have a
splendid apartment on the Boulevard Malesherbes.
There is my hand, put up the banns directly." The
lover, highly indignant at the American, was too
glad to obey the direction. The banns were pub-
lished, and the marriage has taken place in the
quarter where the lovers resided. The evening be-
' fore the wedding however, the bridegroom told
Emma that he had a secret to tell. lie was nut a
working man, but was one of the richest proprietors
in an eastern department of France, and said he
should take her the next day to the beautiful chateau
which he had inherited from his father and mother,
for he, like his bride, was an orphan. The young
lover it appears saw Emma a few months ago and
fell in love with her at first sight. She lived in an
attic, and he had taken a room in the upper story
of the same house to be near her. Thus he could see
her every day, and a mutual passion soon sprung, up
between them.

The Euipress Charlotte of Mexico has left Paris
for Brtukelo, to proceed 4rom thence Jo Miramar.

Her Majesty was accompanied by a numerous suite,
and was cheered at the Northern Railway station.
The Princess Mathilde has also left Paris for her
villa of Belgirate in Switzerland.

The weather has been warm and more settled
to-day, but the meteorological observations at the
Observatory presage storms on the west of Spain,
Italy, and the Gulf of Gascony.
A gardener in the Bois de Boulogne, on Tuesday,
gathered a quantity of what he supposed to be mush-
rooms. He made a present of some of them to a
neighbour, whose gamily consisted of father and
mother and a little girl. They have been poisoned.
The little girl died a few hours after eating the sup-
posed mushrooms, and both father and mother are
still in a very dangerous condition.
Madame Battel, the wife of an eminent artist who
has considerable reputation as a caricaturist, has
just presented her husband with three girls. Their
formation is perfect, and they, with the mother, are
what is called as well as can be expected.

LA TEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

HUNGARY.
PESTII, Aug. 24.

It is stated that the Tavernicus, Baron Sennyey,
will be entrusted with the formation of a Hungarian
Ministry, upon the bases of the Constitution of
1848.

There will, however, be no portfolios of war or
finance for the present.

The Hungarian Diet will probably open in Sep-
tember.

SPAIN.
MADRID, Aug. 24 (Evening).

A circular from the Governor of Madrid hasheen
posted up at the Bourse cautioning the public against
attaching credit to the false rumours disseminated
by revolutionists.

CHINA AND JAPAN.
SHANGHAI, July 25.
The Nyenfei have been successful in the north.
Two French bishops and seven priests have
been massacred in the Corea.
Intelligence received here from Japan announces
that civil war was being carried on between some of
the Princes.

AMERICA•
(By Atlantic Telegraph.)
NEW YORK, Aug. 23.
President Johnson has abandoned the Fenian pro-

secutions.

ARRIVAL OF THE CITINA.
(Via Roche's Point.)

NEW YORK, Aug. 16 (Evening).
The Philadelphia Convention has elected Senator
Doolittle as chairman.

Mr. Vallandigham has withdrawn from the Con-
vention. The Massachusetts and South Carolina
delegations entered the Convention arm-in-arm,
amidst cheers for President Johnson and the 36
loyal States. The President telegraphed that the
people must be trusted. The country, he said,
would be restored, and his faith was unshaken
as to their ultimate success.

The Convention adjourned to-day, after passing
resolutions declaring the Union and the Constitution
to be restored, and that neither Congress nor Go-
vernment could deny representation to any State.
The resolutions urge the people to elect none but
men admitting this principle. The right to prescribe
qualificatiOn for the elective franchise is reserved to
States. No State can withdraw from the Union,
nor uy iia uutivu c2colule another State
from the Union. The resolutions further tender
sincere support to President Johnson.

Cholera is abating in New York, but is raging
fearfully through the west and south-west.

The Bavaria has arrived out, and has been placed
in quarantine. She has had eight cholera cases and
three deaths on board.

MEXICO.

Advices received here from Matamoras to the
10th inst. announce that the Liberals occupied
Monterey, Saltillo, and other towns on the 28th
ult. The Imperialists retreated to San Luis Potosi.
Marshal Bazaine had set out for the City of Mexico.
Juarez was en route for Monterey.
The Liberals occupied Tampico on the Ist inst.
The American General Lewis Wallace had arrived
at Matamoras in a steamer. from New York with
men, arms, and ammunition for the Liberals.
Wallace holds the commission of Major-General in
the Liberal Army.

A French corvette is blockading Matamoras.
QUEENSTOWN, Aug. 25.
The royal mail steamship China arrived here at
5.45 a.m. this morning, -with 117 passengers and
125,215 in specie. She landed a portion of the
mails, consisting of 111 sacks, and proceeded for
Liverpool at 6 a.m. All well.
She was detained 12 hours at Halifax by fog.

The Cathedral at Boulogne.

For the following very interesting description of
the consecration of the restored Cathedral of Notre
Dame de Boulogne-sur-Mer, we are indebted to the
special correspondent of the Morning Herald :
In the ages of faith generations occupied them-
selves in the erection of a single cathedral ; now wo
are in the habit of turning out a very big church in
eighteen months or so, very pretty to look at, and
frequently substantial withal. But it is quite a novel
sensation to witness the consecration of a church
which has been over 30 years in hand, and which
has been decorated with many an offering from
Boulonnais and from stranger; and it is there-
fore little wonder that from far and near Ro-
man Catholics should now have thronged to Bou-
logne to witness the ceremony which took place this
morning. Externally, with the exception of the
dome, there is little in the appearance of Notre
Dame to attract the eye of the lover of architecture.
The site of this cathedral is well chosen,on almost the
highest part of the upper town; but those who chose
the place lived in days when their choice was little
hampered by vested interests, and when they had
but to ask and to have for God's work. There was
a church here in the seventh century, and it was
rebuilt very early in the twelfth as a cathedral,
which the Huguenots and our commanders under
the Tudors so defaced, that in the first quarter of
the seventeenth century it was rebuilt in a pointed
style, and lasted until the sans culottes stabled their
horses in holy sanctuaries. The cathedral at Bou-
logne shared the fate of many other holy things. Its
pearls were at the mercy of swine which trampled
them under foot and turned to rend their care-takers.
There being no God and no law acknowledged save
the will of the mob, what was more natural than
that the cathedral, or what was left of it, should be
sold for the relief of the taxpayers ? It fetched
over half a million francs, and the purchasers, de-
molishing altar and image and carving and glass,
found their speculation was a bad one, for they could
turn the site to no account. In 1820 it was once
more in the market, and " a most Christian King"
let a poor abbe, who was teaching school, un-
dertake the responsibility of restoring the site to
its sacred purpose. The Abbe Haffreingue bought
the cathedral, or what was left of it, and the bishop's
palace close by. Moved by one of those inspira-
tions which are not extinct even in these prosaic
times, the abbe undertook the gigantic work of re-
constructing the cathedral. He threw himself on
the alms and prayers of the faithful, and the result
is the great building which has been this day set
aside " to the honour of Almighty God, and the
most glorious Virgin Mary and all the saints." The
Pope, to signify his appreciation of Mgr. Haff-
reingue's labours, seven years ago made him Apos-
tolic notary and a prelate of the Roman Court ;
but even this honour could not carry so much satis-
faction to his heart as that he has lived to see to-
day—the foundations completed upon the holy hill
sanctified by the dedication of nearly twelve cen-
turies.
The houses in front of the Cathedral are too near
to admit a fair view of its proportions, and this is
an additional cause for regret that. when Mgr.
Haffreingue, who has been architect and clerk of
the works, treasurer, and all in one, has done so
much and done it so well, he should have chosen a
classical style rather than one of the pointed classes,
which, in so narrow a thoroughfare, would have
looked infinitely lighter. The portico is approached
by steps, and on it rests a beautiful bas-relief of the
Blessed Virgin in boat. This is a representation of
the legend which has caused the Boulonnais to be-
lieve that their city is under Mary's special protec-
tion. In the first half of the seventh century, as
the story goes, a boat approached the Morinian
shore unpropelled by oars or sails. In this boat
was an image of the Mother, carved in wood,
and bearing a figure of the Holy Child
on her arm, the image being attended by
angels. The people, thereto moved by a special
revelation, bore the image ashore, and.placed it in
their chapel, where many vicissitudes it remained
until the Revolution, when it was supposed to have
perished ; but there was saved one portion, which
is now suspended in a silver heart round the neck
of a new image that stands in the place of honour
in the Lady Chapel. Above the bas-relief, which
is a work of exquisite finish, stands a statue of
St. Joseph, and this is all that is notable about
the west front. On the exterior of the faces of the
dome the stone work is pierced into the shape of a
cross and sundry other forms, and round it run all
the titles by which devotees have loved to hail Mary,
as Stella Matutina, Mater Christi, Regina Cosh,
and the like, under every title being the supplica-
tion " Ora pro nobis." But there is nothing in the
exterior to prepare the visitor for the magnificent
sight which meets his eye on entering. If the nave
of St. Paul's Cathedral were half as high again, if
a great altar were placed right under the dome,
if the present choir were turned into a Lady
Chapel, and if all looked fresh and beautiful, the
Londoner would obtain a faint idea of the holy
house of Our Lady of Boulogne. But the com-
parison must not be run too closely ; there is a
great difference in the proportions, and there is
this great variation, that Notre Dame of Boulogne
has been built for the special use of a more
ornate form of worship than that which ob-
tains in English cathedrals. Standing at the west
end and looking eastward—the orientation is not
exact, but it approximates sufficiently—the most
prosaic spectator this morning could not but feel a
sertain thrill of awe, and a feeling as if the sight
were the vision of a dream. So beautiful are the
proportions of the interior, so skilfully arranged are
the lines of sight, that the eye involuntarily seeks
the most distant point where lies the altar of " Maris
Stella," and where, at the further end of her chapel,
stands the image of which mention has already been
made. Here is the centre of religious life among the
Boulonnais, here is their patroness clad in her colours
of purple and white, and bearing on her left arm the
figure of the Divine child. Angels attend the pro-
gress of her boat over the rippling waters; nor oar
nor mast induces its advance; and over her head
shines the star, the effect of which is wonderfully
given by the simple device of cutting a seven-pointed
hole in the eastern wall, that the daylight may
enter in and cast its bright rays upon the gold and
the gems with which the image is bedecked. On
the side of the boat are hung little hearts of gold and
silver, the offerings of pilgrims to this noted shrine,
and in the midst is a tiny jewel which a Frenchman
values above all earthly possessions, and it was hung
there by a great soldier, who in the Crimea made a
vow, and kept itby hanging to the image of Our Lady
his cross of the Legion of Honour. Around the
chapel are a number of hearts in gold and silver offered
similarly at the shrine. The round windows at the
side of the chapel are filled with coloured glass of
inferior tint, and not very well in harmony with the
rich appearance of the altar which was consecrated
on Wednesday by Dr. Clifford, Bishop of Clifton,
assisted by Mgr. Cataldi, Roman prelate, and master
of ceremonies at St. Peter's, and Mgr. Bonomi,
Roman private secretary to his Holiness, and vicar
general to Bishop Clifford. Mgr. Haffreingue was
present, but took no part in the function, which be-
gan at 8 in the morning and lasted until half-past 11.
The altar is a white marble slab, supported on ex-
tended wings of two white marble angels which face
westward. Under the slab is a sarcophagus of green
and gold, in which is deposited all that was mortal
of one of Rome's many beatified personages, and on
the altar is a tabernacle of Byzantine mosaic sur-
mounted by a malachite cross, the whole being pre-
sented by a Miss Loughman at a cost, it is said—
but the sum is incredibly small—of £BOO. The Lady
Chapel, on the ceiling of which is the inscription,
" Regina Angelorum ora pro nobis," is divided from
the body of the church by a low cast iron railing,
which is sadly too common, and which contrasts
unfavourably with the exquisite metal work with
which we are becoming familiar in our own cathe-
drals.

The dome has a very fine effect. All the interior
of the arch is painted in neutral tints, which har-
monise with the building and blend with each other. Por-
braits of the Popes, beginning with St. Peter and ending
with Pius IX., aro arranged in four circles, and there aro
inscriptions of the Maynyieat, the Te Dew:, and the Apos-
tolic Commission around the dome, which is well lighted.
The nave and transepts aro very much alike. The former
has on each side massive fluted Corinthian columns, which
support ah arcado cvntkiyol that, thou& spaces Pitiod

in it, the ceiling shows itself, decorated with frescoes in
grey tints by M. Pigis, after designs by Overbook. A fine
organ, with a gallery, is over the west door, under the
organ being tho inscription, " Domino Jesu Christi to solos
altissimus in Gloria Dei Patris ;" and the windows which
light the nave aro as yet of white glass. In the nave is
an altar of stone, intended to servo for the parish of St.
Joseph, which will henceforth possess tho nave as its own
church. Right under the dome stands the high altar of
the cathedral, a work which has probably not its equal in
Europe. Prince Torlonia, respecting the wish of his de-
ceased brother, has given it to Boulogne at a cost
of half a million of francs. It has two sides, at
which Celebrations can take place, ono facing cast, the
other west. It stands on a platform reached by four
white marble steps which run all round, and is supported
on little columns of lapis mart ?pion, a beautiful green
marble. Between the columns on the west side are panels
of mosaic, showing Notre Dame do Boulogne, having ou
ono side SS. Gregory and Ambrose, and on the other SS.
John Clu•ysostom and Athauttsius. On the east side the
panels show our Lord bearing the chalice, and having on
either hand two apostles. The ends of the altar have the
arms of the donors with inscriptions, and so wonderfully
perfect is the workmanship of all that at a distance of a
yard it is impossible to detect a single piece of mosaic.
On the top the Tabernacle restson a ridge, and is composed
of fine marble with coloured marble panels. Corinthian
columns in lapis /civil/aro grouped at the corners of the tiny
temple, their capitals being of bronze gilt, and on the
western door of the Tabernacle is a cross of lapis lazuli,
valued at 8,000 francs. A too common railing encloses
this magnificent altar, which is surrounded by smaller
altars in the various side chapels under the dome. These
side chapels aro painted in fresco, some of the pictures
being most beautiful in design and execution, while others
are intolerably gaudy and coarse. They represent the
Birth, the Presentation in the Temple, the Annunciation,
the Visitation, and the Immaculate Conception of Mary,
under whose invocation, seconded by that of St. Maximus
and St. Louis, the cathedral is placed. Other altars exist-
ing at the entrance from the nave to the dome have beau-
tiful paintings, one presented by King Louis Phillippe,
and the other by the present Pope.
The fete of the Blessed Virgin lasts from the 15th
August—which is also and conveniently the fits Napo-
leon—to September 9th, and during this time a large num-
ber of pilgrims from all parts of France come to pay their
homage at the shrine of Mary. St. Bartholomew's Day,
in this season, was chosen for the consecration of the
great church, and of course on such an occasion there were
indulgences plenary and otherwise to those who fulfilled
certain conditions. Equally, of course, there was an un-
usual throng of pilgrims, many coming from St. Sulpice
and St. Roch, at Paris. The bishops who arrived yester-
day found triumphal arches erected in the streets, and the
fronts of many houses as well as of churches draped in
the blue and white colours of the B. V. M. Yesterday
evening at seven o'clock tho bishops assembled at the old
church of St. Joseph, where the relics sent from Rome
were exposed for the veneration of the people. While a
hymn from the Parisian breviary was sung the Bishop of
Arras, Boulogne, and St. Omer, who has hardly yet worn
the mitre a month, placed in little boxes of silver pieces of
the relics, with grains of incense, and blessed the waterto
bo used at the consecration of the cathedral and its altars,
and also the linen and ornaments of the same altars, and
he ended the service with the Apostolic Benediction.

This morning, before seven o'clocx the Bishop of Arras,
with the Bishop of Amiens, Bishop Clifford of Clifton, and
Bishop Moriarty of Kerry, entered the new Cathedral,
wearing their purple cassocks and capes, and fol-
lowed by a great throng of clergy. They took their seats
in the choir stalls in front of the high altar, the bishop of
the diocese occupying ono of the thrones placed where the
dome meets the nave ; and in a few minutes afterwards a
procession was formed of the bishops and clergy to the
Church of St. Joseph. There they recited in subdued
tones the seven Penitential psalms before the relics, and
returned to Notre Dame, where the service, as provided in
the Pontificate Romanum, was proceeded with. The open-
ing antiphon, invoking the presence of the Almighty, was
sung to the first Gregorian tone by a choir of priests, be-
ginning at the west door, and the Bishop of Arras, who
acted as Pontiff or chief consecrator, then, attired in
white cope and gold mitre, said, kneeling on his faldstool
of white satin and gold, the Latin collect familiar to Eng-
lish Churchmen as " Prevent us, 0 Lord." The Litany of
the Saints was then partly sung, and the Pontiff, rising
f rem his knees, blessed water and salt, while the choir chanted
—of course in Latin - the antiphon, " Sprinkle me, Lord
with hyssop, and I shall be clean ; wash me, and I s hall be
whiter than snow." The bishop sprinkled the door and lin-
tel, and the choir sung, " The house of the Lord is
founded on the top of the mountains." A collect having
been said, the Pontiff took from his chaplain his pas-
toral staff and with the lower end of it knocked at the
closed door of the cathedral, saying in a clear voice,
" Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates," ez3. ; to which a deacon
habited in alb, and his stole over one shoulder, standing
alone within, replied, " Who is the King of Glory ?"
"The Lord, strong and mighty," &c., said the Pontiff,
who then, preceded, wont in procession round the church
—a considerable circuit owing to the number of houses
punt on each side of it. First came the acolytes, in albs
and scarlet cassocks—of the use or svhlcn In England there
is to this day a remnant in the Chapels Royal ; then the
bishops, with copes, mitres, and pastoral staves, and then
a whole crowd of priests in cassocks and cottas or short
surplices. The ceremony of knocking at:the door and of
making a circuit of the buildings was gone through
three times, the accompanying antiphons and collects
varying slightly each time. Having demanded the open-
ing of the door, the Pontiff made, with his crook, the sign
of the cross on the portal, saying, "Behold the sign of the
cross ; let all evil spirits fly away." The procession now enter-
ing went up the church singing to the sth and Bth tones
antiphons proclaiming that the peace of God was with the
hous. When the choir was reached the Pontiff kneeling at
hislfaldstool, the choir and clergy sang "Voni Creator Spiri-
tus," and at the end of the hymn the Litany was finished, the
bishop at the appointed place rising and interpolating some
special supplications. Two collects, an antiphon, and the
Benedictus having been said and sung, the Pontiff pro-
ceeded to the nave, where ashes wore sprinkled, broadly,
in the form of a St. Andrew's Cross, and on these he wrote
with his pastoral staff, first the Greek and then the Latin
letters of the alphabet. This done, a versicle anda response
were followed by the "Gloria Patri," and salt, water,
ashes, and wino, were duly blessed in set form and mingled
together. A procession to the door, which was marked on
the inside with the sign of the cross, completed this part
of a long and wearisome but very grand ceremony.
To fetch relics from the church of St Joseph a procession
was now organised, in which all the bishops, save he of
Amiens, took part, the prelates having first, in copes and
mitres, blessed the altars, while part of the 42d Psalm was
sung as an introit, the psalm being afterwards repeated,
except the " Gloria," which in consecrations for some in-
scrutable reason is generally omitted. Seven times was
each altar sprinkled with a bunch of hyssop dipped in the
Gregorian water, while the plaintiff tones of the ilttserere,
alterr ated with repetitions of Asperges me, sounded
from the choir. Each bishop made a cross in the middle
and a cross in each corner of his altar, with the Gregorian
water "in memory of the Cross of Calvary, by which the
four quarters of the world have been redeemed." The
benediction of the walls, done by the chief bishop in pro-
cession, succeeded, and this was a very effective part of
the service; the Suisse, or as we should say the beadle,
coming out very strongly on the occasion. The ce-
ment, being mixed for the sepulchres in which the relics
were to bo placed, they were, after a slight delay, fetched
in procession, the choir singing four anthems beginning
" Oh, how glorious is the kingdom," and the Venitc,
which was followed by other anthems, in the course
of which the bishops and their precious charge reached
the cathedral door, where the relics were carried about,
the crowd saying tho Kyrie Eleison. Then, asking the
people who thronged around for their prayers on behalf of
the founders of the church, the Pontiff entered the door,
way being made for him by a corporal's; guard of the 3d
Chasseurs, just returned from Rome, and therefore proba-
bly up to the work required of them. As tho procession
moved up the nave, followed by a groat number of people,
the bell tolled a funeral knell for the relics which were
borne on a bier covered with crimson velvet. The coup d'ceil
was magnificent as the procession came up the church, amid
the smoke of the incense from swinging thuribles, and on
reaching the high altar the Pontiff began "the consecra-
tion properly so called," a number of candles being lit
where the relics were deposited. After two antiphons and
the 149th and 150th Psalms, the bishops said a collect at
their respective altars, and then receiving the boxes of
relics destined to be placed in the "sepulchres" they de-
posited them in the excavations, which had been conse-
crated with holy oil, and each placed a stone over the
sepulchre, cementing it by the help of a mason in its place,
and at once incensing the altar.. A priest in alb now went
round about each alter continually tensing, except when
the bishop took the thuriblo himself, and the choir sung,
"Let my prayer go forth in thy sight as the incense." The
eighty-third Psalm—Qat/ea Ditecta—was sung, five crosses
were made with holy oil on each of the altar slabs, which had
been well rubbed down by assistant priests, and the altars
wore again incensed. Then, amid old Gregorian tones, the
bishops went in procession, and marked on various portions
of tho walls twelve crosses, the number of the apostles.
They offered at each cross a consecration prayer and in-
censed the marked three times. had this ceremony been
omitted, the consecration of the church would have been
void. Now, returning to their altars, the bishops placing
five grains of incense in the shape of a cross on each cross
of oil marked on the slabs, they added to each cross five
grains of charcoal, and, setting fire to it from the
thuriblo, the flame burnt up the mark, whereupon the
bishop prayed that the smoke of the incense might
bo to God as a goodly perfume, and that the
Eucharist offered there might be a means of salvation to
all who should receive it worthily. Crosses wore now
made with the oil on the front of each altar, and at th
places where the slabs joiuod the pedestals, and the usual
ornaments of the altars wore then placed upon them and
prepared for the celebration, by the Bishop of Arras of the
pontifical mass for the day of the dedication of a church.
Mgr. Dupauloup, the eminent Bishop of Orleans, was to
have preached the dedication sermon after the Gospel, but
his phpsiciaus having ordered him to aLstain from work,
aucl to go fox lus lloaltlA to tilt) south coot, ha was ua

happily unable to bo present.. In his place tho celebrate
Father Felix was appointed to preach, but owing to the
great length—six hours—to which the Consecration and the
Mass together extended, the sermon was judiciously post-
poned until the evening. The mass was concluded with
the Apostolic Benediction and the declaration of indul-
gences ; and the ashes in which the letters of the alphabet
had been traced having been removed, the consecration
service was over; and while some of the English visitors
hurried down to the boat to take their departure, others
were content to take a book from Merridew's library and
stroll or lounge for the rest of the afternoon on the sands,
being simply wearied with the extraordinary length of the
ceremonies.
To-morrow a pontifical high mass will be celebrated at
tea o'clock, and in the evening Father Felix will preach.
On Sunday another pontifical high mass will be sung, and
the sermon will be preached by Mgr. Lequette, chief of the
diocese. In the afternoon at four there will be a general
procession through the principal streets of the city— start-
ing from tho Rue do I'ressy and ending at the cathedral.
It will bo about a mile in length. Each of at least six
parishes will turn out with crosses and banners, the clergy
being in their robes preceded by surpliced choristers.
After these will come banners representing the chief ruys"
teries of religion, those attributed to the blessed Virgin
coining first, and those of her Divine Son after. The nuns
and religious orders generally will follow, and in the coriela
d'homuiur will come the image of Notre Dame do Botilogno,
carried by sailors. After this the bishops and distin-
guished clergy will walk, and the rear of the processionwill
be brought up by "the faithful" generally. Excursions
for the day are organised from several parts of Franco, and
even from London. The eight will be strange to English
eyes, but it will be worth a long journey to see it, for such
a procession does not often take place even in Bowan
Catholic countries, any more than the consecration of a
cathedral.
In the evening Father Felix preached a most eloquent
sermon, which enchained the attention of Ws hearers for
an hour and a quarter, from the text (Vulgate) Psalm
cxxxiii., verso 1, "Behold new, bless ye the Lord, all Yn
servants of the Lord, who stand in the house of the Lold'
in the courts of the house of our God."

Court Ortubt

HER MAJESTY.

THE QUEEN'S JOURNEY TO SCOTLAND.
ABOYNE, Friday
The royal train arrived here safely at 1 p.m, to-
day. During the journey some successful experi"
meats were made with Martin's electric connani-
cation between the compartments of the royal car-
riage and the driver.
From Aboyne the Queen and the royal fallaill
proceeded by road to Balmoral, which was reached
shortly after three o'clock.

Dinner to the Lord Advocate at the

Cairnies.

On Wednesday afternoon the Lord Advocate was
entertained to dinner by the tenantry on his estates,
of the Cairnies, near Glenalmond, and a number e'
private friends, on the occasion of his appointment
to office under the Derby Government. The diune
took place in a granary at the Cairnies farm, which
was decorated with evergreens for the occolon"
The Rev. John Wilson, Methven, occupied t
chair, and was supported by several of the local
gentry. The croupiers were the Rev. Mr. Taller'
Monzie ; and Mr. Miller, teacher, Perth. Ills
gathering was not in any sense a political gathering'
but meant simply to express good neighbourshir t°
Mr. Patton, who is much respected in the district.
The LORD ADVOCATE was called upon, however?,
to reply for the toast of " her Majesty's Ministers, 0
and in doing so claimed the fact that there Wet
.
present at the meeting " men of all religions clef
nominations and of all political creeds" as a 1311)°0
th
that the new Government " stands well in
general estimation of the country." He said
the Premier we have a statesman of high rank an
perfect independence, whose earlier career has been
ur
associated with some of the great events of °he
history, whose special glory it is to have been t A
author of a system of national education in Irelan;
and who was one of the great leaders in aeeci he
plishing the extirpation of slavery throughout t'r
British empire. (Applause.) During his long car
ho ]ins been eminently distinguished not more m'
his brilliant powers of oratory than by the generous
feeling by which ho has been actuated. (Applanse2
In his son we have a Minister for Foreign 0311
whose just appreciation of the position of rea.
Britain, while it secures us from irritable and 119
necessary interference, will preserve and rotten
the just influences of Great Britain abroaa;
(Cheers.) At the head of the administration °;
the affairs of India we find a young nobleman 0°
conspicuous ability, and of no less consPic3o
industry, who in the short period of a fortnight L',.he
become intimately familiar with and mastered 79
details of the Indian Government, and has act°
succeeded in solving one very important probleub
which had formed a source of difficulty and eaten
sive discontent in the former Administration;
(Cheers.) I trust I may affirm of all who 113.10
lately come into office that it is their earnest desl,r,,
to stand well with the country, and to merit iw
confidence by thorough devotion to the public ser-
vice, and by the efficient and zealous discharge eo
the duties which their office calls upon therm t

fulfil."
Iu proposing the Lord Advocate's health, tb:
CHAIRMAN expressed his conviction that Mr. ratio
would discharge the duties of his high and influella
tial office with exemplary fidelity and ability, a°4
his regret that " the field on which he may dsPl".6
his great abilities and exert his powerful influence /.0
as yet somewhat limited," and continued—" But tbi
desideratum will, I doubt not, soon be supPlled
Without professing to be in possession of any secret
—without giving any heed to so-called rumours
which ought rather to be termed political invention,
for I verily believe they never had any existence !A
they appeared in print—without, I say, profeaslq
to be in possession of any secret, I have no dot
that the Lord Advocate will, in due time, have tb
honour of representing a constituency more worthy
of him than that fickle and faithless one with
he was connected."
The LORD ADVOCATE, in acknowledging tA e
toast, said—This is a merely local meeting. ,
such I value and regard it the more. (Applans"
It cannot possibly be attributed to anything but t°
the good-will of those who have long known rae.
In this locality it has been my good fortune tog
many, many happy days. (Applause.) From ;
hood upwards I have felt in-it-the warmest intereS,
and it has afforded to me during many years ,°''a
busy professional life a place of retreat where t°
din and strife and anxieties of our Scottish metr°:
polis were replaced by the murmur of the alive'
Almond, the bleating of the sheep on the mountain;
side, and the calm and tranquil. enjoyment derive'
from the contemplation of the woods and dale?
glens and mountains, which surround us, breath
the pure mountain air as it sweeps along the 810P("0
of our own Grampians, uncontaminated with tbi
dust and smoke of the great city. (Applause.)
have felt from time to time the bracing influenc'e
of ourbest of climates, and renovation from tilt
anxious and exhaustive work of the Parliament
House. I have not indulged the mere cessation foij3
work, but have engaged in the inviting occupatl°o
which the cultivation of the garden and arborienl
ture afforded. If I have done something for cd°,
cation by giving a local habitation and a name to
the great educational institution which has been
planted among us—(Applause)--I have naturally
derived from the change of thought and occupatleii
that best form of relaxation by constantly °bac°,
ing the improvements around me—in which engage°f
ments, and speaking in the presence of so marl ‘3
those who knew myireverecl father, may I be alloW'
to say, I have endeavoured feebly and imperfectli
to follow the example which he set before me. OP
pla ase.)—Scotsnzan.

Her Majesty's surveying-vessel Nassau, CaPt3l,lj
Wt'
Richard C. Mayne (P.W.), yesterday left al
.:
wich for Greenhithe, to adjust compasses, prePid.3
tory to her departure for the Straits of Magellan,:
She was inspected yesterday morning at Woolvi!e7
by Sir Richard Mayne, Col. Hawkins, commandu);
Royal Engineers, Capt. Richards, hydrographer
the Board of Admiralty, and other officers, '‘v",,
accompanied Capt. Mayne to Greenhithe, returoim'
thence by the 3 o'clock UAW to London.