The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-18 00:00:00

THE PAPAL STATES.

The following letter has been received from
Rome, dated the 11th inst. :
" The Paris papers were inaccurate when they announced
that Francis 11. and his family had quitted Rome for the
villa Feoli, at Albano. They are still here, and may beseen
almost every afternoon at the Theatre of Apollo. They are
received by the higher classes coldly but civilly. The Royal
family attended Divine service at the church of St. Jean
Lateran on Thursday last, the festival of the Ascension.
The Pope officiated, and seats wen prepared for them near
the altar. The ceremony of bened aloe, which was to have
been performed by the Pope outside the church, was pre-
vented by torrents of rain. A part of the French troops
were drawn up on the esplanade (*side thechurch, but the
rain was so violent that even before the conclusion of the
mass Gen. de Goyon gave orders that they should return to
their barracks.
"The ex-King of Naples and his family will not go to
Albano till the beginning of June. Count Trapani, the
King's uncle, has not left Rome, as the telegraph errone-
ously announced. I saw him yesterday. lie inhabits a
Palfieg on the Corso, opprite st, Charles, while the Le-

1 mainder
_of the Royal Family, including his niece the
Queen, inhabit the Quirinal.
" It would be difficult to tell to what extant the King, his
brothers, and his uncle are engaged in the reactionary at-
tempts which are being made in the kingdom of the Two
Sicilies. A French detachment lately seized two waggons
at Valmontona, which were laden with copper money for
the Abruzzi. A report of the capture was made to General
de Goyon, who had a conference en the subject with Fran-
cis 11. and Cardinal Antonelli. The General discovered
that during the siege of Gaeta the King had sent copper
money to Rome to pay the troops. The Papal Government
say that the copper money was so disbursed, and that they
know no more about the matter.
" The collection of the Peter's pence has assumed in
Italy a curious form. Chests of valuable ornaments, such
as watches, gold chains, earrings, brooches, silver drinking
cups, snuffboxes, and necklaces are sent to the Holy Father.
There is a room in the Vatican which is filled with such
ornaments—gold, silver, silver-gilt, diamonds, pearls, eme-
ralds, and rubies. These gifts are accompanied with letters
filled with professions of devotedness to the Holy Father, to
which are annexed texts of scripture, alluding to the ap-
proaching destruction of his enemies."

which has been said to have influenced the fate of
Waterloo. By far the most important chapters in
the volumes are those on the British army and the
volunteers; which-- are written in a spirit entirely
contrary to the general sentiments of foreigners.
M. Esquiros enters on the subject with the follow-
ing observations :
" The notion has been too lightly spread that Great
Britain was not a military nation. The movement which
has taken place during the last year in the United King-
dom sufficiently contradicts that opinion, which at a given
moment may become dangerous to the other European
States. On what do people rely, moreover, when they re-
cognise in England only a maritime power of the first class ?
Have not English soldiers, tb ough few in numbers, sufficed
for all the great eventualities of history ? Has not for ages
the weight of their arms been felt when the destinies of the
Continent were placed in the scale ? Every time
when victory was needed have they not conquered ?
I will not evoke irritating reminiscences ; I will
not write down the name of a great battle so painful to the
self-esteem of the French—suffice it for me to remind them
that reeently England re-captured India with a handful of
men."

He enters very fully into the system pursued in
the English army, the mode of education followed
in Woolwich, Sandhurst, and Addiscombe, and
remarks in reference to the recent adoption of
the competitive examinations, that in France it
required a revolution to make the upper grades of
the army accessible to the middle classes ; but that
in England the institutions are endowed with an
elasticity which enables them to yield to the
movement of public opinion without disaster.
The manufacture of the means of warfare next
engages his attention, and he gives a full account
of the recent improvements in ammunition, With
regard to the Volunteer movement, he speaks
with all the satisfaction of an ardent lover of our
liberties who is relieved to find them secure. To
conquer England, he says, the English must be
exterminated, and even then behind England
would remain the rude children of Scotland, sup-
ported by their citadels of granite. He styles
the Volunteers an army of guerillas, waiting for a
foe whom all trust may never come. Such a
force, he goes on to say, testifies the strength
alike of the Government and the people, since
the ruling powers dare confidently rest on the sup-
port of the nation, who have no temptation to
misuse their arms.

" The armaments and military reforms of the United
Kingdom are of a nature to inspire Europe with serious
reflections. Any continental nation, no matter which, that
wished to come into collision with. Great Britain, ought to
think twice of it. Before all, she will find before her the
' old wooden walls of England, which has hitherto coveted
the coast with an impenetrable bulwark ; behind the ships,
the soldiers—improving daily in numbers and organisation,
and behind the soldiers a country in arms."
It is to be hoped that this sound and honest advice
will have weight with continental readers, given as
it is by one of themselves, who has had better op-
portunities of judging than previous French
writers, having " taken root in the civilisation
through which they passed on the wings of steam."
But with all his hearty admiration of England and
her institutions, he retains the feelings of a French-
man and as such is no servile flatterer but a
friendly critic. His work will be cordially received
on this side of the Channel, and will be welcomed
by all impartial and enlightened minds who see in
the better mutual understanding of the two great
peoples—in their more enlarged comprehension of
the peculiarities incidental to race, climate, and cus-
tom, as well as of each other's national virtues and
character—in the quickened sympathies which such
knowledge must bring in its train—a stronger se-
curity for the preservation of European peace, than
armies and armaments on one hand, or treaties of
commerce on the other.

THE WEATHER.

METEOROLOGICAL REPORTS.

This Day,
etween 8 and B. E. M. D. F. C. I. S.
9 a.m.
———
Nairn 30.32 48 44 E.N.E. 3 6 c. 4
Aberdeen
Leith. 30'32 48 44 E. 2 8 0. 2
Berwick 30.30 51 46 N.E. 1 9 0. 1
Ardrossan 30.31 53 50 S.W. 2 4 c. 2
Portriish
Shields
Galway 3023 65 62 N.W. 1 1 b. 1
Scarborough 30.31 47 44 N.E. 2 8 o. 3
Liverpool
Valentia. 3O/2 64 60 N. 1 4 b. 1
Queenstown 30.34 62 6t S. 2 6 0. 2
Yarmouth 3029 47 46 N.N.E. 4 6 0. 4
London 30'30 49 44 N.N.E. 2 7 c.
Dover 3O/6 49 46 N.E. 4 8 o. 3
Portsmouth
Portland
Plymonth
Penzance
Jersey