The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-26 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, J UNE 26, 1868.

rivals not 01 enthroned in office, but actually
passing we asures likely to last, and they find it
quite into' rJrable to listen to their mutual congratu-
lations~ and rejoicings over their successes. Accord-
ingly, we do not often hear of a grand Conserva-
tive I.neeti.ng out of doors,whether at Edinburgh or
in London., in Downing-street, or the provinces,
withoat some inquisitive gentleman jumping up on
the btu •k benches and requesting to be told the
exact vi ords which so and so used in referring to
such a. man, measure, or epoch, The reticence of
official dignity should never, in the opinion of these
gentlert ten, be laid aside, and a careless or ill-placed
word si ,oken casually at a social gathering becomes
in that eyes the gravest of political crimes. Mr.
GrtANT ,DUFF, indeed, excused his somewhat ill-
timed attvck upon the Premier last evening by
hinting that Mr. DISRAELI was in the habit of
making rash and reckless accusations in these
speecheA out of doors, and that therefore it was
everybr,dy's duty to call him to account for them.
In the spring of 1858, said Mr. DUFF oracularly,
the right hon. gentleman made a speech at Slough
which treated great interest at the time, and was
freely commented on in that house. If we remem-
ber rightly, the Opposition, in the mortification of
their failure to dislodge the Government, carried
the subject to the Upper House also. But it is a
little too much remembering all that has
come and gone since then to find the two
speeches of '5B and '6B deliberately coupled toge-
ther, and to have the casual expressions of ten years
since brought up for consideration, and analysed as
if they were the terms of a European treaty or the
conditions of a national charter. Such a course
looks as if the critics set a wonderful value on the
lightest words of the Epeaker, or else as if they were
determined to attack him and were puzzled to find
an opportunity. The foreign policy of Lord CLA-

RENDON is just now the great subject of dispute.
Mr. DISRAELI said at the Merchant Taylors' Hall

that when the Conservatives succeeded to office the
name of England was a name of suspicion and dis-
trust in every foreign Court, and there was no pos-
bility of cordial action with any of the great Powers.
The Liberals upon this were quick to discover the
fact that Earl DERBY had asked Lord CLARENDON
to retain the seals of the Foreign-office. This is
the whole substance of the angry debate which
last night brought up some of the chief speakers in
the House of Commons. Mr. GLADSTONE took the
opportunity of reproving his illustrious rival for the
" violent and sweeping tone of censure and con-
demnation he adopts towards those who differ from
him !" Mr. GLADSTONE himself is so invariably
mild, tolerant, and indulgent towards his opponents
that he is undoubtedly well qualified not only to
judge .of the errors of others, but to condemn
and reprove them. If Mr. DISRAELI would but
follow the example of Mr. GLADSTONE'S reticence
of language and command of temper, and if Lord
STANLEY would but take a lesson or two from Earl
RUSSELL in ,the art of writing diplomatic de
spatches, what a different world it would be ! As,
unhappily, we are far removed from so desirable
an end, let us see what the culprits find to
say in their own defence. Lord STANLEY,
indeed, according to Mr. LAYARD, who we all
know is an adept at the act of discovering
hidden secrets, has had no question likely to pro-
duce warlike results to settle. Luxemburg was
settled by pressure from without, which induced
Lord STANLEY reluctantly to give a guarantee
which he did not intend to keep. The right hon.
gentleman, it will be observed, is able to decipher
not only men's hidden motives, but their future-in-
tentions. No wonder he can re td the most myste-
rious written characters I As for Mr. DISRAELI
exonerates himself by reminding his assAilants that

Lord CLARENDON was only Foreign Minister during

a few comparatively inactive months, and that the
whole of the great Danish question was settled
without him. Here, again, he was called to account.
Lord CLARENDON, it seems, was the moving spring
of the Foreign Office for many years, and, though
nominally Chancellor of the Dachy of Lancaster,
he was really the controller of our foreign relations.
It would not have been quite in accordance with
Parliamentary etiquette or social politeness for the
Prime Minister to have confessed the patent fact
that Lord CLARENDON is known to be an amiable
and liberal nobleman, whose politics are usually
influenced by his chief, and that, owing
to a near family connection, Lord DERBY naturally
made him the offer to retain his post, knowing
that he would be easily amenable to his own influ
ence and arguments. Lord CLARENDON has never
been an active mischief-maker ; he has left that to
men of more vigour and more ambAion, who prefe►
to " meddle and muddle" than to remain inactive
or unnoticed.

BANK OF FRANCE.

PARIS, June 18.

The following is the return of the Bank of France
for the week ending to-day, together with the cor-
responding figur3s of the previous account :

LITERATURE.

Robert Falconer. By George MacDonald, LL.D.,
Author of " Alec Forbes of Howglen," &c.

Three Vols. Murat and Blackett.

" Robert Falconer," with equal justice, might,
even as " Contarini Fleming," be entitled " a
psychological romance," and yet hardly a romance,
but a very sober reality. The biographer of
" Robert Falconer" has given us in these volumes
not so much a record of the adventures of his hero,
as he has unfolded to us the history of his soul. In
his early boyhood, in his anxious youth, in his mature
manhood, the growth, the development, the strug-
gles, temptations, and trials of a heart of no com-
mon sensibility, and an intellect of no ordinary
capacity, are revealed to us, and by one well quali-
fied for the task. Of George MacDonald it may
truly be said that if he " thinks like a sage," he as-
suredly " feels like a man," and never were the
.I,..pths of his philosophy and the tenderness of his
human sympathy more powerfully and more
pathetically proved than in this history of Robert
Falconer. In it more than ia any of his
previous works, the deep religious feelings of the
writer are very powerfully revealed. His faith is,
indeed, a "saving faith," and one made manifest
in good works. Too often religious men make their
religion more an affair of creed, and outward form,
and rigid observance, the letter without the spirit.
Robert Falconer, on the other hand, goes to the
opposite extreme ; and while his whole life is an
embodiment of the spirit of religion, he appears
to avoid all outward form. He frequents no
place of worship as a rule, and yet his life is a life
of prayer. In his individual instance, according to
the showing of his biographer, the result may have
been satisfactory, but for the majority of men such
an experiment would only prove disastrous.

" A kingdom of the Just, then, let it be,
Bat first consilor how thos3 Just agree."
In his early days Robert Falconer is brought
up by a tender-hearted, but strict and rigi I,
grandmother. The scene lies, during the
tirst part of the story, in Scotland. Robert is a
Scotch " laddie," and his " grannie" is a strict
adherent of that very devout but very intolerant
school of religion which, more than all others, is re-
pellant to the heart of George AlacDon dl. His
frequent allusions to the painful ordeal of a Scottish
Sabbath vividly reveal the intensity of hi 3 experi-
ences. Even as Lord Byron (incredible as it ap-
pears) turned with loathing from the thought of
[lorace —even of Horace !—in the recollection of his
school-boy drudgery,

" Which daily turned his sickening memory ;"
so, too often, do the virtues of an overstrained fana-
tical theology rebel against all religious observances,
and it is well if they do not reject religion. It is
not so with Robert Falconer ; his life is a cmstant
manifestation of his faith. In acts of charity
and love for his brother man whom he does
s3e, he endeavours to prove his love for the Master
whom he has never seen, but of whose vivifying
presence he is continually conscious. It could be
wished that such a man, so fervent in faith and so
zealous in action, might coma to learn how both
have their full scope of action in the Church of
Christ. Throughout the whole of these three
volumes beautiful thoughts are scattered with no
sparing hand, and in every page we re-
cognise the tender wisdom of the Christian
philosopher. When he stands by the death-bed of
his dearest friend, Robert Falconer is consoled to
recognise on the beloved features " that awful and
beautiful peace which is the farewell gift of the
soul to its servant." When in the bye-streets of
London he notices a poor wom tin disfigure I by
gin and starvation selling matches, with a little
infant smiling at her bosom, he exclaims, " A
child fresh from God fin is its heaven
where no one else could. The devil could
drive the woman oat of Paradise, bat the devil
cannot drive Paradise out of woman." Vary tender
are his sympathies for his unhappy sisters. 'When
he is pleading the cause of the fallen and the re-
pentant he tells his hearers " One thing is clear to
that no indulgence of passion destroys the
spiritual nature so much as respectable sel-
dshness." In his philosophical exertions for
his helpless fellow-creatures, Robert Falconer
thus encourages' his despondent fellow-labourers :
Ile that believeth shall not make haste. There is
plenty of time. You must not imagine that the
result depends on you, or that a single human soul
can be lost because you fail. It shows no faith in
God to make frantic efforts or frantic lamentations."
Bit we cannot, with a few specimens like these,
lo justice to George Mac Donall's noble work.
We must commend it as a whole to the best
attention of our readers, assuring them they
will find therein much food for reflection. As an
evidence of the poetical character of Robert Fal-
coner's reflections, we must quote his remarks on
the shocking carelessness of a mother who will
tremble at the slightest sign of suffering in her
child, but will bear him lie against his brother with-
out the smallest discomfort. When a companion
pushes a street
walking
frwoimth
tFhaeleopnaevre,mreonutg, hlhyis
friend reminds
him that by this hasty action he widens the dis-
tance between the ragged boy and his fellow-men.
Alany snatches of poetry, of b 'autiful and thoughtful
poetry, are introduced in this work, but the author
tells us they are from the hand of a (lett. friend.
There is poetry enough, however, in them, coming
lirect from the thoughtful intellect and sympa-
thetic heart of the gifted author of Robert Fal-
coner."

Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra. By the Rev. W. 'Ware.

One Vol. Warne and Co.

We are glad to see re-issued, in a most attractive
volume, this most enthralling history of the last
lays of Palmyra. Few chapters in the history of
romance are more captivating than those recorded
of the later days of romantic glory, and the early
lawn of Christian civilization. The n trues of Aure-
lian and Zenobia, of Gracchus and L3aginus, of
Lucius Piso and Faustula ant Julia, will linger
pleasantly in the memory of all who read this
work, as they do in our own, after the lapse of
many years.

Maximilian, and other Poems. By John Charles
Earle, B.A. One Vol. Burns, Oates, and Co.

This graceful volume of verses, dedicated to a
charitable object, begins with some moving lines
)n the " Death of Maximilian," supposed to have
been written by that ill-fated Prince the evening
before his execution.

Artists and Alubs ; or, Sketching in Sunshine. By
Henry Blackburn. Ono Vol. Sampson Low,

Son, and Marston.

The very delightful author of " The Pyrenees,"
has and " Travelling in Spain," here given U 3
another charming description of foreign scenes
and men as they are. Pen and pencil vie with
each other in graphic sketch and practical descrip-
tion. Some of the drawings are ludicrous in the
extreme : witness the " Zouave it la mode" in the
frontispiece, in which (assuredly not in accord-
ance with the customs of that race !) the Zouave
turns his back alike upon friend and foe.

CORRESPONDENCE PROM PARIS.,

'EOM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, THURSDAY, June 25.
The Pairte assures us that all the journals are wrong,
and that the elections have not been discussed at the meet-
ings of the Council for the past six months. It is very
strange, as the Arenir National remarks, that the Council
should not concern itself with a matter which is occupying
all the rest of France. So general is the belief that a dis-
solution is imminent, that throughout the departments the
candidates are alreadypreparing for the campaign. More-
over,the Patric does to a certain extent contradict itself, for it
says that in a few days the prefects will come up to Paris,
in order to confer with the Government about:the elections.
NOW it iS quite clear that these eighty-nine gentlemen would
not have left their departments simultaneously unless they
had been ordered to do so, nor would they have been
ordered without some previous deliberation on the part of
their superiors. It seems to me, therefore, more and
more probable that we shall shortly see the electors invited
to do their duty.
No one doubts that the result of the elections will be
the return of a large majority of members favourable to
the Bonaparte dynasty. At the same time it is nearly
certain that the Opposition will be materially strengthened.
The number of new Liberal journals which are starting up
on every side is a sign of the strong anti-despotic
feeling which prevails, and will strengthen that feeling.
To-day, for instance, there has appeared the first number
of the new Opposition journal l'Eleeteur. Its editors are
Jules Favre, Picard, and Ilenoti';.three of the most distin-
guished members of the Left. It is brought out espe-
cially to influence the elections, and protests against
the system of official candidates. M. Glais-Bizoin,
another member of the same party, has just
issued the first number of his journal, the COtes
du Nord, published at Saint-Brieuc. The Emperor
is said to have been profoundly impressed by the enormous
sale of Henri Rochefort's La Lanterne (above 80,000 a
number) contrasting so remarkably with the very limited
sale of journals which, like the Etendard, are devoted to
the Government. In some quarters it is said that this cir-
cumstance has so influenced Napoleon that he contemplates
a further crowning of the edifice in the shape of some fresh
concessions. On the other hand, there is a rumour of
exactly the opposite purport, viz., that the Emperor is so
disquited at the prospect of_ the elections that he means
to issue a senatus-consultum, by which be will modify the
rule requiring a candidate to poll an absolute majority of
more than a half of the electors, and substitute one-
fourth.

The Emperor arrived at Chalons yesterday afternone
about six o'clock. He wore the uniform of a general of
division, and was attended by Generals Fleury and Douay,
and three other officers. Received by the General-in-
Chief at the station, he mounted and rode through the
midst of a double line of troops. On the right were three
divisions of infantry, on the left were the cavalry and the
artillery. Subsequently there was a grand dinner laid for
fifty persons. To-day there is to be a grand manoeuvre, and
to-morrow a review, at which medals and crosses will be
distributed. It is expected also that the Thriperor will
assist at the shooting match with the new arms. The
weather at the camp last night was magnificent, and a
welcome shower just before his ',Majesty's arrival, had
laid the dust. I should mention that before the Emperor
left Paris for Chalons he received M. Emile Pereire,
of the Cr6dit Mobilier, who complains bitterly of the way.
in which he has been treated by M. Pouyer-Quertier with
respect to the Transatlantic mail packet contract.
There is again much talk of diplomatic changes, and Oa
appointments, which in a former letter I mentioned had
been suggested, are again spoken of. It is also said that
the Due de Persigny will be provided for abroad,
as it is found that his ambition is too great
to render his residence in France just now de-
sirable. Poor Count von Goltz, the Prussian Minister,
is still very unwell. It is feared that he is suf-
fering from cancer of the tongue. Ho will not put himself
under N4laton again, but has been persuaded to try a
certain Van Smidt, whom the Paris doctors call a Dutch
quack, but who claims to have found in the East Indies a
certain cure for cancer. Our faculty say that if the Count's
disease be cancer it is incurable ; if it be not, there is no
need to go so far as India for a cure. This may be logic,
but it is not surgery.
There arc some further particulars about Prince Napo.
Leon's journey. A letter from Vienna gives the following.
The Duke of Baden desires to enter the North German
Confederation. The Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt is
being pressed by his son and daughter-in-law (your
Princess Alice) to do the same thing. Should they take
this step, Bavaria and Wurtemherg would then be the
only States of any importance outside the Confederation,
and they could not possibly remain aloof long. It has
been Prince Napoleon's object in visiting Vienna to prevent
this fusion. He has endeavoured to persuade Baron
von Beust to take measures in accord with France, in
order to carry out his policy. The Austrian Premier has
evaded any pledge on the subject, but the Prince is not
without hope of eventually winning him over. Mean-
while, the papers are careful to inform us that the Austrian
army is being rapidly reorganised, and that a large number
of Chassepot rifles are being manufactured in this country
for Austrian use. At Bucharest Prince Napoleon has had
a very warm welcome. He was received by Prince
Charles and his Ministers, who led him through streets
gay with flags and triumphal arches. In the evening the
city was illuminated, and there was a fete in honour of
the Imperial visitor.
The Etendard confirms the news that Menotti Gari-
baldi is enrolling volunteers in Italy, and makes the im-
portant addition that the Italian Government is offering
no opposition. This 18 serious news. It is impossible to
believe that a fresh Garibaldian attempt could be
successful now that the French troops are in
Papal territory, remembering that it failed last
year. But though there is not the smallest
chance of the Garibaldians being successful in overthrow-
ing the Pope, it is by no means so certain that they will
not excite a revolutionary movement which will over-
throw Victor Emmanuel. There is no doubt that
Menotti Garibaldi is doing the work of the Bourbons even
more effectually than if he were in the pay of Francis of
Naples.
There are two remarkable leaders in to-day's Libcrte.
In one M. Emile de Girardin points out that
while the Temps is so anxious to put down
capital punishments, of which there were only nine in
1.&36, it has nothing to say to the 101,767 imprisonments
which took place that year. In the other article, entitled
" La France est Sage," M. Mon Cahun savagely attacks
the foreign policy of this country, pointing out with
terrible sarcasm how it has failed in every single parti-
cular. M. Cahun says there is not a country in Europe,
save France, which has not won something during the last
fifteen years. England, by disentangling herself from ambi-
tious foreign diplomacy, has developed her political liberty
and her commerce. Germany has obtained unity. So has
Italy. Austria has, by wise concessions, restored harmony
to her once mongrel empire. Even the " sick man" is
recovering. But France has acquired Nice and Savoy,
and thereby estranged Italy. She has demanded Saarlouis
and Landau, and been refused. She has protected Turkey
against Russia,and thereby raised difficulties in Montenegro,
Servia, and Candia which she cannot overcome. Of Poland
the less said the better. France has been in Mexico, and
it was in Mexico that Maximilian was murdered a year
ago. Where, then, are her acquisitions—her allies?
Where is her internal prosperity, with the manufacturers
crying out famine ; the bank choked with gold ; the great
financial institutions tottering ; Algeria desolated with
famine? As for science, all the rest of the world
is advancing, save France. True, France is tranquil
at home ; but she is so like the dervish who,
having in a fit of passion killed an animal that
lie loved, prayed heaven to liberate him from his passions,
and was then left without any impulse towards good or
evil, a living corpse.
Great excitement has been caused at Limoges by the
discovery, on Tuesday morning, of two dead bodies in a
field, close to the most populous part of the town. The
one was that of a man, the other that of a woman, end
both were cut into numerous pieces.
The hot weather has returned. To-day the thermometer
has been 83 deg. Fahrenheit in the shade.

The reorganisation of the Austrian army is going on
rapidly. A large number of Chassepot rifles are being
ma le in France for the use of the Austrian troops.
The Post's Paris correspondent, referring to the general
impression which prevails concerning the decision of the
Emperor to call upon the people of France to elect new
Chambers soon after the close of the present session, sup-
poses the Emperor looks forward to the result with con-
siderable anxiety, as when some time since general elections
were contemplated, it will be remembered that a pamphlet
appeared from the cabinet of his Majesty's secretary, remind.
ing the nation of the services Napoleon 111. had rendered
society, and the prosperitywhich had characterised his reign.
No doubt, says the correspondent, a change has taken
Place in the feelings of the people since they last sent
deputies to Paris. Frenchmen have recovered from
that alarm which the anarchy of the last revolution
created. They do not any longer exclaim, "Let the
Emperor do what he pleases ;he knows best !" There is
a desire to exercise more control over the acts and policy
of the sovereign. As far as observers can see, the next
Jlections will shew a very large dynastic majority, for
universal suffrage as exercised in France under actual cir-
cumstances is a dynastic vote ; it is a vote for sovereign,
Constitution—in fact, Imperialism. The Roman Catholic
priests will take a very active share in returning deputies
to the legislative body. They haN;e cceived direct orderx
DOiae. gic_giNeO&