The Sun.
London, England, 1868-11-17 00:00:00

A STRANGE STORY.

An almost incredible tale conies from India. We
gather it from the Indian Public Opinion., which con-
tains a copy of a letter from a young lady residing in
Cornwall, containing an offer of marriage to an
Indian prince, and a letter from a Wesleyan minister
giving the young lady a testimonial. The manes are
not given, but Public Opinion has not the slightest
doubt that they are genuine. The young lady com-
mences by stating that she has lost her papa and
mamma, that she is living with a W esleynn minister,
is 21 years of age, has some property, and would like
to marry a king. She has seen the Maharajah well
spoken of in the newspapers, and would be glad to
hear if the potentate is willing, and if he will " name
the day." The Wesleyan minister attaches a testi-
monial, pronouncing her a very nice, amiable, kind,
and excellent young lady, who would make an
excellent wife. She is stated to be piously disposed,
and a member of the Wesleyan Church, though how
that would particularly fit a young lady for an Clien-
tal harem is not stated. It is a pity that the name
of the lady is not given, so that some eligible youth
might prevent this treasure from becoming the slave
of a barbarian.

FOREIGN NOTES

AMERICA.

If President Johnson carries out his avowed intentions,
nothing in his term of office will become him more than the
leaving of it. He has informed a correspondent of the
New York Herald that he will never consent to the appoint-
ment of a mixed commission to adjudicate the claims
arising from the depredations of the Alabama. He further
wishes it to be understood " that he has quite as much to
do with the negotiation of the matters in dispute between
Great Britain and the United States as any other person."
It is truly to be hoped that Mr. Andrew Johnson will not
persevere in this farewell exhibition of venom. He cannot
affect the ultimate decision of the Alabama claims, espe-
cially if the Senate, as is most likely, sanction the coin-
promise arrived at, and there can be nothing whatever to
gain by uselessly opposing the will of the nation in his
last hours of office.

G eneral Butler's election was carried by a large majority,
6,200 over both his opponents. The extreme Republicans
wanted his "assistance," and the Democrats were not less
desirous that the Republicans should get it. The pro-
ceedings seem to have been a glorious triumph of black-
guardism.

The territory held by the Hudson's Bay Company will
probably be incorporated within the Canadian Dominion
without much trouble. There is reason to believe that the
Company will retain their trading ports with a portion of
the district surrounding each, and will receive a part of the
proceeds from the sale of certain lands.

Mrs. Abraham Lincoln has fallen seriously ill at Frank-
ort, where she intented to pass the winter.

INDIA.

The scarcity in Central India is becoming more and
more calamitous. It is spreading over a greater extent of
country, and threatens to assume the proportions and
intensity of a famine. There is plenty of grain in the
more fortunate provinces, but it cannot be made available
on account of the utter absence of good roads. Migration
is, therefore, the only resource. The movement south-
wards still continues, the wretched inhabitants passing
through Nimar at the rate of four or five hundred a day.

Up to the 9th of October the British force on the north-
west frontier had sustained a loss of only five men killed
and thirty wounded.

GERMANY.

The Prussian Chamber has commenced the discussion
on the Budget. The deputies have forthwith fallen foul of
the unhappy Finance Minister and his deficit, complaining
that the result had not been foreseen. One speaker
energetically criticised the " prodigality " with which the
dispossessed princes had been indemnified. The Prussians
are unable to understand being behind in finance. Even
conscience money must be sacrificed to the fear of z.
deficit.

Two of the deputies of North Schleswig have addressed
a letter to the President, setting forth their reasons for
abstaining from this Budget debate. "We are the repre-
sentatives of North Schleswig, not of Prussi a. We shall
not, therefore, vote on any question touching Prussia
only."

THE RUSSIANS IN CENTRAL ASIA.
The Etendard is much alarmed at the progress of the
Muscovite arms in Bokhara. It holds that the conquests
9f Russia in that quarter are far more important than is
generally supposed, and that they are carried on in accord-
ance with a system which has been pursued with the greatest
ability and the most profound secrecy for over twenty
years. It was in 1848 that this aggression was begun
under cover of the revolution of that year. Since then
Russia has established a frontier line, so that Afghanistan
only interposes between the Muscovite and British empires.
The Etendard claims to prove by authentic documentsthat
all the States of what is called Central Asia have been
subgugated either openly or in secret. Some provinces
which are ostensibly independent are really constituent
portions of Russia. The danger of this policy to the peace
of Europe is, that "England may be paralysed in the
East by an attempt upon her Indian possessions, whilst
France is left alone to support the civilisation of Europe,
unless Germany will join her."