The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-24 00:00:00

CORRES

11 PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, WEDNESDAY, December 23.
It would seem that in proposing a conference to settlethe
Eastern Question, Prussia had but anticipated the Marquis
de Lavalette. I hear it positively stated that the new
French Minister had taken the preliminaries to a confer-
ence, and that he bad sent telegrams to all the French re-
presentatives abroad instructing them to sound the respective
Cabinets at which they were accredited. These telegrams
would reach their destination just about the time that the
first proposal was made by Prussia. That both the Govern-
ments of France and Prussia should, without intercommu•
nication, have hit upon the same remedy for the solution of
the Eastern difficulty, gives the Conference project a serious
aspect, and greatly increases the prospect that the meeting
of the Great Powers will actually take place. The new
and improved mode of settling international difficulties,
which met with success in the Luxembourg affair, is to be
applied to a question of far greater complexity—a diffi-
culty of much older date. Further, Russia, whose action
in this matter has been most despaired of by the French!
diplomatists—Count Stackelberg making no sympathy of
Muscovite sympathy for Greece—has supported this sug-
gestion of a conference, if not taken the initiative in it.
There is reason to believe that the foreign policy of the
Empire will be in no wise changed by the accession of M.
de Lavalette. His sympathies are all on the side of peace,
he is not unfavourable to German unity, and he is a warm
advocate of Italy being left to the Italians. But Prussia will
be none the less jealously watched on this account, whilst
the occupation of Rome is yet to continue. The Papal
Government, I am told, inquired in alarm whether the
appointment of the Marquis was a manifesto in favour of
Italy. It received a reassuring answer.
The new Luxembourg Constitution has increased the
number of deputies by eight, and the election of these
representatives has just come off. The result has been
very unfavourable to the party which advocates annexa-
tion to France. All the annexationists have been defeated,
and their antagonists, one of them a Pruss'an, have been
elected by immense majorities.
M. de Moustier is a little better.
The Moniteur publishes an encouraging report of the
progress made by the classes for the secondary instruction
of young women, which were first established about
twelve months ago. These classes have progressed
so well as to leave no doubt of the success of
the experiment. The attendance at Paris has doubled,
and is still increasing. A similar result has been attained in
the provinces, especially in the east. There can be no
doubt that the young women of France are disposed to
avail themselves of the chance of a higher education now
that it is offered them, and there can, I apprehend, be no
reason to fear that a more general attempt of this kind in
England would be attended with a satisfactory issue.
" Miss Multon," the barefaced dramatised plagiarism of
" East Lynne," has brought forth a claim for compensation
by Mr. North Peat, the translator, as well as by the pub-
lisher of his version. But M. Belot, the author of the
play, declares that he bad no idea that the incidents
furnished them by M. Nus were not original, and so the
matter is to be referred to the Soci6t6 des Hommes de
Lettres. Mdlle. Schneider has renewed "La Belle
1161ne" at Variet6s. At the Chatelet " Theodoros " has
commenced, but there are no serpents, and the living lions
which were promised are stuffed with straw. The play
is nothing more than a spectacle, of which two ballets, in
which some dark-skinned Nubian beauties are represented,
and the final capture of Magdala by the English, are
palpably the greatest attractions.
An odd little trial has just been heard in one of the
rural districts of the East. Two young Italians, who
gained their livelihood by the tricks of a monkey, were
unable to pay their score at the auberge where they stopped
for a night. The innkeeper took the monkey as a hostage,
and shut it up in his cellar. But, true to his nature,
the animal dreamt of vengeance, drew out the stoppers of
six wine barrels, and broke many of the bottles in the
cellar. When the innkeepr beheld the deluge his rage
so far got the mastery of him that he killed the author of
the devastation. The two Italians brought their loss before
a neighbouring Solomon, who wisely enough decreed
that two wrongs did not make a right, and that if the inn-
keeper lost much the unfortunate Italians had lost all.
Defendant was fined £2O.

THE TVEATHER TABLE.-THIS DAY.