The Sun.
London, England, 1850-06-17 00:00:00

[The following appeared in our Third Edition of
Saturday night:—]

FRANCE.

The Prince Louis Napoleon has taken up his re-
sidence at the Palace of St. Cloud, the most favourite
of all the palatial abodes of the Emperor, with the
exception of Malmaison. The President quitted the
Elysee on Thursday for St. Cloud, where he will
remain for about a fortnight, to repose himself after
the excitement of his visit to St. Quentin. Many
persons conjecture that his withdrawal from Paris has
been caused by the agitation connected with the Bill
of Dotation.

On Thursday evening the Prince invited about 20
of his private friends to dinner, when a rather terrible
but fortunately not fatal accident occurred. The in-
cident is thus narrated :—Amongst the guests were
M. and Madame Baroche, General Changarnier, and
a few other distinguished persons. The hospitality
of Louis Napoleon was, however, very near being sad-
dened by a melancholy disaster. As it was, no harm
resulted ; but the escape was almost miraculous.
The dinner was not to take place in the Chateau,
but in a building to the rear, situate in a high
ground, and from which a magnificent :view
is caught of the surrounding country, and the distant
capital. The building is in the reserve grounds, and
in a different direction from the public park. The
eminence on which it rises bears the name of the
Trocadero, possibly from some resemblance, fancied
or real, to the well-known fort of the Isle of Leon,
opposite Cadiz, taken by the French in 1823, under
the Duke of Angouleme, and in compliment to whose
military successes in Spain St. Cloud is thus associ-
ated with Peninsular campaigning. The alleys
leading to the building are occasionally steep, and,
throughout, winding, and at both sides is a succession
of slopes one beneath the other at various heights,
breaking the descent to a deep ravine or valley
beneath. The height from the first to the second is
from 4 to 5 feet, and from the second to the third 10
feet, after which, on one side, opens a sheer fall of 50
or 60 feet in depth. The edges of the alley are
bordered by a low iron railing. It was six o'clock,
and all the guests, with, it is said, the excep-
tion of General Changarnier, and three friends,
who were coming together in the same carriage,
and the Count and Countess de Gouy d'Arcy, had
already arrived. The Count is a member of the
Council General of the Seine et Oise, to which de-
partment St. Cloud belongs. The President of the
Republic had been out riding in the grounds, and
was returning to the Trocadero in another direc-
tion, when he met the carriage of the Count and
Countess. He rode up to the door, chatted for a
few minutes, and then seeing at a more distant
spot another carriage, with General Changarnier
and his friends, he put spurs to his horse, and
galloped on to meet them. The horse of the Count
de Gouy d'Arcy was a spirited animal, and the mo-
ment he saw the President's horse bound along he
suddenly took it into his head to follow the example ;
taking the bit in his mouth, and shaking the reins out
of the hands of the coachman, he dashed madly along
the winding and precipitous passage. The guests
who were near the spot were struck with dismay as
they beheld the slight low vehicle fly along the very
edge of the ravine. To attempt to get out on one
aide was certain death; on the other very nearly so.
Guests, servants—all rushed from all sides to prevent
the almost inevitable catastrophe; but the horses that
were still attached to the other carriages began to
show some symptoms of a desire to follow the run-
away. In a few seconds, and before any assistance
could be rendered, the horse in his wild career ap-
proached so close to the edge of the path that the two
side wheels got completely over the railing, and, in the
twinkling of an eye, carriage, horse, and all were
dashed over, and disappeared completely. A cry
of horror escaped from all present ; they rushed to
the spot ; Louis Napoleon dismounted, let his horse
loose, and was the first to reach the spot where
the carriage had gone over, but no sign of it ap-
peared on the first slope. He leaped to the second,
and there, near the very edge, the horse was found
lying on his side, his fore-legs hanging over a
depth of 60 feet ; the carriage smashed to pieces ;
and the young Countess, standing on the grassy slope,
her bonnet in one hand, and with the other arranging
her head dress ; and the Count, with equal serenity,
shaking the dust out of his dress coat; not the
slightest hurt had either the lady, the gentleman, or
the coachman received. Tne horse had slipped on
the grass and fallen, and the onward motion of the
carriage was stayed by one of the wheels coming off.
The animal was slightly injured, but only very slightly.
The Count looked as good humoured as ever he did
in his life; and the Countess—why she either had not
time or she forgot to faint. They were amongst the
gayest of the party during the evening.

LOUIS NAPOLEON,-HIS ENTERTAIN,
INIEN'FS, DEBTS, AND WANTS.

Louis Napoleon has boime his honours with dignity
and moderation. The French people are not,
however, and no republic can ever transmi•
grate them into, either Dutchmen or Quakers.
They will have from the President of their Repub-
lic entertainments and receptions befitting the
days of royalty. They have given their President
a salary not equal to the annual income of many
English merchints. He has given them right princely
entertainments. He is, therefore, in debt. Yes ! in
debt, without any extravagance of his own, for he
knows well how to live prudently, though not meanly.
He is deeply in debt by all that is demanded of him
in virtue of his high and responsible office.
The National Assembly is applied to in order that
his income may balance his expenditure. They ex-
hibit reluctance they have almost refused. We
hope they will act wisely, and not force Louis Napo-
leon to fly to England, to Bicetre, or resign, or make
a coup d'itat, which may make him Emperor. He is
the most popular man in France! While he preserves
that popularity, he will be all powerful in carrying a
coup d etat.—Weekly News.