The Sun.
London, England, 1868-08-06 00:00:00

The Price of Gold.

The quotation of gold at Paris is about at par, and
the short exchange on London is 2&t. 120. per £1 sterling
On eaniparing these rates with the English Mint price of
£3 104 d. per ()muse for standard gold, it appears that
gold is nearly 2-10ths per cent. dearer in Paris than in Lon-
don.

The course of exchange at New York on London for bills
at 60 days' sight was on the last date about liol per cent.
At this rate there is a profit on the importation •f gold
from the United z_states.

Ax ORANGE RIOT.--The old houses were supplied
on every story with long iron balconies, and upon one of
these wo took up our position. From the point at which
we stood, we could sweep with our oyes the whole street,
terminating iu a square at either end ; and here it was we
saw the Carnival at Nantes in all its glory, under a storm
of oranges, which came from right and left of us.
Orange women, with huge basketsful of their popular
stock, were pressing to and fro in the throng, selling their
oranges by the dozen at a time, while the air was thick
with the too juicy fruit as it sped to and from the balco •
vies. It was an equal warfare between man and man ;
the strongest arm and truest eye were sure of the victory.
Oa the balconies on either side of the street might be seen
groups of jauntily dressed gentlemen, each with his
stock of oranges ; and when any peculiarly amusing
masquers passed in the line of vehicles, these would open
the battle by pouring down on them fruity hail. Then
would ensue a most vigorous retort, the carriage of the
attacked party stopping and delaying the whole procession
until they had " had it out." Now, the ridi-
culJusly long proboscis of some Carnival Achilles is
whisked off and sent flying yards away ; now, a monkish
beard is shaven close and clean, and its loosened hairs
fall in a shower over the people round about. Some-
times the combatants, with their stubborn Celtic blood,
are goaded to a momentary warmth on either side; then
the oranges fly thick and fast and at haphazard, and are
thrown, in the blindness of sudden choler furiously
into the crowd at large ; where, mayhap, they yield their
fragrance on the person of an unotTentfing priest, as
in long gown and broad-brimmed hat he hastens
nervously along ; or attack sums pompous old coach-
man, in wig and livery, who, as ho is soberly con-
ducting his master's carriage through the throng, receives
an orange plump in the eye, or, More he knows it, finds his
gold-banded hat missing from its horsehair pinnacle.
But these orange battles were not confined to manly com-
batants; there were AutazJnian jousts, which threw the
others far into the sh ide. Now and then a squad of gen-
darmes would rush in upon a party of combatants, and
wall loud voices and much g_,sticulation seek to end the
fray—fur this orange pelting is against the law—but then
the opponents of those thus interfered with would pour
down a resistless volley upon the agents of order,
who would thereon ignominiously retreat. No one was
safe from the juicy missiles, which fled to and fro as far as
the eye could see on either side ; and the screaming, and
laughing, and howling, and " sacrre-bleu"-ing could be
heard echoing everywhere through the narrow streets of
the usually drowsy old
.town.- Dickens's "All the Year
, Round."