The Sun.
London, England, 1845-12-04 00:00:00

THE STARS OF THE FRENCH

CHAMBERS.

The entrance of Marshal Soult produces always a
certain amount of sensation. * * The illustrious
warrior, in respect to the popular sovereignty, uncovers
his noble bead even before he enters • the Salle des Pas
Perdus. Handing his stick to the valet who follows
him, he traverses the hall with a slow and halting. pace
—the consequence of a wound received forty years ago,
at the siege of Genoa. The crowd make way as he
approaches. Men of all ranks bow to the Marshal, but
no one offers him the hand: his martial bearing, his hair
whitened in the service of the State, his stately attitude,
impose respect.—When M. Guizot enters, men press
on his footsteps, and follow him through the hall, seek-
ing lin his face the traces of that energy and firmness
which he exhibits in discussion. But he, in most
cases, glides through the hall'at a quick pace, his hat
overshadowing one-half his face, and vanishes in the
passages, disconcerting the curious by the rapidity of
the evolution. Towards the close of the session, how-
ever, when all the questions of foreign policy are re-
solved, M. Guizot makes his triumphal entries. With
his hat thrown back, his face unshaded, and his hands
in his pockets, he advances slowly up the hall, receives
compliments, takes leave of his friends, and grasps
hands on every side. * * When M. Thiers is in
power, like M. Guizot, he hurries through the crowd,
and passes on. But during the last two sessions his en-
trance, as chief of the Opposition, is very bustling. Fol-
lowed by several of his political friends, at every step
his train increases. On all sides he is stopped, ques-
tioned, apostrophised. He answers with a short and
dry politeness—takes by the arm one of his colleagues,
or one of the editors of the journals in his interest,
and makes his way into one of the more retired
halls, or into the lobbies of the public galleries, for
greater freedom of speech. He shakes off his cortege,
as a general might his staff. * * Count Mol6
has the bearing and attitude of a statesman—a great
man of former days. Round him are neither aides-de-
camp, nor friends, nor familiars. He has colleagues, but
no equals ; and the courtiers who throng on his foot-
steps in power keep not far aloof. His march is grave,
even solemn ; his speech, though polite, reserved, cold,
abrupt—sometimes monotonous. Be traverses the hall
with a slow and measured pace ; and passes through its
bustling and agitated groups without even regarding
them. From time to time, he replies to such compli-
ments or questions as he cannot avoid ; but without a
movement, look or gesture that betrays to the most pe
netrating his sentiment or impression of the hour. * *
But he has the art to win the confidence and sympathy of
those whom he desires to conciliate, by his affability in
private interviews, carefully conducted—and which in-
clude the secret of his power.—M. Berryer loves to show
himself in the hall, and receive the compliments and ho-
mage of its groups. lie is the centre of a circle of admirers
and flatterers of his great renown ; but his following is
ordinarily composed less of Deputies than of persons from
out of doors. M. Berryer wears his historical blue coat,
buttoned military-fashion up to the throat—which gives
a severe and martial appearance to the man.—M. de
Lamartine appears rarely in the hall, and never stays
there long. Occasionally he may be observed, with his
melancholy air, passing towards the waiting-room in
search of his constituents, who draw him from the
Chamber under pretext of obtaining tickets, but often
really with a view to acquaint themselves with the fea-
tures of the illustrious poet. * * M. Dupin flings,
as he passes, his pointed arrows of speech against
friend and foe ; and while his jeux d'esprit are passing
from mouth to mouth, and occupying the commen-
taries of his hearers, he is already in the Hall of Session
or the Hall of Conferences. If, for a moment, he con-
descends to pause here, his circle of listeners instantly
swells ; and the loud laugh that arises thence betrays to
all the hall who is its witty centre.—The entrance of
M. Odillon Barrot is always solemn—his look haughty,
his gait magisterial. The leader of the Left seems to
carry his head with self-respect. He hails no one, takes
no notice of the homage paid him, speaks loudly and
scatters his words with an easy indifference.—M. Du-
faze is the only Deputy of great note who never pauses
in the e 7 des Pas Perdus. He passes through it ra-
pidly with hi: eyes on the ground. He has always an
an impenetrable face. I never saw
anxious brow ant;
him smile, or converse
in any group—as if he feared to
be taken for a conspiraconspirator:* He has abandoned, in
turn, his friends of the Op positio: and his Conservative
friends ; and, in the veryisolation we..l",t) he has created
for himself, has been, nevertheless, the most dangerous
opposition in the Chamber.

DIOCESE OF BATH AND .WELLS.—The Ecelesias'
tical Commissioners have decided upon a scheme for revising
the fixed annual payment charged upon the see of 13at..11 ad
Wells, which has up to the present time been 1,6'i,• lii
,
order to preserve, as nearly as may be, to the Bishop of
Bath and Wells an amount of income ego-;"lent to that
te Comissioners have
which was determined in the first instance to be suitable to
the circumstances of his bishopric,
determined that the annals payment shell he reduced
la j
dtioBeosot3/..
per annum. The scheme has been dof r
by her
in Council.
PUBLIC WORKS IN IRELAND.—See what could be
, ng;
done by turning attention to the improvement of our lakes.
The first of these
are Loughs Corrib and Mask
fourteen
not exceeding three miles in
feet, connectithe counties of Mayo and Galway with the latter large com-
and a discharge equal to
lengthe r cia.,l
with town,a
fall
ariver
q 910 horse-power. One of these loughs (the Corrib) lies
~-
about twenty-eight feet above the sea, at low water mark,
and may be connected with the Atlantic by a quarter a mile
of a canal, at a trifling outlay of money ; and Loughs Mask
and Carra, which arc thirty-five feet above the Corrib, can
be connected with it and the sea by a canal of about three
miles. So that, by a cutting of three miles and a half, a
direct line of navigation would be open to the country of
over fifty miles, and affording a speedy and a cheap mode of
transit for the agricultural produce of nearly 200 miles of
country. Again, the extent of flooded lands in winter, by
the three lakes, computed at over 17,000 acres, would be
brought into use, while the estimated cost, for drainage and
navig*tion, is calculated at only 34,0001. —.Galway ,Mercury.