The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-01-14 00:00:00

SOMETHING ROMANTIC.

The Paris correspondent of a weekly contemporary has
the following story of a noble lord lately deceased;—
The festivities of-the week have been varied, if not sad-
dened, by the deatlnof an English nobleman who had for
many years become a resident in Paris, and who once
swayed the sceptre of the kingdom of fashion without op-
position. This death is likely to give rise to the most mc-
traordinary revelations, and to one of the most marvellous
trials which have ever-come before a jury.
The gentleman whose demise has been attended with so
much mystery is the heir to a peer of the realm, and
during the high and palmy days of the domination of Lord
Granville at the British Embassy was the very idol of the
fashionable circle of-Paris. His fair contemporaries can-
not even now speak without emotion of his especial grace,
and the beauty of his accomplished manners and gentle-
manly bearing. His musical talent, too, had endeared
him to all lovers of the art ; while his great wealth ena-
bled him to bestow patronage upon artists of merit, and
many artists who now revel in the enjoyment of large
incomes owe their very existence to his bounty in setting
them forward in the beginning of their career. It was in
the very midst of all this success, this full possession of
the world's favour, that Lord S— suddenly disappeared
from amid the circles wherein he was most appreciated
and admired. Some declared that he had been engaged
in forging transactions; others that he had been detected
in coining ; some that he had retired to La Trappe ; and
others that he had committed some heinous crime, which
had compelled him to change his name and seek some so-
litude amid the wilds of America.

By degrees, however, his history was forgotten, when
on the finest day of last summer two of the most fashion-
able lionnes of Paris, being on an excursion at Enghien,
lost their way ; and, weary and exhausted with wander-
ing., suddenly came upon a low-thatched cottage, hidden
amid the shelter of one of .the thickest avenues of the
forest of Montmorency. The place was a mere hovel,
standing in the midst of a wretched garden divided from
the path but by a hedge of faggots—a man was at work in
the poor patch of ground digging potatoes—the fair lionnes
called to him for assistance to guide them on their way—
the man arose from his stooping posture to wipe the
sweat from his brow before he answered ; and as lie with-
drew the blue check handkerchief from his face the
:lionnes shrieked and fell almost senseless against the
palisade—the countenance revealed in the glaring scorch-
ing sunlight was that of Lord S , the dethroned
sovereign, the exiled monarch of that world in which they
still moved and which still mourned his abdication ! To
their great surprise, Lord S displayed neither
shame nor embarrassment, but recognised them on the
instant, and invited them to repose an instant in his cot-
tage with as much ease and grace of manner as though he
had been leading the way to his former salon in the Fau-
bourg .St. Honore ; nor did he manifest the slightest
sentiment of regret at the wretched interior which met
their gaze, nor make the least apology for the miserable
blouse and sabots in which he was attired. A tall,
gaunt, ill. favoured woman, who was at work in the only
room belonging to the cottage, offered them, by his lord-
ship's direction, a mug of cider and a bowl of cabbage
soup, which she herself drew from the fire where it was
simmering with unsavoury odour; and when they de-
parted he expressed no wish to behold them again, and
enjoined them to no secrecy concerning the place of his
retreat.

Of course the story was all over Paris almost before the
train which bore the fair lionnes had arrived at the ter-
minus. In less than a week the whole of the fashionable
world had been to the place where the " banished lord"
had hid himself so long; but from the day of the visit of
the ladies the cottage had been shut up ; and although
the peopleof th; neighbourhood declared that theinhabitants
still remained within, and came out only at night, yet no
more was seen of Lord S-, and after awhile the cottage
was in reality abandoned, and all pursuit rendered useless
once more. The arrival of two great London lawyers last
week has revived the interest experienced two years ago
by the discovery of his retreat ; and his death, which has
taken place in a hovel situated at the bottom of a cow-
yard at the Batignolles, is likely to give much work to the
sort of workmen that the English call the gentlemen of
the long robe ; as it appears he has left by will,duly signed
and sealed, the whole of his vast personal property to the
tall, gaunt, ill-favoured woman who for more than twelve
years has been the sharer of his solitude, and who, amongst
the ignorant neighbours, is said to have possessed an in-
fluence amounting to witchcraft over her unfortunate
victim. Of course, the family of the noble lord are re-
solved to dispute the will, and for this purpose the lawyers
have begun collecting evidence to establish a question of
insanity. What renders the case yet more curious is that
the terror with which the with is viewed is so great that
it is with the utmost difficulty that the smallest particle
of information can be obtained.

UNIVERSITY AND CLERICAL NEWS.

DIOCESE OF CHESTER,

CONSECRATION.—On Tuesday, January 7th, the Bishop
of Chester consecrated the new church of St. John the
Evangelist's, Kingsley, in the parish of Frodsham, Che-
shire. The church has been built by subscription, and
with the exception of twelve pews the seats are entirely
free. The townships of Kingsley and Newton will form
its district, and its endowment consists of twenty pounds
a-year from the Mother Church, in addition to pew rents
and surplice fees, besides which an excellent parsonage
house has been erected for the incumbent. There is a
chinch-yard which was consecrated at the same time.
The Vicar of Frodsham is the patron. After a sermon
by the Bishop, the sum of seventy pounds was collected
in aid of the fund for finishing the church.
On the same day the Bishop of Chester consecrated a
piece of ground added to the parish church of Frodsham.

The Bishop of Chester has licensed a room in the
newly-erected Sailors' Home, Liverpool, for divine ser-
vice.

Lord John Manners, M.P., will shortly deliver a series
of lectures, in Colchester, on the Colonial Church.
The Bishop of London's archidiaconal visitation, which
was announced to take place immediately, is understood
to have been put off sine die.

The Rev. Dr. Macleod, of Morver, will be proposed as
moderator of the next assembly of the Church of Scot-
land.

The Lord Chancellor has appointed the Rev. C. Cuth-
bert Southey, son of the late Poet Laureate, to the vicar-
age of Ardleigh, Essex.
It is reported that the Bishop of Oxford has issued an
inhibition against Dr. Pusey's preaching in his diocese.
What will the University now do ? _ _

No less than £6,006 has been already subscribed
towards the erection of a Protestant Church at Pantasa,
near St. Asaph, where Lord Fielding has declined to have
his erection attached to the church.

The Right Rev. David Low, L.L.D., Bishop of Moray
and Ross, has resigned his office on the ground of his ad-
vanced years and increased infirmities, which render him
unable for the due discharge of his duties.
A meeting was held in the Mayor's parlour at Man-
chester, on Monday, the Dean in the chair, and compris-
ing a large number of the clergy, with the principal
Dissenting ministers, Mr. James Heywood, ALP., and
the leading merchants and manufacturers of the town.
The meeting was called by the Rev. C. Richson, clerk in
orders of the Cathedral, to consider a plan drawn up by
himself and some members of the Church Education
Society " To show the practicability of constructing an
effective system of local education on the basis of plans
now in operation :"
"The principal features of the plan are to make use of the
unoccupied room in schools of the various religions denomina-
tions in Manchester and Salford; to provide for the contingent
expenses by a local rate not exceeding sd. in the pound, and
the management to be by committees elected out of their own
members by the municipal council of the two boroughs. The
religious convictions of all parties are to be respected and
equally protected, by a guarantee that in all existing schools
admitted into union with the district committee no creed or
formulary shall be taught to children to which their parents or
lawful guardians may, in writing, object. In new schools
erected by the Educational Committee no distinctive creed is
to be taught within the ordinary school hours, although daily
reading of the Scriptures is to be provided for. The manage-
ment of the latter schools is also to be exclusively by lay per-
sons. The assistance of her Majesty's inspectors is to be ob-
tained in estimating the educational wants of any locality, and
n• school is to be ereaed by the district committee or land
purchased without the sanction of the Committee of Privy
Council on Education. In a meeting composed of every
shade of religious and political opinion on such a mixed
question as education, considerable difference and opposition
would be expressed, notwithstanding the declaration of the
Chairman.that the object then was merely to discuss the plan,
without its being considered in any way to interfere with the
right of any one present to modify or change his views here-
after. Accordingly, in the different speeches the leanings and
prejudices of the speakers were perceptible, and it was evident
that considerable difficulty will be experienced in maturing the
plan and carrying it into effect. The Chairman at the outset
disclaimed any intention to give the Church undue influence,
or at all to interfere with the consciences or rights of dis-
senters. In reply to a question by Mr. Richard Birley, senior
churchwarden, respecting the absence of the Lord Bishop of
the diocese, the Dean replied that it had been deemed advis-
able, until the plan was more matured, not to solicit his lord-
ship's assistance, lest it should lead to any misunderstanding;
but when the principles had been decided upon to the general
satisfaction, the committee would gladly avail themselves of
his admitted ability and experience."