, 1860-02-25
FOREIGN lTEMS.

TIE FoL1TlcAL Exc1TENEAT IN FRAScE.-Iet-
ters from Paris speak more fully Of the po1ti-
cst excitement in France than do the newspa'
,,ers. The manufacturers, disaGccted with the
new tariff. the Catholic Clergy, exasp rated ut
Sapoieon's trentnlent Ct this Pope, and the le-
gitiinists. always ready to make trouble, sym.
pathze aud cooperate toget cr. The feeling is
SO general and SO intense that some predict Sc
rious outbreaks, it not actual revolution. The
Clergy ase much more powerful in Francc t1un
ihost suppose who are accustomed to look upon
the French rs infdels in religion. Since The
irst revolution the people have returned again
to their original faith. There are eighty blsh-
ops and IN army Of forty thousand priests,
nearly atl .ies oted to the Pope, and ready for
any service which will promote his temporal
tons and religious houses are strong in re-.
sources and Influence. Tho--conscience Of
France is in fact in the hands of those who
hate the Emperor for his war upon the Pope,
urd will bc perfectly willing TO seek the destruc
sion Of the former )" for the glory Of God aud
cnl,ics Of his position, there is general conf
dence lhat Napoleon will go through the stortn
safely, because he is in the right aud las tie
tlerve 10 take bold position aud to stand to it
to the last. We presume there is no gre+t dan
.:cr Of revolution in France on account Of these
difficulties, and the only peril to Napoleon comes
from the possibility that some funaticnl sup
porter Of the Pope will feel called to become in
instrument OF diyine vengeance, aud as*assl-
uate the Emperor. Such IN event would not be
surprising, i'll the present state Of popular feel
ing in Franco.
i Novel ro1Sr OF CoCn7 ErrouErrE.-The
little leaLing type paragraph in to.tay's Itnns,
on the subject ot tic reception Of volunteer o1i-
GERS BY the Queen, marks the settlement Of what
deserves to be called the great Court question
nf the day, viz: What II to le done should the
pficcrs OF volunteer corps claim to bc presented
9. the Quecn's lerecs, and their wives st the
drawing rooms? 1t is not question Of rank 20
much US one Of room mud tl1sc, and regard Tor
the royal comfort and capacity Of endurance.
There nre. or soon will bc, some thirty thou.
saud OF these officers, und supposing oue-half
pt them anxious for the honor of kissing lle I
.Ma)cstys hand, the Lord Chamberlain would
be puzzled where to find room for the crowd,
aud the Queen would suffer mart5rdonl from
tile fatigue Of the ceremonial. II is no joke to
| hold out hand 10 be kissed BY thousands. II
il no1 30 long aso since President Of the United
States narrowly escaped losing an arm owing
to IN abscess, supposed to have been caused, OF
| irritatcd to extra mischief, bY the handsiaking
| ut one Of his nub lcrees at the White House
At the same time there was the greatest re!uc'
lance to interposc any barrier between the vol
untcers aud the qualification Of their loyal aspl
| rutiops for kiss Of the royal hand. The dill
Guilty has formed tho subject Of many unx1ou,
counscls ut thc Lord Chamberlalu's office, sllt
| 1T that mysterious iustitution-the Board .
| Green Cloth The solution now hlt upon-th'
holding Of separate levce for yolunteers--i
considered master-strolc Of ceremonial lnven
lion, and tue Lard Chamberlain draws free
breath. Her Malestv, too, will sleep all th
soundcr for her escape from the threatened ava
Ianche ot loyal defenders Of the crown and rcalu
upon The already crowded space Of the resep
tlon rooms ut st. James. .-Hdnehes.fr iaardi1a
REronrEn LITERARY D1scovERr-AS ESGL1sl
Eric or TIE NINTH CEsrrEv.-9he Loado
Chronicle receives the following e1traordinar.
statement from its Copenhagen correspondent
"Certalu miscellaneous parchment leaves an
fragments, carefully gathered together from oil
book.backs, ETC., bare lately been gone throug
and classified at the Great National li6rar
here Among these were two Leaves which a
| tr1ctsd the especial notice Of Prof. Werlauf, til
chief Librarian. lie perceived that they wei
in Old English, and Of great antiquity. Will
out delay be co4clnnpicased this discovery to Ii
colleague. Mr.. Stephens, Professor in Old En:
lsh at the University That gentleman lost
time in examining tile precious tind, and has II
bounced TINT they date troul tue Ninth Centur
If not earlier; that thcy both belong to one arl
l. Tho sans Ms and work; that they areiu sple
did stave-rhynlc rcrse, like Beowulf and It
rest :of our oldest poetry; and t'at they a'
| fragments of q Saga.Cyclus altogether unkno"
TO our litcrature-nanlely, the Adventures
King Theodoric and King Attila and their me
comn.ouly known rs tie Nllkina Saga. Asyt
know, this remarkable aud delightful Norttle
Thous and and-one-Nighls contalus within itst
the compressed outlines and materials of a SEQ
of independent Epics, some Of which hnye be'
(! treated at great length By Scandinavian al
i | German Bards aud RVulanceEs, and the roots
! many strike deep into antiquity. Many Of the
t traditions have IN origin far anterior to the ii
!; | torical names With which thev have been mix
up, and to which many Of the adventures ha
been transferred. England has, Of COURSE, rt
sessed muititudes Of chants and ballads CT
! nectei with these heroes, as well as her bre
= ren III Scandinavia and Germany, but they ha
a all disappeared. Our only half hcathen EI
aud that imperfect, mud only cxishnS in q
- 1nanuscript-the noble Reowulf, The finest he
epic in an5 modern tongue relates 10 auott
group Of traditions
."The discovery then is Of the utmost impe
aucc. Esch leat lin svo contains shout
Z, I.ncs but the tsro ienyes are not consecuts
IT. II. We l,aye thus 12o lines # an old English FL
-. on the adventure Of .Etal {Attia) the Wald
aa aia {W,l;her). Z Latin Epic, evidently trausla
of from u German or Saxon Poem, was written
r. tile eame subject in the 9Th century, but it
states 10 a different episode frum the Old
clish lar. This t.atin text has been sew
:: timcs printed, and there arc several edit
2: translated into modern German. 1t was hi.he
!. not only entirely unknown IN old English,
also in Early and Middle age.
10; AUSTRIA AxD HuSaART.-Tho sudden
:unrrontsing peace Of Villafranca, last 8
! 'mer,- brought despair tothe hearts OF m