The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-05-02

(the ch0lerlc Count) would hold France re
| sponsible for the serious consequences which
may ensue," and requiring at the same time
| the ''instant cessation of NapoleOn's warlike
preparations" This, as we have said, was
the first sensational dispatch, which was inn
| mediately followed by others, definite and in
| definite, announcing the sudden march OIL
| Prussian troops to the frontier, and a general
| warike hulabaloo which almost led people
TO imagine that before another day the Prus-
slams would be in Paris, the French IN Bernn,
and the Dutch in Holland. s.,.,...,, -.
| Not till Friday last were we able to tell the
| foundation for this initial terrible. telegram.
! The Berlin letter in the Herald OF that date
reveals the secret. The writer OF the letter
7 was the author of the despatch. Ana now
1 did he ACQUIRE his diplomatic knowledge ON
I suob an immense question of state Did it
| dome from the irascible "Count" who wrote
| tbe belliperent note or from the Emperor
! who received tY Was il reached through
| keyhole or by a subterranean telegraph or
from Bismark's footman or the Kings fool
''The source" says the author, "from which
this startling piece of news is derived is one
which have always found well informed, and
to which in this instance cannot help attach
ing still more weight, as il tallies with what
have heard in other quarters" The source,
we are further led to understand, is ''an ac-
quaintance of mine, who is on an intimate foot
ing with Bismark, who, moreover is an ten
thuslastic patriot" and who has various other
characteristics which make it very likely that
he is Just the precise and particular person
whom Bismark would intrust with state
secrets. The correspondent, however, mad
vertently weakens our belief in the authen-
ticity of his awful news, by subsequently
alleging that not only the ''highest political
circles" refuse to credit such things, but that
even the ''King and Crown Prince are opposed
to them-the King having, as we are assured,
of oil 4I, e
Prussia, which the correspondent proceeds to
narrate in a manner which makes it certain
that none but the "King" himself, while
under the influence of lager beer, could have
furnished the facts. 1t was, then, this pre-
posterous despatch, from this ridiculous
'source''-a source so well known to some of
our newspaper espondents-which was
flashed across the Atlantic Ocean, startled half
of America, and created panic among the
'shorts'' in gold
After this stunning affair." there came for a
series of days masses of cloudy dispatches
which were portentous as the ''war cloud"
ITSELF but the next really fearful and positively
definite thing reached the American continent
a week after the first, or on the 10Th April It
was dated "Berlin, April 1S-Evening," )" and
excitedly set forth the report that Napoleon
was strengthening his forces and military posts
on the frontier, and placing his artillery on a
war footing; that large numbers of ambulances
subsequently corrected to horSeS) were being
purchased and that the French reserves of
1868 were presently to be called out. This
seemed to put out of question all doubt about
the coming Franco-Prussian war. The En-
perOr had 'got his back up" as well as Bis
mark and now let the world look out for the
clash of 'mighty opposites." No wonder
that after this we learned every day that "war
nOw seems imminent" that "war is noU
regarded as almost certain, F." etc. etc. r..I ..
Now, what was the "source of this start
ling Berlin despatch of the "1Sth, evening"
which was suddenly shot hot over to the
American continents In the New York Times
of last Friday there will be found among our
European extracts letter of the Paris cor
respondent of the London Times, dated the
18th of April, in which are contained the de-
tails, word for word, of all this Berlin news.
Now, if this news was so important and
authentic that it had to be projected over
here when the ''war panic'' in Wall street
was its height, why was it held back in
Europe for week ? and how came it to be
sent on the 18th instead of the 18th, and from
Berlin instead of from London, where it was
first published? The English correspondent
who first gave this news to the European
public, derived it, as he tells us, "from
private letter of person in position (Which l
prefer not alluding to more particularly not
far from the frontier" The ''source' in this
instance is of the most mysterious possible
character; but SILL we consider it as much
more trustworthy than the ''source" of the
first belligerent despatch, as the news is less
ridiculous in one than in the other.
1t is neither possible nor is it worth
while to enter into an investigation of the
''source" of all the Cable dispatches that were
| published during the late severe war panic.
Those we have spoken of were far the most
important in themselves, and produced the
most profound sensation and the heaviest
! pecuniary losses here. Many of the others,
especially the narrowing "specials" given by
some of our contemporaries, needed only to
! be looked at to be laughed at. We have no
! doubt that, in case of the nert war in Europe,
parties who are interested in the accuracy OF
| their Cable dispatches will scrutinize them
more intelligently than the Wall street
gudgeons have done those of the last fortnight.
The Approaching Presidential Contest
Mr.. Stewards htetirement'
! From the Herald
MIR. Seward has returned to Washington and
! the cares of state from his semi-annual visit
to his quiet home at Auburn. Heretofore this
! pilgrimage has been marked as public event
in a speech on the political situation, and in a
reading of the political horoscope to his neigh
bors by the learned Secretary. On this occa-
sion there has been no speech, no demand for
one, and no disappointment anywhere from
the omission, because ''the Governor" has
ceased to speak as one having authority. He
has fallen from grace as party leader, and
has lost his prestige as a prophet. He reads
in ''the Book of Chronicles" that his political