The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-03-15
FOREIGN ITEMS.

Madeleine Church was discussing business in
the vestry with friend, small, Insignificant
looking person entered and desired to speak
with him. The cure, with his we'll known air
of tamboar majeur, curtly told him to sit
down and wait. The small man, however,
remained standing. This displeased the cure,
who exclaimed, Monsieur, l desire you to
seat yourself" Instead of complying the
gentleman paced rapidly up and down the
room until the cure, fairly irritated, insisted
in 80 peremptory manner as to compel
obedience. In about a quarter of an hour, busi-
ness being finished, he turned to the stranger,
Monsieur, what is 1t you desire ?'' The
latter replied, in thin shrill voice, 'M. le
Cure, wish to inquire at what hour to-mor
row yeu will be able to bsptize an infant, for
whom l am to be sponsor 2" An hour was
named, and he was told to write his name,
and that of the godmother, at full length in
the register book, which was presented to
cure he wrote down, "Frapcois d'Assise, Roi
d'Espagne, and Isabella, Refine d'Espagne."
To complete the scene, there entered imme-
diately afterwards the ex-Queen herself, at
tended by another parsonage, whose face is
now sufficiently known to the Parisians.
They had waited until they were tired for the
temperance of the ex-King, and had at last
come in search of him.
M. Eugene Pelletan will, 1t is said, shortly
question of the tax now levied upon the re-
ceipts of French theatrical directors for the
benefit of the poor. The so-called fright of
the poor" was first imposed as q sort of fine
payable by way of atonement for the sin OF
keeping open theatre at all. That view OF
the matter being no longer tenable, it is
asked why. the manager OF theatre
should be called upon to make over tenth
part of his receipts (not profts) to the poor
any more than newspaper proprietor,
banker, or any other speculator. Under the
present system q manager whose expenses
amounted to 1000 francs night, and who re-
ceived just enough money to cover these ex-
penses, would find himself loser to the ex-
tent of 100 francs night. At this rate he
tire, and thus, for the sake Of the absolute
poor, would have to throw number of rela-
lively poor persons out of work.
Whether insanity be upon the increase
In England or not is still an open question,
and one on which the best authorities differ.
But, on the other hand, there seems NO doubt
that, in spite of the great advances made In
the general science of medicine and in the
treatment of physical disorders, little or no
progress has been made in checking or radi-
cally curing mental disease. Some doctors go
30 far as to maintain that the types of mad
ness are year by year becoming more intense
and more hopelessly incurable. Be that as it
may, we have good authority for asserting that
the ratio OF cures now effected is not whit
greater than in the days of the most empirical
treatment. We have done away with the old
systems OF restraint and coercion, OF bleeding
at the full moon and purgings at the half
moon, but mental disease still holds Its own;
nay, in the opinion of some most able to forna
q correct Judgment, is actually on the in
crease. Now ia not this q most important
subject for searching inquiry
Frederick the Great, in his droll contempt
for German education and literature (als
notorious "Resoript" about "kickiDg" the
then discovered NibeluDgen MI. out OF his
library" is still to be seen, with the MS. In
question, used to appoint his valiant privates
or sergeants to be schOolmasters, whether
they could read or not. Russia seems to have
adopted his plan now in full earnest, but In
somewhat improved fashion. There have
been certain military schools at work ever
since 1861, in which the soldiers were taught
the three RS" and 30 successfully has the
experiment turned out that tue army is now
intended to form preparatory kind of school
for the whole nation. The most advanced
soldiers are at once TO be made schoOlmssters
or magistTates' clerks, and 1t is calculated
that ont of the 600, 600 men who form the
standing Russian army, at least 4OoO may DO
drafted off annually for the "EiucauonaI
Civil Service
The Russian Government, aided by the
Synod, is doing it's best to set It's house In
order, theologically at least The ortno-
dox" clergy, 1t appears, have long peen
standing disgrace to the country a peg'n-
ming has beeI, made by raising their salaries,
so as to enable them to devote more OF their
time and thoughts to their own education'
Hitherto their children have been obliged to
adopt their profession, and they have hitherto