The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-03-07

TRANS in Italy, he bad little more lncInaJOn
to face cold steel on the field of honor. Any
where such conduct would be dealt with
keenly; but in France it is hard TO express all
the discredit it entails There is no posi-
bility of getting over it, The Prince, how
ever. was unconscious of the feelings he ex-
cited, and behaved as if he knew nothing
about il. Summoned to the ministry of
Algeria by a caprice of arbitrary power, as he
had already been sept to an embassy and to
command an army corps, he failed to keep
his position once more; retiring from the
ministry after barely few months slovenly
administration, which plunged all the SER
vices into profound disorder. The fleeting
Ministry of Algeria was q sort of orgie or
dstempered dream, which may be taken to
foreshadow what would be the reign of
Prince Napoleon if luck, which so frequently
dominates human affairs, we're one day to
crown his desires by making him ruler of
France.
All this, however, had neither disgusted nor
enlightened his cousin; and Napoleon III, to
whom so many miscalculations ought to have
been warning, nominated the Prince even
despite the opposition of the Empress, Vice.
President of the Privy Council. After
the Emperors own position in the State, there
was none higher than that. Had the sove-
reign vanished from the scene by one of those
accidents only too easy to foresee, the Vice
President of the Prjvy Council would have
been lifted at once to the mastery of affairs,
especially as to title so exalted in itself he
added that of First Prince of the Blood. 1t
was an egregious error on the part of Napo-
leon III, nor was it long unpublished. The
instructive apprehensions of the Empress were
soon justified. The Emperor had gone on
that strange trip to Algeria, and Eugenie was
provisional regent at Paris, when Prince
Napoleon, inaugurating at jaccio monument
In honor of the founder of the family, deliv-
cred that audacious speech which sent thrill
through all France, Bonapartist and other
wise. The 'disclassed Cesar" as he was
pleased to have himself called by his init
mates, assumed posture of rivalry against
his cousin, and openly stretched out his hand
for the sceptre he thought himself more capa-
BILE of welding. The effect of this speech
was the more tremendous as the Princes own
journals published it in Paris on the very day
it was delivered in Corsica. The alarm of the
Empress was extreme and she wrote forth
with to the absent Emperor. Chastisement
Immediately followed The Imperial letter
of May 2G, 1865, revealed what were Prince
Napoleon's pretensions and the impression
they had produced. The Prince was dismissed
from theVice- Presidency, and the enemy who
had entered the fortress by a sort of surprise
was forced to evacuate it. There was no
prosecution of the journals concerned in the
escapade, and the Prince concealed his
modification under cover of the
reforms he introduced into his household
with more parsimoniousness than dignity.
Two whole years Prince Napoleon had to re-
main in obscurity and silence. 1t was only
in 1867 that he emerged therefrom to become
President of the Commission at the Universal
Exhibition. The exhibition over, no one
thought any more of the Prince, when the
Capot1,c Copcr1trpn of Saptapnbar loot fur-
nished him with an opportunity of delivering
a speech which had powerful effect upon
the nation. This speech was liberal, sensi-
BILE, and bold. Never had the Prince achieved
a like success; but the triumph, well deserved
as it was, could not restore the popularity he
had lost, or an esteem that coald be felt for
him no more, whatever pledges Of wisdom
and prudence he might henceforth give.
Here, then, is a position destroyed; and
there is no seeing how any fortuity of cir
cumstances is likely to re-establish it. No
one denies, however, that Prince Napoleon is
endowed with many and brilliant gifts. He
has great deal of wit, and, when he pleases,
he can be charming in conversation. His
intellect is very lively and of wide range.
He has an inquiring spirit which embraces
all subjects; he has a quick imagination and
good memory; he has read much and re-
tanned much that he has read He has,
moreover, an easy and impressive delivery,
and as he is troubled by few scruples and but
little delicacy, he says all that comes into his
head; and he is equally unsparing towards
ideas and towards persons. He isnot, properly
speaking, an orator, but he always rouses his
audience, and, as he is himself very impas-
stoned, he easily works upon those who listen
to him. But he finds it hard to convince
them, because he himself has too little con-
viction. In word, the Prince possesses
some very striking faculties, of which he has
never known how to make good use; and at
the time of life he has now reached it is not
probable he will learn to employ to better
purpose the exceptional gifts he has received
from Heaven. Having such designs as he
cherishes, and even parades with singular
| frankness, Prince Napoleon naturally at
| tempted to form party of his own. But in
| this he was not more successful than in other
things, and the overtures he made to dema-
goguism failed just as they would if he had
made them to the bourgeoisie, who fear
and hate him with a reciprocal hate
and fear. 1t would be difficult to
| explain the isolation of the Prince if one
did not knowhis character. Violent, naughty,
self.seeking, he has no sympathy with any
one at all; and hearts shrink from a heart
which is never, never open. The Prince,
moreover, is not very generous; and that is a
| grave failing for pretender and conspirator.
He is regular in his expenditure, but he is
never open-hande3; and he does not always
compensate by superficial agreeableness for
| fundamental indifference. This is not the
place for quoting private anecdotes, but there
| is abundance of them they are well kno wn,
| and the personal character of the Prince does
not gain by them. And now, to sum up this
long letter about Prince Napoleon, scan TIE