The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-06-17

period OF CONFUSION. All the iorces III VAC
heavens above and in the earth beneath and
| In the waters under the earth seem to be let
| loose and events imposing by their magnif-
cence aud startling by their suddenness crowd
| upon us after fashion which has no parallel
| in the history of all the past. We think of
the Deluge, of the confusion of tongues, Of
the Exodus, of the Captivity, Of the dispersion,
of the fall Of Rome, of the crusade period, Of
the renaissance, Of the Reformation, of the
first French Revolution, of the great gold dis
coveries in California and Australia, of our
own civil war, and we feel that once moro
those mysterious revolutionary influences
which have so often changed the face of things
in the past aud given the nations and peoples
new points Of departure are again at work.
If ever creation groaned and travelled, it
is grooming aud Travelling now. Were mighty
events-events which compelled the attention
of mankind-ever so crowded together? To
nations as to individuals, was the cup of des-
tiny ever so full? Was it ever drained to the
dregs with so much of JOY or so much of sor-
row? Berlin, Paris, Rome, Washington, each
to-day commands attention; and it is univer-
sally felt that in those great centres Of human
life and thought movements have just been
made or are being made the result of which
must be great good or great evil to the whole
family Of man.
Yesterday was a great day In Rome, and
| among the adherents of Rome all the world
| over. To-day and to-morrow will be equally
memorable in the same connection. Pope
Plus the Ninth has, happily or unhappily,
| lived to see the twenty-Gfth anniversary of his
| election to the chair of ST. Peter. In itself
| this is an event of considerable historical i'm
! portance. According to trusted authorities
two hundred and ifty-nine bishops have ruled
in Rome. OF these two hundred and fifty
nine St. Peter and Pope Plus the Ninth are
years. Ii is not possible to ignore the impor
lance of this great historic fact. Most justly,
most becomingly, does the Catholic Church
make it the occasion of a grand jubilee. The
event derives additional Importance from
the peculiar position of the Holy Father
and from the events of which Rome
is so soon to be the scene On the
1st of July, unless the programme is
altered, the government of Italy will be trans
ferred from Florence to Rome, and the City of
the Seven Hills-the ancient capital Of the
Caesars, the city hallowed by the lives and
labors of many pious pontifs-will lose its
sacred character and become one of the sscu-
lar capitals Of the world. To-day the Pope
rejoices then the Pope will mourn. To-day
Rome is given up to the Church; then Rome
will be given up to the world. On the lst of
July the Papal temperatures, associated with
the pious memories Of Constantine, of Pepin,
OF Charlemagne, will receive their death-blow,
and amid the glitter and show Of military
triumph Victor Emmanuel, as King of United
Italy, will make Rome his headquarters, the
Pope, meanwhile, in what he calls his own
city, becoming once again the subject Of
| hated sovereign. From the jubilee to the
occupation of Rome-how few the intervening
days, but how mighty the leap!
Rome, however, is not the only centre Of
interest in these eventful times. Yesterda y
the German soldiers entered the Prussian
capital in triumph; aud what with its
rows Of captured guns, its countless eagles
and other precious trophies of war, its q oral
arches, its illustrious strangers, from the
sovereign Gar of Russia to the sovereign
citizen of free America, Berlin presented
scene of magnifcence which to many will
revive the memory Of Paris in the days of the
First Napoleon and recall the trumphs of
imperial Rome, when Rome, protected and
| adorned by the Caesars, shone in all the pride
| of her imperial splendor and was the I'M
| disputed mistress of the world. To our
minds the show which Berlin made yester-
! day is insignificant when compared with
| the great fact Of which the show is the
symbol. As the occupation of Rome means
that Italy is no longer divided, so the
| Berlin triumph indicates that Germany is
one, that the dreams of poets and patriots
| have become reality, and that the empire of
| Charlemagne, of Ohio the Great and of the
| Red Bearded Frederic, has been revived. 1t
| indicates more-it gives substantial proof to
the world that the Teuton has become the
master Of Europe, and that henceforsh the
star of empire is to be sought in the Northern
sky.
| Berlin and Rome, however, are not the only
| points of interest in these eventful days. 1t
| is scarcely necessary to mention Paris. She
has spoken out SO emphatically for herself that
there is the less need to state her case. As
one of the great facts of the times it has to
be recorded that France has fallen from her
high estate; and it is impossible to close
our eyes to what seems certainty-that
whether she reappears before the world seeking
her place among the nations as republic, as
monarchy or as an empire, she will not soon
be terror to any OF her neighbors. The fall
Of the Commune must not be overlooked in
the summing up Of the great events Of