The New York herald., 1873-12-26

the morrow In the forest OF Fontainbleau, and
Prince Ghika, having handled foil. selected
pistols as his weapon He seems TO have foreseen
that his fate was sealed for ne knew Prince Soutzo
to be first rate shot, and accordingly he wrote at
once to several tradesmen 10 countermand some
orders he had given. On the morrow at early
morning the two Princes met at one OF the most
picturesque parts or the forest OF Fontanbleau,
called Belle Croix. II was bright morning, far
too bright for such murderous work as pistolry,
and 1t would have been well If the two enemies
could have drawn a moral from the risky face OF
nature and have reconciled their differences then
and there forever. But they were both athirst
for vengeance. The double -barrelled pistols were
loaded, and each OF the Princes received pair
OF them. Then NJ. CortazM let fall a handkerchief
and both fired instantaneously Prince Ghikas ball
went whistlng through the trees, but Prince
Soutzo's struck his adversary in the side, passed
through the intestines and perforated the bladder.
causing him to iall, utterng groans Of pain. The
duel perforce ceased then without another shot
being fired. Prince Ghka was carried 10 neigh
boring Inn, aud three hours afterwards expired,
delirious from suffering. Prince Soutzo took to
flight and is now, 1t Is said, across the French
frontier, though he would have incurred nothing
but few weeks Imprisonment by giving himself
up to the police, for the French very indugent
in duelling matters Now, what shall we say OF
this absurd but unhappy duel, which arose from
the light chattering of senseess friend 1t is the
old story, and Prince Soutzo will possibly say to
his life's end, Heaven save me from talebearers.r
French Trade and Trndcsmen-Dlcu!
Que lie Commerce va Mal-The Nice
ties OF Voder.
PARIS, DEC. g. 1873.
One OF the phrases most frequently heard in Paris
during the past year has been, "Daeu, que le COM
7lerce pd mai ~ ana, If the bankruptcy returns
offer any criterion, French trade has certainly
been going very amiss indeed But 1t always does
go amiss when political parties are wrangling
hotly, so there is nothing in the present cry.
Old Parisans can remember to have heard it any
number OF times within the past 20 years. 1t
springs up in the wake OF every Cabinet crisis,
talk of revolution, or rumor OF war. 1t does not
wait until these caiamities have become facts; it
forestals them, and when war revolution
actually breaks out, II may be said that the Paris
ian tradesman has discounted the ruin of such
events long beforehand. or course, this must be
the case more or less with the tradesmen OF every
country to whom peace Is ever a gain and public
disturbance a loss; but no merchant or tradesman
is so painfully dependent on tranquility as the
Frenchman, and this for reasons which it may In
terest the American reader to examine. l
FRENCH RENTER
When you hear that English trade is brisk it gen.
orally means that the wealthy classes OF Britain
are making liberal expenditure OF their money;
when French trade is brisk 1t signifies that all
classes of the community living above their in
comes The love of uXurles and Of appearances has
acquired such enormous developments in France
that French trade is based no longer as in most
other countries the national fortune. but
the general mania for ostentation; in other words,
on the national vanity. Frenchmen are for the
most part poor, and are becoming poorer every
day. While the sou OF Great Britain is divided
among more than 200 proprietors that Of
France is parceed out among 100000 owners,
and as primogeniture is banned both by law and
custom, every increase In the population adds to
the excessive subdivision Of land, and diminishes
the few large estates still existing 1t is that
the population increases but slowly yet 1t does in
crease and the fruit OF this increase is the small
RENTER, a style OF man to be found in no other
country, save exceptionally. The RENTER
is generally man who has just enough
to live on without working. Before the great
Revolution he was hardly known, for Frenchmen
of property left the bulk OF their estates to their
eldest sons and sent out the others to make their
fortunes where they could. In those days the
French had colonies The surplus OF their popula-
tions sailed OF to found such States Louisiana
and Canada; to conquer Martinique, Guadeoupe
and the Mauritius. to battle for empire in India,
under such chiefs as Dupleix ly-Tollendal,
against the English. But nowadays the younger
French son, who inherits as much as the elder,
sees no reason for emigratng. SO long as he has
enough to live in decent he prefers staying
at home running the risks Of foreign adventure.
To him it matters little whether the French name
dies out over three-quarters of the globe tor want
of colonists; and 1t would be strange If it did, Tor
emigrants have seldom been driven by sentiments,
but by necessity. fthe French RENTER can exc out
M " a a ha
able government posts he regards himself as a
prosperous man, and all that remains for him to
do is to look out for wife having just as much
as little property as himself, and TO begin living
forthwith as if his income were twice what it
really is.
FRENCH THRIFT.
We hear great deal about French thrift, and the
quality certainly exists, but under peculiar form.
UP and down the social ladder French men and
women are constantly pnching themselves out OF
the necessities OF life in order to buy snowy lux
uries. They win eat inferior meat so as to go to
the theatre and send their children TO cheap and
unsatisfactory schools in order to run a carriage.
They VIII save money, too, FOR the purpose OF
gambling on 'Change with debenture bonds, bear
ing 10 per cent interest, and If these bonds turn
out to be worth less than the paper on which they
are printed the owners OF these bills none the less
declare themselves TO be capitalists and be re-
puted so by their acqualntainces. Fatnom
Frenchm ans fortune and you will always find a
shiity ground OF weedy scrip; for the point is not
to get stocks and shares which bring small. though
steady, returns, but to obtain possession Of class
or paper which looks valuable. anu may, possibly,
by some miracle, prove so IN the end. Everywhere
the straining after effect is dscernibe. The small
employe, the struggling professional man. the me-
chanic. all try TO look and live like the few men
who have really dig incomes, and IN proportion as
these big incomes break up and get disseminated,
we have gradual diminution IN the number OF
those who are still so content to seem what they
actually are; that is, needy workngmen. In fact,
the fortunes Of Frenchmen are fast tending TO u
general level OF mediocrity; while on the otner
hand the taste for luxuries. which should properly
belong TO the rich, remains universal and all
abn Nan to aeIn OH "a M