National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-04-06

well, but / can see would soon tire Of IL. We
DO not find 80 much intelligence as We are used
70, or DO much to talk about. It is mostly
grand dukes, opera, dress and flap poodle gen.
orally. We have beautiful apartments and en-
terrain good deal, and so fill up the time.
find my Official intercourse delightful, as the
Russians like as very much indeed. Believe
me, yours truly, MARSHALL JEWELL.
THE SITUATION IN FRANCE.
The position of this unfortunate country is
far from improving. On the contrary, 1t seems
only to 20 on from bad to worse, until at last
our only hope will lie in the old adage that
when things have come to the worst they must
begin to mend. And we seem, indeed, to be
rapidly drifting toward that hopeful extremity.
In politics we have the spectacle, at home, of q
state OF parties go utterly divided, 60 hopelesly
irrecorcilabie and 90 equally balanced, that
nothing prevents the immediate outbreak OF
civil war but the existence, unfortunately, of a
government Of which Gas shall have to men
ton presently no one can define the eharac-
ter, which cannot define itself, and of which,
indeed, the only thing that can be stated with
any certainly is that 'it exists" and that in
this underlined and precarious existence may
almost be said 10 be bound up the very exis-
tenee Of the country itself. If, on the other
hand, we look abroad for any enlightenment
respecting the political condition Of France, the
spectacle is even less encouraging
than at home. For, separated
from US only by that "bit of blue waite" which
has often played 50 great part in the history
of the two countries, we have just been wit
nesses of one of the most imposing manifesto
tons which was perhaps ever made by Dan
ish pretender against those who have driven
him into exile; manifestation which promises
ere long to reverse the previous traditions Of
history and threaten France with the descent Of
an invader upon her own coast, instead OF
spreading alarm along the the chalky cliffs Of
her neighbor. The cry that the "Bonapartists
are coming" from Chiselhurst, is sounding at
this moment almost as loudly and alarmingly
throughout the ranks of ROyalistt, Legitimists;
Conservatives, Republicans and Radicals in
France, as ever that of the French are CON-
ing" resounded throughout startled Albion, in
the days when De Morny and French colonies
vowed that unless assassins in England were
given up to them. they would go and fetch
them themselves.-Phila. Bulletin cor.
AEFAIRs IN ROME.
There are $4,000 workmen in Rome now-an
alarming numberI It was said, you remember,
this was the Emperor Napoleon's error, the
gathering into the capital of so many day Ia
borers for the public works. It is risky pop
ulation, which is much better distributed about
the country in small numbers. Many of these
workmen are desperate villains. Last week g
gentleman-s friend of one of my friends, go I
am sure my story is true-went at $50 in the
morning, to the station, hoping to meet some
friends he expected to arrive by the down night
train from Florence. He was disappointed, and
returned home alone. Just as he entered the
Via Nazionale, whereit opens out on the Piazza
del Termini, place something like Broad and
Spring Garden streets, for instance, two opera
tiyes sprang on him from either side ofthe street.
seized him by the throat and presented their
great knives, demanding his Valuables and
threatening his life. He gave them his pocket
beck, which had in It only so francs, luckily,
also his watch, which was of little value
another bit of good luck. The robbery accom-
plished, the thieves made of toward the sta
ton and wide Campagna, and the victim hur-
ried home to his lodgings, and from thence to
the Qusstore or police office. This occurred in
broad daylight, for it is now full day at 6
o'clock, and it was nearly, if not quite, O'Clock
when he was attacked. OF course no gems
d Grnles, no police officers, were in sight; they
never are when needed. And also, of course,
the visit to the police Office was of no use to
him. The affair was not even noticed in the
public journals nor police returns.-Cor. PhiLd.
Bulletin.
THE CHISELHURsT PERFORMANCES.
To-day the Chiselhurst play, with its pretty
'tage, ingenius mise en- scene, beautiful chief
actress and imperial star actor, packed ap-
olausive audience, and the rest OF it, occupies
larger range of our mental vision-let alone
# partisan visionaries-than it will in the per-
pective of swift coming time and calmness.
Is importance, such as it is, is not so striking
y represented in the famboyant rhetoric Of
reporters for the Paris Bonapartist
,ress, as in the not so laughably exalted style,
,ut quite as strained attempt, of writers in the
Republican press apxiously to laugh at it and
pretend they don't care. 1t is no hearty laugh
~ matter. They do care, and with reason.
aidicule does not kills, should say, less ef-
ectfve IN France than anywhere, unless in
mean, of course, Central or North
,rn America. The little Prince Imperial, re-
facilitating his father, pstting McMahon on
he back, and speaking to France with pater-
hal Indulgence, was surely not so ridiculous as
his father was at Strasburg.
The significance of the success of the CHS
,lhurst performances lies IL various facts: The
play was played at but three years distance
rom Sedan, with (say but) two thousand
French folks assisting. That is ten times more
Frenchmen than ever dared the horrors of a
Channel passage or railway expenses to pay
heir respects to exiled representatives Of either
he younger or elder Bourbon branch. To say
hat the wealthy pilgrims" paid the passage
If the poorer ones, that their generous '"fdel-
ty" to the fallen was an interested calculation,
md that their respectful gratitude" was Sin
jpired by lively anticipation of favors to
,ome, may be low but mainly truthful ex-
1lanation of their pilgrimage. But if it be, It
'nly renders the pilgrimage more notable for
seriousness. The leading men in it, old pre-
ects, mayors, and other officials of the Empire,
ire, for the most part, still in the prime Of am
,itious life, and are shrewd men. Whatever,
or the sake of degrading The ceremony, you
axe from their generous feelings for the past
s motive, you add to their thoughtful calcu-
alton of the future as q motive. The fact
hat the preliminaries and performance Of
be fete in celebration of the young En-
eror's majority have been voluminously
eported and praised in half a dozen news
apers in Paris, where three years ago the
Oldest of them made show of timid modesty;
be fact that Government does not dare, or
oes not desire, to apply any of its numerous
heeks, always at hand for the Republican
ress, to restrain such reporting and laudation;
be fact that the undecided, underlined pro-
isional government, which bears the name of
Iepublic, however unwillingly, is bringing the
lame moro and more into disfsvor with large,
feeble bourgeois class, and its
alsifed parliamentary misdoings wearying
nen with the name and idea Of parliamentary
overnmen; theset are among the significant
acts: Add to these the fact that the Bona
artists have one nominal chief, the Prince,
those name fills the place of written political
reed; one vigorous, capable party leader, N.
.ouher, whose leadership they generally accept
18th tolerable discipline; and one distinct, IN
eligible, popular wsr-ery, appeal to the
eople," which are just the three things desir-