Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-04-06
tFrom Our Regulsrl Correspondent
European Letter.
I.nNl,nS. Eng. March %.

LONDON. Eng, March p, 1881.
A thousand surmises has been flying
about Europe concerning the close intim-
acy which has subsisted between Queen
Victoria and the ex-Empress Eugenie dur
ing the past winter. The empress has
grown as sedate and self-centred as the
queen herself; the Aounces and the gew-
gaws are all laid aside. and the face is no
longer made up according to the fashion.
but is left pallid as nature intended it to be
The hair which was once bright and gold
en- as the sunbeam, and yet was never
bright enough, but must needs be powder
ed with gold dust, is now white and snowy.
and gathered in smooth bands over the
forehead. Her majesty stoops little, but
her figure Is scarcely altered since the
emperor pronounced it to be equal in sym
metry and grace to that of Diana. The
simple robes of halfmourning add greatly
to the interest OF her appearance.
Now that the marriage of the Baroness
Burdett-Coutts is an accomplished fact, it
is said that her sister. Mrs. Money Coutts,
intends to relinquish the threatened ltiga-
ton with regard to the property. 1t is
sincerely to be hoped that this is the case.
After all the noble work the baroness has
done, it will be a bad thing for her to be
involved in litigation with her nearest
relatives in her declining years.
A rumor has crept into the papers that
Miss Isabel Bateman is about to give up
the management Of Sadler's Wells theatre.
1t is entirely without foundation. Miss
Bateman has. so far, been very successful.
and Herman Vein is a, preseH. living
very good houses and winning golden
opinions by hispowerful rendering of Ham
let. The only thing to be regretted is that
the cares of management debar Miss
Isabel Bateman from displaying her great
talent as an actress. At present. at least,
it seems impossible for her to do both.
Between the Boer peace, the question of
the evacuation of Candahar. the everlast-
ing Bradlaugh, not to mention the Irish
question, matters are lively enough in Eng
land just now to give quite breezy tone
to public opinion. The ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
case contributes spice of mischief to the
whole, dragging in as it does the names OF
many illustrious personages, and not few
who will be made ilustrious BY this
unique trial of wit versus temper So far
wit, as is usually the case in such contests,
seems to have decidedly tn upper hand
Her majesty's ship Pinafore has lately
been sailing in very troubled waters. Be.
fore the pirates of Penzance" drove her
out of the port of London, her builders,
Messrs. Gilbert & Sullivan, had taken an
action against the ComedyO Opera Company
to prevent them from playing the opera in
question. The plaintiffs contended that
the closing of the theatre terminated the
run of the piece, position which was sup.
ported by large number of managers and
dramatic authors. The Judge took the
same view and gave Judgment for the
plaintiffs with one shilling damages,
which of course carries costs.
The social ferment which has so long
been going on in Europe is at last showing
Itself visible on the surface. The nature
of it is becoming daily more manifest anC
men are dividing on clear issues. Sifted
down these issues seem to define them
selves as God or no God, government or
no government, nihlism or Christianity
The Christian sects have been divided
since the reformation; the non Christian,
have become more and more united anC
powerful. The tendency among Christian
believers of all shades is. though still
tardy and reluctant, owing in great meas
sure to inherited prejudices, to unite ii
face of the common danger, AS the Chris
tans of the early middle age united
against the Moslem invasion This may
explain the voluntary action Of the Prus
sian government in seeking to remov,
whatever disabilities still remain to th,
Catholic subjects, in order to restore tn,
public confidence of so important section
of society, and so potent factor in human
affairs as the Roman Catholic church.
AUGUST.
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