The San Francisco call., 1896-10-18

lately OIL 1rlCtlOu DetWeen the queen anu
Lord Salisbury on personal select ons of
this sort. At least one of the two does not
grow more piable with age, and this fact
alone would render the matter one of pure
guesswork.
There is still a lingering doubt in the
minds of the Liberals as 10 whether Glad
stone is quite certain not to be seized by
whim for returning to Parliament him.
self, and thus complicating every ything.
ANY mum Der of seats would, OF course, be
at his disposal if he wanted one.
Pritchard Morgan has been reported as
intending to resign for Merthyr Tydyil i n
order to offer Mr.. Gladstone his place. but,
what he is really going to do is to hold
meeting of his constituents on Wednes-
day and let them say whether they
would like to have this done or not.
All at once and without any warning
the English and The Germans find them
selves engaged in violent newspaper
war, which threatens to be at least as
EN- bittered in spirit and as extravapant in
tone as that over the Transvaal affair in
January last. One cannot say that it was
precipitated from clear sky, because the
European heavens have been blackiy
overhung in every direction during the
whole of this troubled year, but it takes
people by surprise none the less.
The journalistic com bats as rule i'm
press Englishmen hardly at all, because
the British have been abused somewhere
and are used TO il. With Germans, how
ever, it is the exception to be made the
object of attack. Since the row of last
winter Englishmen have been rather
anxious than otherwise TO take offense in
that quarter, and the present concerted
onslaught of the German .'reptile press"
on England, although deliberately pro-
voked by Thursdays London Times, is
treated here with almost as much gravity
as if the Kaiser were writing the attacks
with his own hand. This very swiitness
to um bragg on the one side only inhames
the rage of the other, but, while the Ger
man press can always be called eff by the
German Foreign Office, that is not at all
true OF the English press. On the contrary,
any sincere and vehement outburst of
journalistic passion here not only lrries
the people along with it, but generally
the Government as well.
This fierce anti-Brltish demonstration
is most important for the moment, how
ever, as throwin- light on certain obscure
places in the diplomatic situation. From
the tone of the London Times and the
fury it has voked, one gathers that Eng
land has really arranged some line of
Joint action with Russia and France.
The very vehemence of the German pro-
test that such thing is impossible and
that both the Russians and the French
are incapab OF being such idiots as to
forget that England is their chief rival
and enemy, shows how scared Berlin is
over what it knows has happened or is
happening. To make the matters worse,
the inspired German editors declare that
England has been Intriguing at Rome 10
detach Italy from the triple alliance.
That is old news to the readers of these
dispatches, but the Germans do not know
what is really true--that these intrigues
hau han ha1f of,,l
1t was announced month ago, for in
stance. that Emperor William wouIi per-
sonally attend the marriage of the Prince
of Naples to Princess Helene of Monte
negro. Ten days hence and plans for his
reception had been drawn up. Now it is
learned that William was notified last
week by the King of Italy that as the
marriage is to be purely family affair no
foreign guests are expected. The news of
this affront reached the Germans by way
of Balmoral, and it is this that served as
the spark in the powder magazine.
Advice comes to me from a very good
quarter to say that the Venezuelan mat
ter has been settled. No reasons for The
statement are given. Indeed, it is said
that there are none which could be de-
fined, but that, all the same it is true.
1t is understood in Germany, as gather
from private letters, that Bismarck's
OF serious disorder there is no hint, but
the Prince has once more been attacked
by faceace e which keeps him awake at
night. When Bismarck does not sleep
we'll he thinks he is going to die and he
then gets into state of depression,
which gives the doctors their chief
anxiety.
The annual gauntlet which the music
hall proprietors of London have publicly
n II nj rit
matrons armed with um mbrellas afforded
the usual amount of popular entertain.
ment this week, but it was lacking in that
spice of danger to the show people which
it had in the three previous years.
1t is well known that the existing
county council committee takes q lenient,
not to say e nerous, view of ''art" as prac-
ticed in he halls, and there is no danger
that any licenses will be with eld. The
lawyers defending these licenses were
there ore, quite genial with their Puritan
assailants, and utilized the cross examina-
tions solely in the interest of sport.
The prolonged rainy weather has made
a wonderful season for indoor entertain
ments of all sorts. but most of all for the
music halls, and for light, silly musical
farces. They all continue to coin money,
as well in London as in the provinces.
The memoirs which General Trochu left
without much delay. They will be inter-
esting manly for their violent attacks on
the Empress Eugene. Trochu went to
his grave with the solemn conviction that
she was the instrument used by provi-
dence to chastize sinful France and he
says plainly, besides giving great deal
OF testimony, some OF 1T new, to support
this attitude. 1t seems that the Empress
distrusted the general on account Of a be-
lief that he was secretly devoted to the
Orleanist Princess, and t at she allowed
this base .ess suspicion fatally to handicap
him in his efforts to save the empire. II
is a curious comment on times whirligig
that Eugene should be believed in France
to be handling glove with the Orleanist in
trlguers. Recognized Bcnapartists told
me when / was in Paris last week that
thew knew this to be true.
Augustus Hare's memoirs, or the first
half of them rather, Will contain a large
i A.