Year: 1868

on account of the red plushed and yellow
plushed and striped plushed footmen and pos
tillions, the gaiy dressed venal Venuses, the
gorgeousness of diplomatic display, the jocky
t.nsel, and the heterogeneous gaudness of
parvenueish toilette and eluipage. Indeed the
single matter of parasols looking In the clear
atmosphere like little sails reefed in by some
misehievous Puck, and attached to the gay
craft that glided SO smoothly along gave pret-
tlness to the scene. Their. was the thin light
wooden one, sweet.scented as Araby, and
pIinted as carefully as she who SEATED in the
strong toll of grace" held it; then there were
blue, and pink, aud white watered silks, some
times shaded with real lace, black or white,
making the cost thereof amount to a very
pretty little sum.


Spite of horse-racng and Saint-day tstes-
festivals to be kept up till the end OF Septem-
Der, with pyrotechnic display, with balloon
ascensons, wrestling and lancing tilts, and
every manner of game and lottery and spite,
too, of a seemingly tranquil political horizon
the 'little black spot" that last year the En-
peror alluded to, appear still to be visible
to his eye. He is not in the best of spirits
He has gone to Fontainebleau to compose





the Life of Caesar. Like all the world the
Emperor Napoleon has had a touch of rheum-
atism, but then no doubt twinges have come to
him from the Deputies handling so roughly
his best man, the most brilliant figure of his
6ynasty-the Prefet of the Seine-and then
the peasants of La Chavente are really max
ing serious disturbances. II the Catholic
Church fasten with cruel persistency the curse
OF ignorance on the peasants, they must ex-
pect this curse to fly home where the adage
says chickens and curses go to roost


In a large part of the department of La
Chevante priests and abbots are no longer
safe. The peasants have been seized with
the belief that the clergy are about to revive
the old feudal dime or tithe, and they visited
4 church in one of the towns of this depart
ment to pull down a picture said to repre-
sent a bundle of grain and a mass of grapes,
emblems of the old church dime or tithc.-
Aged priests and gray y-headed abbots were in
suited. and threatened with stones and sticks
and old hats put upon them, etc. In vain
they were told that no such picture ever exis-
ted or ever would exist; the storm did not
abate and there is still no security for "long-
coats" in this region,


1 have noticed that for some time people
have been throwing off conventional wrap
pings, and here and there been simple and
unsophisticated and sometimes though dressed
in go Sni an officially placed, even famil
lar and funny. As an instance OF beauti-
full simplicity take the conduct of the Prince
Montenegro, who, present when the Nation
al Assembly of his little province voted him
subsidy of 1 believe ten Thousand ducats, rose
in his place, to say that it was too much, he
would take only half and would dimiuish it
sti further if he found the half more than
he needed, adding that with the aid of God


hoped Montenegro would under his do
minion, increase, and then they would all be
more at their ease, etc. l never knew such
magnanimi.y, except that 1 remember dur
ing our recent "local disturbance" New
England minister returned part of his salary
to his congregation.


One OF the liveliest instances OF this gambol-
ling outside of ceremony has just been pub
lishhd in the Journal des tribnnau1 Vandois.
A Fribourg magistrate, Justice of the peace,
leaving the terse and formal language of law
thus addressed Mile. M. L. of Bex, for .
breach of promise: ...a


Kings have been known to marry shepherd
esses though oitener we see peasants marry
with peasantesses. To contract marriage eth
er with king or peasant appears to inspire you
with terror; you accept-you cultivate the
preludes, but you step back at performance.
Such is the experience you have Just given to
A. T. of @. Towards the end OF last year he
Showed an inclination for you You have an
swered that you would pay and return it, and
with thread in the needle you have promised
marriage He was about to quit the coun-
try and occupy a lucrative place in white
Marseille the city swept by the mstral; but
held in the sweet bonds OF your attachment
he gave up this project preferring captivity
with your hearts to pecuniary benefits
Nothing more remained than to fix the day
of the celebration of your union when sudden
ly without plausible motives you have with
drawn your word and thrown down with one
blow the happy castle that s. in his dreams
had built. This, forever to be regretted deter
mination you have signiied to him by letter
on the 10th current disdainiully returning to
him the piece of twenty francs that he had
softly passed into your hands as token of his
love. Easy may it seem to you, capricious
one, to sport and act Galatea running under
willows to vex Polyphemia but these jests
and bddinGgeS are not relished by the law
By these presents,A. s. summons you to marry
him in the space of eight days from that date.
To default of so doing you win appear before
me Monday the thirteenth of April next at
nine o'clock of the day in order to attempt con-
"a titre de donanldges-iatersts, the sum of five
hundred francs. Given etc.


A gentle warning from the land of sublime
mountains and picturesque cascades to all
hirts WANDRRER