OUR PARIS LETTER.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume V, Issue 438, 1 October 1880, Page 2

OUR PARIS LETTER.

(From our own Correspondent.)

Pahis, August 12.

Not much importance is given in France to , the meeting of crowned heads * at Ischl. Bossuet has long ago described and events every day confirm ljis eloquence, that the best laid schemes of mice and emperors, gang aft agley. fc Ischl is a pretty thermal station near the Bavarian frontier, and its climate, rather than its saline springs, effects most benefit for fatigued constitutions. „, Thanks to a luxuriant vegetation, it possesses an enviably mild and equal temperature. In addition to the waters which must dc drunk, the " perfect cure" „ necessitates also drinking i\ kind ot whey, and indulging in excursions. The latter are not made either with horse or ess, but in a sedan chair carried by hardy mountaineers. The Emperor of Germany never hated the French, but his personage covers ' Bismarck and do Moltke, who do. He ever held the Napoleon dynasty,in,detestation, in consequence of the treatment his mother— the heroic Queen Louisa—and his *. country received from Napoleon 1., hence he never disguised his personal satisfaction at having Napoleon 111. his prisoner. Lord Palmerston said in 1856 *" of His . Majesty—"those thick moustaches will yet make Europe tremble." The Empress of Germany and the Princess Victoiia are not enemies of France; the former was particularly marked in her attention to the prisoners of the war of 1870-71. She is deeply read in French contemporary literature, and a few yearsi .ago she |made a trip through the south of France, but not even the Government was aware of her incognito. The Emperor Nicholas said'of Francis Joseph, who astonished him by ** his ingratitude, that he was " only a scabbard without a sword." At I*B years of age the Emperor of Austria received, crying, his crown, and has since never had a dry eye ; his life has the stamp of fatality ; no person in Europe is superior to him in aristocratic appearance. Hβ Jhas drunk the cup of bitterness to the ffega—-politically and privately. He married for love', but after fifteen years that passidn evaporated, owing to his liaison with a circus rider, and producing consequences that necessitated '• his Empress to go to Madeira to recruit her health, and left behind a nervous affection that compels, her to find excitement in hunting. The Emperor himself has t suffered from epileptic attacks, and possibility of such ending fatally islhe chief reason for the early marriage of his SOrii ■ •'■■■: ■■■:.?■ :,/,, . The collegiate, institutions have given. up their thousands to vacation rambles, and parents are' as happy as they can be, by the presence of the boys ; proud in/ the case' and gbbd marks form part of the contents of their trunks. France has reason to be satisfied with the results of the scholastic year just closed, and thej)rospects of the coming one are still more brilliant, for the education of the country ;is now under * the guidance of a Central Council, whose members arc practical educationists and pledged, in the fullest exercise of independence, to apply every measure calculated to ameliorate the methods;of instruction. It ie refreshing to attend «** a distribution of college prizes ; it recalls the happiest days ; of .our • lirest,. and we feel no small pleasure "in bein£' thus in

contact with youth in all its pride, its joys, and its hopes. Of the several I jittonded this year, there is one peculiarly deserving to be signalled, not only on account of the valuable character of the instruction given, hat of its remarkable success. The Eeole Professionnelle of Versailles, was founded 16 years ago by Mr Bertrand, its able director, graduate of the University of France, and member of the Academy of Paris ; he had for sponsor, M., nnd now Senator, Lnboulage ; the aim was, to bupply the ilepartement of the Seine and Oise, with a Professional school such as «xist in Paris and the North of France. .Mr Bertrand opened his establishment with but one pupil, and he has now an average of 500 ; every year adds to this number. The institution is non-sec-tarian, and every facility is afforded for each pupil practising his religious duties ; the English boys attend the English # church close at hand. The dietary is good and plentiful, as the healthy and robust looks of the pupils testify, and the park and grounds of the palace of Versailles, have as much the monopoly of pure air as of beauty. ; The •• surveillance is strict, and the boys are governed rather by appeals to their good nature and reason than by punishing by giving extra lessons and stopping play. Cor- * poral punishment is never practised, but a lew hours extra walking in the park with an usher never fails to bring.a disobedient lad to a fitting state of mmd. • The distribution of prizes took place in the public concert hall, capable of accommodating 1,000 persons, and yet it was too small for the crowd that attended ; ranged in front of the estrade were the students in uniform or plain clothes— either being optional—and each pupil oh being named ascended to receive his *~ prizes from the Prefect of the Department, who was surrounded by the Mayor, senators and deputies, the head in spectors of national education,clergymen, """ :and leading notabilities. The artillery band executed some choice music, and two actors of celebrity recited humorous verses from tim°s to time. In the evening a very splendid banquet .was given at the school, at which the leading celebrities of the department assisted. From the speeches delivered at the distribution of the prizes, several of the pupils have won * distinguished placee in the general competition at the Fine Arts School, the Agronomical Institute, and other public and technical establishments. It ■*• will be a happy day for France, when every department shall have its college after the model of the Ecole Pro- * fegsionnelle of Versailles. Mdlle. de Vailly, rue dcs Pyramides, has tieen frightening her fellow tenants, who concluded she had from extraordinary noises in her rooms, relations with the evil one; a warrant was obtained to investigate, and- the ■Commissary of Police on entering was met by a battalion of fifty cats, that commenced spitting at him, besides displaying arched backs ami iails at angles of 45 degrees. Mdllo declines to part with a single one of the pets. Cider sells in some parts of the city at four sous the quart, and has not the less to pay three sous entrance dues, besides carnage from Normandy. Owing to the unusual display of ribbons of the Legion of Honor this year at watering places, the Government has the intention to demand many of the wearers to produce their parchments. The Crown Prince of Orange is here ; he h the most timid prince in existence ; his mother, who had a dash of Mdnie Angot in her veins called him " closed doors."