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THE PRUSSIAN LAMB AT MALTA.

; (Prom the ' Times.')

We all remember that great picture of Sir Edwin . Xandsee.r!s vwas1 entitled ;' Peace.' Upon a . Kentish : do>vn,fringed ,with;;>yihite cliff and over~ xlooking:the .crisp waters of the JBritish Channel, an ••affcernoonsun-^thepun of iJuly—fwas warming a dismounted gun —a very big gun. The children of ;a sliep'h'efS r»weve-:sporfcihg aboutj and weaving rushes '-intosome strange rustic puzzle, finally, there was *.j^l.ittleJ.iai3^B 7 .just \yeaneq, which; in its sheepish. simplicity.V^^^^ mouth of the gun in question^ #& . irom.,'sheer :mockery. Now, .Maltais:tlitrt Ke^tishV^own, Bafitery 15 is thai .overturned gun, andithp: Constantine is -the Coasacklamb. .It was but three years ago that ■EnglandAhidßussja were confronting each other in deadly fight upon the heights before Sebastopol. 'Gfall our'iriemies, it'was believed that the Archduke Constantine was thei-nidsfrinveterate, the most implacable. His Imperial Highness—if that be his -apt -title—was supposed to -ent^rttiin ..Hie. most deadly design's agaiosi Sheerness-rrnay;,'the very ►bathing-machines; at, rßrigkton. were :■ tjcavcekly v^afe, in popdar opinion at-least,-from -his-len'ible -vengeance. But now what a change! This Nelson of the "Ukraine is yachting about amongour Mediterranean possessionSj land coquetting—just like Sir Edwin Landseer's lamb—with our batteries and

guns. The ink is scarcely dry .with ,wLich we had announced tliatPnhce Alfred was Teceived at Malta : ink way calculated most entirely to defeat the projects of Jiis Royalipai-ents for tiirning hmi; into an effective midshipman,; when we -find that the Russian Grand Diikeiis received in the: same, interesting island with equal honours.- His.entrance into the harbour of Malta is acknowledged, as of right,l with Royal- salutes. How different from the • salvoes of the Crimea! Sir John Pehnefathef—he of Inkeiinanr—is.there, anxiously waiting for him at his landing, with Vice-Admiral arid a.: guard of ■<.-> Honourfrom . .the■ Buffs. Sir George Le Marchant ■• was ready also with his dinner, and liady Le'! Marchant with her ball, to do honour to the .Grand Duke whom England delights to honour. (Everything /wiis admirable, especially the Grand :Duke Coiistantine's skill in ilanguagesi He gossiped in. iGerinah with one Consul; chatted; in ;Prench with another; made himself agreeable lin Portugese to'another; conversed in - English, .'and, finally, convinced■ the iTurkishiConsulthat he ;was master of the situation :by a fluent conversation in ithei Turkish vernacular, to. tlie confusion of that important pereonage.

We really; have no desire to assign more impor- , tance to the reception given at Malta to the Russian Grand; Duke than it deserves;: No doubt the quidnuncs of the :clubs and the Continental. capitals will be able to; deduce from all these festivities evidence of the most momentous .designs against the permanence of British power in the Mediterranean. Prance, disgusted with the English alliance, is about to throw herself Into the arms of Russia; and Russia, in the person of this ambitious Grand Duke, is meditating where: best to strike the blow which Shall cut us,off from our Indian Empire. The inspection of the Maltese batteries by the Russian Grand Duke is a most fearful fact, the importance of which is only lessened by the conside- . ration that plans of every fortification in Malta must for many years past have been in the possession, !not only.of the Russian^ but of every other Continental Government. On the whole, we are hot struck with.the possible political consequences of this memorable event,.but it does seem a little strange when wecoinpare the records of 1859 with those of 1855, to findhow completely oujr relations with Russian dignitaries have changed. XBut four years ago we were in the thick of a deadly contest with the Russian Empire, and there was nothing thai1 either of us would have left unattempted to compass the destruction of the.other. The Grand Duke i@nstiintine was then busy with his infernal machines, ■ and his various plans for blowing the British fleets out,of the water..; We, on the other handi were doing ;our best to destroy the forts and arsenals of Russia.; Now we read that our most determined opponent is exchanging courtesies with English ladies at Maltese balls, and that the wish nearest to the Grand Ducal heart is to see a Highland fling executed in a-spirited way by Miss Codrington. Miss Grant, and Colonel. Stewart. Meanwhile, we have.had various subjects of tiifterence with Imperial Prance. "Ever -treat your, enemies as though they might become your friends ; your friends as though they might become your enemies," —so spoke a wise man in dayo gone by. This Maltese reception, is,.however, a notable incident, as being the fust real exchange of courtesies between England and Russia since the termination of ■the gveat war.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18590709.2.9

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Lyttelton Times, Volume XI, Issue 696, 9 July 1859, Page 3

Word count
Tapeke kupu
749

THE PRUSSIAN LAMB AT MALTA. Lyttelton Times, Volume XI, Issue 696, 9 July 1859, Page 3

THE PRUSSIAN LAMB AT MALTA. Lyttelton Times, Volume XI, Issue 696, 9 July 1859, Page 3

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