PARIS.

Southland Times, Issue 1686, 7 January 1873, Page 3

PARIS.

(_"BOM OUB OWS COBEESPONDENT.) OCTOBEE 17. Frenchmen, of every political shade, will continue to exile one another till tbe end of the chapter. Expulsion now-a---days takea the place of the Bastille. M. Thiers has effected his first Coup d'Etat in the banishment of Prince Napoleon, who legally had as good a right to live or travel in France as the President of the Republic, the Comte de Paris, or Henri V. No proofs have been furnished that Citizen Jerome Napoleon was conspiring, tbat is, practising a very common failing in his family, if not with his countrymen generally, just now, when supreme power is somewhat thrown open to general competition. By this arbitrary act, the law is wounded, the nation humiliated, the prestige of the President tarnished, and bis influence lessened. The Conservative Republic that was taking root, by tbis stretch of power confesses itself afraid of Napoleonism, and in defending law and liberty, people who bate the Prince are compelled to rally to bim, to uphold in him the first principles of order and security." Few states in Europe but can produce illustrations as to how worthless ia exile for extinguishing a political foe. Distance lends enchantment to tbe view, but be-

i comes no impediment in tbe path of tbe conspirator ; on the contrary, banishment i facilitates bis ends. Imperialism instead • of repining ought to rejoice. Except to ■ be laughed at, tbe Comte de Cbambord, all the Orleanist Princes, all the Bonapartist Princes-, would produce no other effect were they to promenade daily on tbe Boulevards, like the ex-King's of Naples and Spain. Why, ber ex-Mnat Catholic Majesty, Isabella IL, does not excite the slightest curiosity. By leaving Monarchs retired from business perfectly unnoticed, one reduces tbem to insignificance. | Prince Napoleon was never a popular , man in France. He was believed to be j a Lucullus, indolent, and if not a coward, , devoid of tbe ambition to be brave. Yet .be is, physically and mentally, tbe only descendant of the family coming nearest |to won oncle. NapoV on 111. is but a , very pale shadow indeed. Tbe Napoleon ' family was included among that Upper Ten inscribed on tbe livre d'or of Venice ; in addition, Prince Jerome, by bis mother, bas royal blood in his veins, and is tbe son-in-law of the King of Italy. Why tbe banished Prince bas never been a favorite in the " amiable Faubourgs" is difficult to account for. He has ever been more sympathetic with democracy than with Csesarism. Under tbe Empire be was tbe warmest advocate of liberalism ; he opposed the Coup d'Etat ; he used bis influence to have M. Thiers recalled from exile ; during the 1848 Republic, he proposed a repeal of the law banishing the Orleanist princes, wben the Jatter's friends voted against the motion, or abstained— like M. Thiers. The Prince is far from being: the worst of a bad lot, and in adversity he bas a right to receive hia due. In returning in the free and easy manner in whicb he did to France, Prince Napoleon has successfully conspired to put tbe government of M. Thiers into a corner, compelling that statesman to fall back on the worst measures of despotic governments — the Second Empire included — and to deny bis principles. This latter contradiction is not at all fatal ; consistency will return after retirement from office. Then the dragging of tbe Princess Clotilde, his wife, tbat is to say, Italy, into the obnoxious act, indicates great craft on the part of M. Jerome Napoleon. And the Princess did play her part well. Except the very Radical journals, that backed up the protectionist bobby of M. Thiers, none others approve of the President's blunder. From the detectives who curiously fell asleep wben it was their duty to resemble tbe Wise Virgins ; to tbe telegraph clerks and station masters wbo were bebind-band in apprising the government ; to the general public whicb is indifferent, and a local public wbich sympathised with the exiled, Prince Napoleon bas no reason to complain of bis efforts to see how the wind blew. And in addressing a protest to the President of the Assembly, be has given that body a nut to crack. Can the deputies, whilst dethroning a dynasty, outlaw a Frenchman for his name ? It may be the caprice of an invalid, but certainly there are sighs to be heard for tbe meeting of the Assembly, when only a few weeks ago, everyone experienced a relief by its prorogation. If opinion is becoming decided upon any point it is to put an end to tlie provisional. The pact of Bordeaux is played out The maintenance of tbe state of siege, the rigors against Radicals and Pilgrims, the arbitrary dealings towards Prince Napoleon, are forciDgforward adefinite solution of the situation. Decide between a monarchy, or tbe Republics of M. Thiers with its contradictions, or Gambetta's with its class distinctions. Let the most numerous put an end to the uncertainty the urns ; or the strongest, cut the knot with the sword. Give us above all peace and security, and not have us living in feverish anxiety, not knowing what a day may bring forth. M. Thiers challenges the monarchists to start a King, and the ' royalists, aided by the right divine republicans, defy him to establish his republic, j and this is where we are now. I Louis Blanc bas been prohibited from lecturing at Rocbelle, to a meeting of friends, collected within an enclosure and roofed overhead — a third-class railway carriage condition — on republicanism and tbe duty of Radicals to support M.Thiers. The Medicine Man of socialism bas therefore published his lecture, and the forbidden fruit can be had for two sous, i Tbe Red journals have certainly noted M. Thiers for an eligible hostage in the future ; they call upon him to institute tlie ordinances of Charles X. at onee, and point out the strangeness of bis policy in repressing efforts to popularise the republic, whilst permitting reunions on the part of tbe " Legitimists — the pilgrims" — to pray for the overthrow of his republic. Louis Blanc tells us nothing new ; as a Radical manifesto it sheds no light on the future ; it is less windy than one of Gambetta's set speeches ; he claims all the liberties that it is tbe fashion to reclaim, and would improve the working man so as to make him a partner, and create a society without proletariats. The lecture bas not frightened the bourgeois to look after the spoons. The pilgrimages to Lourdes are not quite terminated, but have ceased to attract atteution since the pilgrims have been protected from assault and batterv by fellow-countrymen who have yet to learn tbe duty of leaving people to pray where, wben, and how tbey please. Every autumn a body of pilgrims sets out from Paris for the Holy Land • they are not molested. The Life and Correspondence of Proudr hon, by Sainte-Beuve, has just appeared, and is full of interest. Like all Frenchmen, Proudhon adored bis mother. Of his two daughters he called one " Marcelle," as a souvenir of his captivity — the Sainte-Pelagie prison being situated in the street of that name. Proudhon, at tbe age of 40, married a poor work-girl ; he felt alone in tbe world, and had tbe fantasy to have a home, and feel the joy

i of being a parent. He confesses he bad ; no love. Complaining of a headache, a friend recommended him a few days' rest in the country ; he went into the garden, romped with bis children, and returned cured ; " that's my remedy," he remarked to bis friend, and yet Proudhou bas led lis to believe be was a perfect savage ' Paterfamilias. We are informed tbat Proudhon — though writing bis terrible phrase, " Dieu, e'est le mall " — was not atheist, and that he admitted tbe harmony and intelligence that preside in nature. One day be was dining with Prince Exile Napoleon, wben the latter remarked in astonishment, " of wbut form of society then do you dream ?" " I dream," replied he passionately, "of a form of i society where I would be guillotined as a I conservative!" The Commune approachI ed a little to the ideal imagined by the j author of " property-is-robbery." \ M. Jules Simon, Minister of Public Instruction, has just commenced his tour of inspection of the 1 yeeutns to personally note if bis scholastic reform — of learning less of dead and more of living languages — be carried out. He will in time reach Orleans, and encounter Mgr. Dupanloup, who point-blank refuses to obey tbe governmental injunctions, as being superfluous. This disobedience towards tbe authorities is very unhappy, where tbe fashion is so quickly followed, and will intensify the debr e on tbe forthcoming scheme of compulsory national education. It was about this date 66 years ago that tbe French entered Berlin. Tbe memory of sucb an event slightly softens the sorrows of France to-day, and strengthens ber hopes ; indeed it bas opened the purse strings of the humane to succor those poor Alsatian-Lorrainers who have parted with all to followFrance, as there is a notable increase in the subscriptions to the relief fund. In 1806, Prussian towns surrendered on tbe approach of a few French soldiers, just as French towns, in the late campaign, capitulated in so many instances at tbe sight of a few Uhlans. For the future these tactics will cease to be possible ; long-range cannon will keep all parties at a respectful distance. Since 741 years, pigs have ceased to promenade unmolested in the streets of Paris ; tbe son of Louis-le-Gros, the reigning King, was overthrown from bis horse by a pig running between the animal's legs ; on being picked up, the prince only lived a few hours. Hence the prohibition. Every seven years, landlords are bound to whiten and paint the facades of their houses, or the municipality will do it for them. This year the practice is remitted in consequence of landlords suffering from unpaid rents. They form tbe principal class in France, after fundbolders, who are most exempted from general taxation, they do not receive rents, because they decline to let- their bouses at reduced rents ; to tax unoccupied premises and compel tbem to be brightened up, would bring that obstinate class of citizens to its senses. Though business is agaiu on the sick-list, tbis is more to be attributed to waiting to know the nature of tbe new free-trade-protection treaty with England than to tbe complicated situation of politics. There is plenty of gold and silver in circulation, and tbe high prices for everything are duly paid after tbe permitted prowl and protest. Sardou's play of JPatrie has been revived, wbich has even made the Bellevillists forget his Rabagas. A theatre supplies a great attraction in the way of a man suspended from tbe ceiling by his toes, holding by the teeth another performer by the waist and spinning bim round like a joint on a roaßtino-jjck ; tbis is succeeded by the lifting up, by the same man with his feet, in the same state of suspension, a cabhorse, several yards in the air. Then Capoul, the famous French singer, bas surprised everyone by his performing in Italian Opera; his friends state he learned Italian by living on maccaroni, drinking only Italian wine, and eatiug Parmesan cheese. The fashion is being revived, rather than imitated, of holding Matinee* on Sundays, at some of the theatres, where the unpublished dramatic and musical compositions of young authors are interpreted by a professional, and tbe audience solicited to vote what piece ought to be selected for rehearsal. On entering, tbe ticket-taker gives you a white and green bulletin voting paper. The idea seems to take, above all with the ladies. More sombre is the placing of busts of the deceased on their tombs ; some slabs have several busts, suggestive of the Italian image vendor. It is now a cheap and popular custom to have tbe features of the dead moulded and tbe cast taken. It is less hideous than photographing a corpse ; this process should be reserved for the Morgue. Tbis year, French ladies bave more than ever patronized shooting excursions Are they too going in for training, like the collegians, to be ready for the war of revenge ? The Baroness Rothschild is ! foremost among the lady-disciples of Saint-Hubert ; she wears a sort of William Tell hat, a blouse in colored velvet, fastening to tbe waist by a leather belt ; zouave pantaloons, fitting into gaiters of velvet, with showy metal but tons; the boots are in leather to match the color of the blouse. It is customary to add, in tbe case of large parties, " a reporter will attend," to the invitation, so ladies can secure a description of their toilettes. These reports are paid for like an advertisement. Two of the principal journals of Paris are engaged in a fierce battle as to which invents the best canards. One of tbe monthly reviews successfully adopts the practice of tabulating the opinions of tbe provincial press on the leading questions of the day. There are no more marriages of priests to record ; tbe list seems to close with M. Loyson. Against his secession, and whatever damage he may have inflicted on Infallibility, tbe Church may place the warm and eloquent testimony tbat M. About bears to tbe piety and charity of the clergy of Alsace and Lorraine.

It is a sort of restitution on tbe part of tbe author of tbe " Roman Question." The Pope ought to send him his blessing by telegraph. The Prefect of tbe Seine gave a dinner to M. Thiers a few days ago, and tbe banquet was remarkable by the absence of a'l speechifying and song. Tho Bilent system is now being tried on everywhere. At tbe reception whicb followed, refreshments were limited to lemonade — very excellent in its kind, but like all good things, ou"bt not to be abused. M. • *** Thiers is commencing to keep a sort of open table, he remembers the proverb, " men are governed by dinners," and that while -wit makes mortals amiable, the stomach makes them bappy. He himself is next to.a " total abstainer" at table ; a nourishing plate of soup, the wing of a chicken, a few leaves of salad, washed down by a glass of claret ; no champagne, no liqueurs. But be attacks bonbons like a school boy. A mutton chop is his piece de resistance at dejeuner. Then if he does not eat be talks at table ; bis conversation being witty, humorous, and sparkling. Sobriety is essential for men of action. For twenty years Napoleon I. ate only for dinner the two wings of a roasted fowl. It is said he could never have attempted tbe 18 Brumaire had be partaken of a lobster salad the previous night. Louis Philippe swore by beefsteaks, and the late Baron Rothschild preferred for his bonne bouche at dinner, part of a head of cabbage boiled in soup.