| Show CURRENT TOPICS IN EUROPE the young due dorleans may put forward a reasonable claim to be considered a first class comedy artist with a nation of a less lively temperament than the french the little episode which has during the past week been enacted in paris would only cause a hearty laugh but france has seen strange things in her day she has seen an exile coming from elba and in spite of king n nobles bles and army quietly step into power and guide the destinies of france she has also seen been a man an exile an escaped prisoner at one time a common policeman of london yet afterwards mounting the throne of franceane france and receiving as his guests the proudest sovereigns of europe and why was this simply because these men were rich in the pre prestige abige of a great name and no doubt louis philippe due dorleans had a dream that he be might accomplish something similar when on the ath of february he left his bis quiet home in lausanne and dit disguising himself as best be might entered the forbidden territory of france proceeded to paris and offered himself as a recruit for the french army that the young louis philippe had any desire to undergo the hardships of a common soldiers life is not at all probable but he well knew that if france was a kingdom instead of a republic he would in all probability hold a similar position to that odthe of the prince of wales he well know knew that he could claim descent from the great hugh capet and henri IV of france and trusting to the of a great name he no doubt thought he could wield an influence in favor of a restoration of monarchy the young man is just twenty one years of age and on the whole has a very good record he has served six months in a british regiment and was for some time aid de camp to general sir frederick roberts roberta and he has also done some successful hunting bunting in india having killed some half a dozen tigers besides crocodiles and mammoth snakes and he be has had some narrow escapes there is no do doubt but that there was much truth in the speech of the due dorleans POr leans at the time of his trial when he said rhe fhe two hundred thousand young soldiers ot of france who belong to the same military class to which 1 I by right belong will all sympathize with me and justify my conduct it cannot be denied that as long as the exiled kings of france maintain their pretensions the presence ot of these princes and their families do constitute a menace to republican institutions when the third republic was established twenty years ago there were many who predicted that it would not last more than five ten or fifteen years it remembered was that the bousu late had lasted only four years the first empire ten years the Jegi restoration sixteen years the episode eighteen years the second republic four yeam at arfe and the second empire eighteen years it was said the new republic had bad less vigor than many of the former governments government but so far it has shown itself more vigorous than any and still shows show no symptoms of decay though princes and pretenders have fluttered around it like so many harpies and words of ill omen have bave been screamed from a thousand throats that no dangers or perils await the republic will be bf believed lieveld by only the most sanguine but on the other hand the toilers boilers of europe ope are looking toward france with expectancy pec pee tancy and hope her well being depends defends not on royal dynasties who procured for her flashy glories and caused infinite sorrow but in the growth and development of freedom under republican institutions Bonapart Bonaparte ism eisai has failed has failed has failed and last of all this young man who is so well adapted to lead away the hearts of the young men of france has also learned by stern reality that the laws of the republic must be respected there is a peculiar charm about a young manchich manAh man aich ich seems to awaken admiration the wide wibb world over As an example may be noticed the present emperor of germany when he ascended the throne in 1888 there was among men of middle age a vague feeling of unrest sadness for the death of frederick and fears for the possible incapacity of his youthful successor at one time it was feared that he be by his impetuosity would plunge the nations of europe into a general way but while the emperor was active he professed peace and so far the indications are that he will pursue a peaceful policy while generally considered as the royal pupil of prince bismarck he has given ample evidence that he is capable of thinking and acting independently his latest movements seem to show clearly that he is 18 willing to break away from the traditions of parties partie sand and policies in order that e may get at the bottom of the difficulty and do his people good ilia his action in regard to labor reform is arousing the dormant loyalty of the german people in afar a far greater manner than all of prince bismarck schemes while it is undeniable that the social democrats have acquired e many adherents during the past year it is also true that the people are more united than they ever were before and the foundations of the throne have hive been strengthened by the kindness kind ness of the young emperor who has given evidence that eeron he e regards the welfare of his people more than the soulless greed of capitalists the emperor william of germany is consequently one of the best beloved of european sovereigns another example of the charm that young men exert in society may be seen in the remarkable career of william pitt one of the most distinguished of britaina Brit ains prime ministers this great man about which so much has been recorded seems to have struck his contemporaries by his precocity lor for he be was only mily twenty one when he entend parliament and only twenty four when he became pt ime minister the boy statesman was a wonder to tb them which they could not understand and they were quite bewildered at the idea of a stripling encountering with the weapons of intellect some of the foremost men of his time in a memoir of pitt just published sir james bland burges gives an account of one of the first of pitts intellectual vic victories tries ak athe the time when this event occurred the great historian gibbon was forty five years of age and william pitt was only twenty one gibbon had bad just concluded one of his bis best foreign anecdotes in which be had introduced some of the fashionable levit levities les of political doctrine then prevalent and with the customary turn on the lid of his snuffbox snuff box was looking around to receive the tribute of applause when a deep toned but clear voice was heard beard at the other end of the table very calmly and civilly impugning the correctness of the narrative and the propriety of the doctrines of which it bad had bad been made the vehicle the historian turning a disdainful glance towards the quarter whence the voice proceeded saw for the first time a tall thin and rather ungainly young man who now DOW sat quietly and silently eating some fruit there was nothing very prepossessing or very formidable in his exterior but as the few words he had uttered appeared to have made a considerable impression on the company mr gibbon thought himself bound to maintain his honor by suppressing an attempt to dispute his supremacy he accordingly undertook the defense of the propositions in question and a very animated debate took place between him and his youthful antagonist mr pitt which for some time was conducted with great talent and brilliancy on both sides at length the genius ot of the young man prevailed over that of the senior who finding himself driven into a corner from which there was no escape made some excuse lor for rising from the table and walked butof out of the room to some friends who had followed him into the anteroom ante room he remarked that mr paws pitt a style might by some be considered ingenious but for his part it was not exactly what ho be was accustomed to and he went away in high dudgeon this is a ample of the anecdotes that abound in mr burges memoirs of william pitt and give to them a peculiar charm for youthful readers yes no doubt it was william pitts youth that greatly aided him in making him the idol of the british people how many thousands of school boys and young men have declaimed that famous piece er titled william pitts reply to horace walpole commencing with those sarcastic words I 1 the atrocious crime of being a young man I 1 shall neither attempt to palliate nor deny dedy it is this charm of youth that makes william of germany such a power among the people and which no doubt the Orleanis ts perceived would make of lous loua philippe due duc dorleans an influential factor in the furtherance of their sd schemes hemes the burial of the poet robert browning in westminster abbey has had the effect of calling pointed attention to ancient and modern modes of sepulture in the interest of science Sir robert Rawlin rawlinson SOD protests against any further burials in the great national mausoleum the rein of rawlinson has brought out a knarp discussion concerning embalming both in ancient and modern times on one side it is clat ned that embalming may now be done with as perfect success as it ever was as lone clone in the palm pal lest days of egyptian art on the other side it is asserted that the egyptians with all their skill the results of which have been well tested by the long centuries which have elapsed since then never buried their dead in the vicinity of the living but on the other hand iD interred them in a spot remote from habitation this agitation will no doubt extend until the entire question of elvic civic burials will be better understood the interment of one hundred thousand persons annually in such great cities as london must it is thought have a grot effect on the health of the community mean meanwhile while there are other discussions going on in the great imperial gas factory sometimes facetiously termed the house of parliament the questions of land tenure disestablishment tithes and imperial federation are all waiting to be dealt with but all these must stand aside until my lords and gentlemen have had an opportunity to fall the Hou house seand and the newspapers with their grandiloquence the famous mr stanley has not y yet et reached england he is at present busy in cairo writing the history of his adventures he will probably make the tour of europe in the spring when closes in london we may expect expect t Stan stanley leys to commence J H WARD february 1890 |
