DISTRESS AND LUXURY IN FRANCE.

[Faces oua SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT. j Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel ; That thou mayest shake the superflux to them, And show the heavens more just.

I have no doubt that these most touching and truly Shaksperian lines have, on some previous occasion, met the eye of the Imperial guest of Baron James de Rothschild ; but I am afraid he has not pondered sufficiently over their import. Just at present, there is no lack in France of "poor naked wretches that bide the pelting of this pitiless storm ; " no lack of working men whose heads are homeless and sides unfed. Wedded, as it is, to the worship of Darkness, the French Government spares no effort to veil the direful effects of the cotton famine in a country of which the Empire assumes to be the Providence ; and whilst the informants of public opinion en this side of the channel are particular to a tittle as to the exact number of the sufferers and the exact amount of their sufferings, the most heartrending uncertainty prevails in France respecting both. But, although no statistic details are given, no telling figures set forth, the evil has at last become too conspicuous for absolute concealment. It is but too well known that those pining in misery are numberless. The Department of La Seine inferieure, more especially, groans and bleeds under the pressure of the crisis. France has her Lancashire.

There is no denying the fact, alas ! Are not, from every quarter, poignant appeals made to public benevolence ? Are not subscription lists opened everywhere ? Was not, a few days ago, Prince Jerome Napoleon, after contributing a sum of 3,000f., obliged to contribute 2,000f. more, in order thathe should not be eclipsed by the Duke d'Aumale, whose princely munificence glowed in the shape of 5,000f.? it is therefore beyond dispute that there is an immense amount of distress requiring relief, and that the present day is one of mourning.

Well, this is the very moment chosen by the Emperor of the French to invite the attention of so many starving people to an unparalleled display of luxury and gorgeousness. A fine way, indeed, to meet a great national trial, to alleviate the burden under which thousands of workless operatives are bowed down, to soothe their sorrows, to dispel their alarms ! How comforting it must be to those who have no longer a morsel of bread to give to their emaciated little ones, to be apprised that, at the royal palace of a fabulously rich financier, the man appointed to minister to their wants partook of a gigantic breakfast furnished by the cook applied to at the coronation dinner of the Czar Alex- ander! What a feeling of relief must have come over those who had to pawn the very blankets intended for their frost-bitten children, on hearing that, at the entertainment offered by James de Rothschild to the so-called elect of the people, the plate and the dish-covers were all of gold, carved with richness never to be equalled ; that they had been made from models which were broken up, for the purpose of setting imitation at defiance ; that the happy guest of the happy financier had his sight gratified by a profusion of pictures, tapestries, marbles, bronzes, cameos, enamels, and medals, never dreamt of even in the world of the Arabian Nights ; and, to sum it up, that while they were preyed upon by grief, eaten up with care, he who professes to be a godsend to them was in high glee !

My object, in passing any such remarks, is not, of course, to hint that there may be sometimes legitimate grounds for envy—a vice than which none is more despicable. I mean only to show the admirers quand mime of Napoleon III, how little they are justified in ascribing to him a sure and sound judgment ; for a grosser mistake could hardly be conceived than the said convivial visit under the circumstances. It is one of those steps which M. de Talleyrand thought to be worse than a crime. It is a blunder.

Need I state that it gave rise, as might be expected, to all sorts of bitter comments said nipping jests? Every one had naturally upon his lips the celebrated verse—

Let Pologne avail bu quand Auguste itait ivre.

The story of the parrot which had been trained to cry Vise l'Empereur I and was shot at in the pare of Ferrieres by the Imperial Nimrod, and, being hit, fell, crying, as usual, Vise l'Empereur is more than a jocosely invented anecdote ; it serves to express with what feelings of unspeakable contempt all men worthy of the name in France look upon the development of that silly spirit of flunkeyi.sm which is nursed by Cassarism, and styled devotion by the courtiers. To the same train of thoughts is traceable the explanation given of the hunting triumphs of Napo-

leon on that memorable day. Slanderous tongues do not hesitate to assert that if the crowned sportsman killed no less than 250 birds in the course of hsa than three hours, it was owing to the self-sacrificing loyalty of the victims, who, like the gladiators of old, had gone past Costar, uttering the cry, heroically servile and stupid : " Cesar morituri te salutamus."

A gross blunder, I repeat, this visit was; and it is generally believed that it originated in the necessity of meeting, some way or other, the consequences of another blunder much more serious : the expedition to Mexico.

Saint-Simon tells us, in his admirable "Memoirs" that, on one occasion, Louis XIV., painfully alive to the emptiness of his coffers, kindly invited Samuel Bernard—the James Rothschild of that period—to come and visit Maly. How eagerly Samuel Bernard availed himself of the invitation, it is unnecessary to say. The great monarch gave the great financier a hearty welcome, did not disdain to entertain him, and went the length of being his cice- rone in their walk through the palace and the gardens—which was a great deal to do, on the part of the proudest potentate that ever lived. So delighted was Samuel Bernard, that, immediately after taking leave of the King, who had not whispered one word about money, he drove to Paris in haste, called upon Destnarets, the Minister of Finance, and, on entering the room, exclaimed, in a state of rapture, "What a charming man the King is ! How much do you want ? Here is the key of my strong box."

I know not whether it was from a vague recollection of this, and in imitation of so majestic a model, that Napoleon consented to be, if not the host, at least the guest of Baron James de Rothschild; but it is my impression that the latter, gorgeously hospitable as he may be, is not the man to act after Samuel Bernard's fashion, unless prompted by a motive somewhat more practical than the mere sense of the honour conferred on him.

However, a loan is rumoured to he in contemplation ; nor is it easy to see how the necessity of having recourse to it could possibly be avoided. The amount of money engulfed in the expedition to Mexico is enormous. According to the valuation of the Opinion Nationale—a paper which is supposed to be pretty well informed in those matters, being the Moniteur of Prince Napoleon—the expenditure has already exceeded 4,000,000/. The fact that the mules, which were bought at New York, did not cost less than 160/. each, may give an idea of the expenses to be incurred. It is asserted that the last steam-packet which made for Vera Cruz on the 16th had on board 800,000/., and that the Ceres, which is to start before the end of this month, will carry over 400,000/. more.

In fact, Mexico is a thorn in the flesh of the Second Empire. Many think that this ill-fated expedition will be to the nephew what the invasion of Spain was to the uncle. Till the arrival of the last mail the French Government had flattered itself with the hope that the French soldiers would celebrate Christmas holidays in the capital of Mexico. Had it been the good fortune of the ministers to be able pompously to announce at the next meeting of the "Corps Legislate that the Zouaves were smoking their cigars on the wails of Montezuma, there is every reason to believe that France would have paid the bill without grumbling. But the last tidings have dispelled the fondly cherished illusion. The French have yet a long, a very long way to go, before they can reach a comfortable smoking place. The country they have to cross has been laid waste. Means of conveyance are sadly wanting. 'Ts true letters written from New York to the Minister of War pre- vious to the departure of the steam-packet from Vera Cruz, state that General Forey has received, besides a certain number of wag- gons, 1,200 mules ; but these scanty resources are inadequate to the exigencies of the ease. Everything, even the victuals in- tended for the expeditionary corps, are to be sent from France at an immense cost. The invading army musters about 30,000 men ; but the invalids may safely be reckoned at half that num- ber. Besides, of what avail are numbers, and courage, and disci- pline, and military skill, against the vomits nigro, against enemies that are nowhere and everywhere? A. despatch from Havannah, received via Cadiz, says that the French have oc- cupied Tampico without meeting any resistance : what next? Tampico is one of the three ports which were blockaded by the French squadron. That the invaders would land there the moment they pleased was never to any one a matter of doubt. Who or what could have prevented this feat of arms, as the Illoniteur would phrase it, from being achieved ? Had not the governor of the province, six months ago, issued an order snaking it a crime for the population of the coast not to retire into the interior and hold off? In all probability the French will not be really on the march before three months are elapsed, and it is fearful to

think of the number of men likely to be mowed down in the in- terval, not to speak of the treasures likely to be squandered away.

And what for ? We have now before us the proclamation ad- dressed to the Mexicans by General Foray. Now, mark, it is no longer question there of the wrongs, the redress of which supplied a pretext for the expedition. The General emphatically declares that he has a high mission to fulfil ; he will teach the Mexicans— sword in hand—how to reorganize their government, to improve their administration, to restore their finances, to forward their commerce, to mend their roads, nay, to worship the fine arts. If these be the motives of the armed intervention of the Emperor, what a pity he should have conferred its blesisings upon Mexico only ! There are many other countries on the surface of the earth where the government is not flawless and the finances not over prosperous—some, strange to say, will have it that such is the CS80 with France itself; why not undertake, setting France aside, if you please, the magnificent task of regenerating half the world at the point of the bayonet? Verily, Napoleon is too partial to the Mexicans. He should not be so sparing of his favours. There was not a widow, not an orphan but was called upon to claim the protection of Don Quixote. As for the cost in men and money, to stoop to consider this when the salvation of mankind is at stake would be ridiculous and mean in the extreme. Never were Casara so narrow-hearted as to husband the lives of their subjects in a parsimonious way ; and, under the rule of one of them, la France cot asses riche pour payer as gloire.

But In I this is not exactly the view which the public in France take of the lofty theories to which we are asked to trace the Mexi- can business. General Foray's proclamations are, therefore, found ludicrously absurd ; people say that it is all over with the French troops in Mexico if their commander does not handle the sword better than he does the pen ; and, in point of dissatisfaction, the measure is full.

Let those who would be disposed to question the soundness of this appreciation, poise the weight of the following circumstance :— So ready was the ruler of the French to throw himself upon their undoubted love and unmistakeable enthusiasm, that each of the 15,000 soldiers who formed part of the pomp had a loaded gun in his hand and ten cartridges in his pouch. It was probably thought at the Tuileries that, despite the universal enthusiasm, an oppor- tunity might be offered to them to show themselves as loyal as the birds of the pare of Ferrieres are supposed to have been. Ciesar,