[1871. address, in which he lamented that "so great a Christian army as the Church of England should stop on the march against the enemy to fight about their uniforms." But with the Purchas and Voysey judgments fresh in men's minds, and a third great ecclesiastical judgment, in the case of Sheppard v. Bennett, impending as we write, for the result of which we defer any more minute inquiry into this grave subject, the clouds that lowered over the Establishment looked dark and threatening.

The marriage of the Princess Louise and the Marquis of Lornethe promise and brightness of which enabled us to close with a sense of relief the gloomy record of last year was the great domestic topic of the early months of the present, and our Chronicle contains a full account of the wedding festivities, which called out general interest and pleasure. Later in the year, a "sensation" which had long been gathering to a head took precedence of every thing else in the public mind, in the shape of the famous "Tichborne Trial." Whether a certain stout gentleman was or was not the man he professed to be—a baronet lost at seasome years before—was the momentous issue which required a trial of seventy days before the close of the Plaintiff's case, which, with the intervention of the "Long Vacation," and other minor law's delays, lasted from the end of June to the end of the year. The Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas devoted himself exclusively to it; and the Solicitor-General, who became Attorney-General in the interim, gave services scarcely less exclusive, somewhat to the wonder of the ignorant laity, who found themselves speculating on the nature of the public duties of the law officers of the Crown, which they had always heard were so heavy, and which they knew were paid so high. It was perhaps as well that so great and grave a scandal to law and lawyers as this interminable and weary trial should attract public attention at a time when the cry for Legal Reform was on all sides becoming so great, and assuming at last something like shape and consistency. The social interest in the Tichborne Case was as natural as it was amusing. From time immemorial, a mystery of personal identity has been always to the human mind the most attractive and interesting of mysteries. The authorship of "Junius" has remained (and in spite of Mr. Twisleton and Mr. Chabot will still remain) a ceaseless subject of discussion among the curious, many of whom, probably, neither know nor care to know any thing of the historical bearing of the letters themselves. And unless the truth about the "claimant " in the Tichborne Case should be placed beyond a doubt in some unexpected way, and perhaps not even then,we know as we write that no jury's verdict will ever set the vexed question at rest. The world was divided this year into the believers and the unbelievers. It was the first and absorbing topic at every dinner-table, and the advocates of either side could scarcely look with patience upon those who disagreed with them. The betting on the case was as regularly quoted as that on the Derby or the Boat Race, and the odds varied day by day according to the superior prowess of the claimant or Sir John Coleridge in the day's tourney. Every

particular answer seemed to every partisan confirmatory of his particular conclusion upon the case, usually "foregone" to an incredible extent. The individual-and there were few such-who ventured to form no strong opinion till he had heard something of both sides, was generally regarded as an imbecile, though it must be confessed that towards the close of the year the public interest began somewhat to decline, and to lose something of its absorbing power. The drama had been allowed to "run too long. But the flagging excitement only required a spur, and as the new year opened with the "Defendant's Case," that spur was found. Delightful was the excitement with which the claimant's enemies dwelt upon his approaching demolition; keen was the zest with which his friends anticipated the shrivelling up of hostile witnesses under the crossexamination of the terrible Serjeant Ballantine. All the world was agreed upon but one point-commiseration for the unlucky special jurymen, whom our system carefully selects for the most part from that class of occupied men to whom time is of especial value.

The last political event of the year was a change in the honourable office of Speaker of the House of Commons, from which after long service Mr. Denison retired, to be succeeded in the post, it was soon understood, by the Right Hon. H. B. W. Brand, M.P. for Cambridgeshire, formerly Lord Palmerston's and then Lord Russell's "Whip" in the Lower House. Mr. Brand's appointment could not be considered a happy one, for a parallel reason to that which made the nomination of Sir Robert Collier to the Privy Council objectionable. Like the latter, it was an admirable appointment in itself, nor could perhaps a fitter man have been found for the place of Speaker than so clear-headed, sober, and impartial a man, and so general a favourite, as Mr. Brand. But, as in the other case, the appointment was objectionable as a precedent. The tradition of selecting a man of antecedents which had never identified him closely with the leaders on either side, it was felt by others than Mr. Gladstone's opponents, should have been jealously preserved in the appointment of a new Speaker, and above all at this particular time, when special watch seems needed over the dignity and decorum of the House of Commons. On the other hand, both in the case of Sir Robert Collier and of Mr. Brand, the Government had strong ground to stand upon in the general feeling that, other considerations apart, they had found the right man for the right place. There were not a few, too, who in spite of previous difficulties and shortcomings would on personal grounds have welcomed the return of Mr. Childers to his old post at the Admiralty, and it was at all events the subject of general congratulation that by the end of the year his shattered health was sufficiently restored to enable him to meet his constituents at Pontefract. He entered into a careful explanation of the Dockyard question, and vindicated the Admiralty policy generally. His opening words are worth quoting as a good specimen of the stuff of which the best men in England, of whatever party, are still made, and of those qualities which must

L

win respect with us from the keenest political antagonists. "Gentlemen," he said, "I stand here as no apologist for our naval administration in the common sense of the word apology. So far from it, I firmly believe that the great changes which we carried out will be fully recognized when transient party feeling has less weight, not only as sound in principle, but thoroughly effective in execution. This is not the place or the occasion for going into details; but I may say, in a word, that whatever may have been the success and whatever the intentions of my predecessors, I left the navy, when I was obliged to resign office, more effective, more contented, and far more prepared for any emergency than the British navy had been for many years-and that, too, at a saving to the taxpayer of at least a million and a half or a million and threequarters per annum. I appeal fearlessly to the future history and public opinion of this country to back me in that assertion. But, gentlemen, you are doubtless aware that during my absence from Parliament there have been some vigorous naval debates and some not very sparing criticisms of my acts, and some of you may possibly think that I should be glad to take this opportunity of adverting to and refuting those criticisms. The temptation is, no doubt, great, to take advantage of so generous and sympathizing an audience as I now have for that purpose; but that is a temptation which I have made up my mind to resist. I prefer, when personal discussions of this sort are inevitable, to carry them on in the face of those who make the attack, and who will be able to reply to me. This always has been my rule. I intend to abide by it; and as I feel pretty confident from my knowledge of the men who have attacked me in my absence that they will not abstain from doing so to my face, I look forward to ample opportunities of vindicating my acts in the next session of Parliament."

And thus the year which had begun for Europe at the height of so terrible a storm, old alliances dissevered, and old friendships threatened, with "rumours of wars" on all sides, and wars in the midst, ended in profound peace. Our own relations with both France and Germany, we had grounds for hope, were fast becoming amicable again as the present bitterness passed away. Our only personal difficulty with the former country was connected with the Commercial Treaty, which was seriously threatened with a Protectionist reaction of which M. Thiers himself appeared as the chief champion; but as none of the papers connected with the negotiations upon this subject have been made public as we write, we defer further comment. The uneasiness in the direction both of Russia and America, which had prevailed with the opening year, was allayed; and though some American lawyers had attempted, in the "case" submitted to the arbitrators for their country, to treat the generous if somewhat doubtful "admissions" which we had consented to make at Washington as the basis for a claim for damages which would far exceed the war indemnity exacted from France by her conquerors, this was so far regarded in this country rather as a piece of

professional bravado, somewhat after the style of Mr. Sumner, than a serious menace to future tranquillity. Thus, on the whole, our future seemed bright enough; but already we were threatened by the danger of falling into the Scylla of security from the Charybdis of alarm. At the beginning of the year, nothing short of Prussianizing England, it seemed, would satisfy the country; at its close, the country was grumbling already at the unnecessary cost of increased armaments and efforts at improved efficiency. The Minister who had to avoid both errors had a difficult course to steer. As we ended our record last year with pleasant thoughts of a Royal Marriage, we are glad to close it now with a yet more touching memory. Of the illness of the Prince of Wales, and the unexpected burst of loyalty which it called forth, we have already written. The Queen completed the lesson of the expiring year by making public the following letter, by which she personally accepted and answered the personal sympathy of her people, assured as we write of the steady progress of the Prince to complete recovery.

"Windsor Castle, December 26, 1871. "The Queen is very anxious to express her deep sense of the touching sympathy of the whole nation on the occasion of the alarming illness of her dear son, the Prince of Wales. The universal feeling shown by her people during those painful, terrible days, and the sympathy evinced by them with herself and her beloved daughter, the Princess of Wales, as well as the general joy at the improvement in the Prince of Wales's state, have made a deep and lasting impression on her heart which can never be effaced. It was, indeed, nothing new to her, for the Queen had met with the same sympathy when, just ten years ago, a similar illness removed from her side the mainstay of her life, the best, wisest, and kindest of husbands.

"The Queen wishes to express at the same time, on the part of the Princess of Wales, her feelings of heartfelt gratitude, for she has been as deeply touched as the Queen by the great and universal manifestation of loyalty and sympathy.

"The Queen cannot conclude without expressing her hope that her faithful subjects will continue their prayers to God for the complete recovery of her dear son to health and strength."

FOREIGN HISTORY.

CHAPTER I.

FRANCE.

Military Situation at beginning of the year-New Year's Day at Versailles and Paris-Progress of the Bombardment-Sorties of the 13th and of the 19th January-Disturbances in Paris-War in the North: Battles of Bapaume and St. Quentin-In the West: Battle of Le Mans-Expedition of Bourbaki: Convention of Les Verrières-Capitulation of Paris-Gambetta at Bordeaux: Conflict of Authorities-Proclamation of the Government of Defence-Elections-Meeting of National Assembly-M. Thiers Head of the Executive Power-Peace Negotiations at Versailles-Excitement in Paris-Acceptance of Preliminaries by the National Assembly-Entrance of German Troops into Paris-Break up of the German Head-Quarters.

WHEN the year 1871 opened, the capital city of France stood encompassed by the iron circle of the German hosts. All her hopes of deliverance depended on the action of the three armies which in the North, Centre, and West were endeavouring to break the enemy's lines from behind, and force their way to her walls. These armies were calculated at, in round numbers, about 450,000 men in all, but they consisted mostly of raw levies, provincial Mobiles, who had never mounted horse or fired musket before, and whose steadfastness in presence of the enemy might well be doubted. The German besieging force of about 220,000 strong had the arduous double task of investing Paris with its 500,000 fighting men and its vast outer circuit of forts, and of facing round against the three armies of relief, which far outnumbered the detachments opposed to them in the north by Manteuffel, in the east by Werder, and in the west by the Duke of Mecklenburg and Von der Tann. The difficulties and dangers of existence in the midst of a hostile country increased with the increasing consumption of its reLarge additional reinforcements were pouring in from beyond the Rhine to fill the greedy demands of this accumulating war. The German nation was groaning over the sacrifices it was called upon to make, and heartily wishing the contest to come to an end. The strain upon the endurance of the invaders at this time was unquestionably severe.

sources.

And it was upon this certainty that the indomitable French War Minister, Gambetta, built his expectations of ultimate success for the French cause. He spoke like a fanatic on the subject. He maintained that the defeat and expulsion of the enemy amounted to a mathematical demonstration, if only the defenders of the soil