Abraham Lincoln Speeches

FEBRUARY 23, 1861]

HARPER'S WEEKLY.

119

to take a walk about London. I am sure I shall be very happy to show London to you. As to our table, you won't find that bad, I hope, for it will be supplied from our coffee-house here, and (it is only right I should add) at your expense, such being Mr. Jaggers's directions. As to our lodging, it's not by any means splendid, because I have my own bread to earn, and my father hasn't any thing to give me, and I shouldn't be willing to take it if he had. This is our sitting-room—just such chairs and tables and carpet and so forth, you see, as they could spare from home. You mustn't give me credit for the table-cloth and spoons and castors, because they come for you from the coffee-house. This is my little bedroom—rather musty ; but Barnard's is musty. This is your bedroom ; the furniture's hired for the occasion, but I trust it will answer the purpose ; if you should want any thing, I'll go and fetch it. The chambers are retired, and we shall be alone together: but we shan't fight, I dare say. But, dear me, I beg your pardon, you're holding the fruit all this time. Pray let me take these bags from you. I am quite ashamed."

As I stood opposite to Mr. Pocket, Junior, delivering him the bags, One, Two, I saw the starting appearance come into his own eyes that I knew to be in mine, and he said, falling back :

" Lord bless me, you're the prowling boy !"

" And you," said I, " are the pale young gentleman!"

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

CONGRESS.

ON Friday, 8th, in the Senate, the resolution for extending the time for receiving testimony with regard to the M'Cormick reaper, was called up by Senator Wade, of Ohio, and the special order being postponed, debate upon it was continued at considerable length by Senators Wade, Douglas, FESSENDEN, and others. The resolution was finally passed. This action, it is understood, will have the effect of defeating the proposed extension of the patent. — In the House, a message was received from the President inclosing the correspondence between himself and Colonel Hayne, Special Envoy from South Carolina, relative to the surrender of Fort Sumter to the authorities of that State. It is seen from these documents that the demand for the surrender of the Fort is peremptory, and that the refusal to surrender is quite as positive. The House then resumed consideration of the report of the Committee of Thirty-three, and speeches were made by Messrs. Hatton, of Tennessee, who protested forcibly against his State being dragged into secession; Kellogg, of Illinois, who made a speech in vindication of Mr. Lincoln and the Republican Party; and Smith, of North Carolina, who said that his State would never be a party to the destruction of the Union so long as her rights and honor were safe within it. An evening session was held, at which several speeches were made to almost empty benches.

On Saturday 9th, in the Senate, the Naval Appropriation bill was passed. The Chairman of the Committee of Conference on the amendments to the Deficiency Bill reported their inability to agree, and the Committee was discharged. A motion made by Senator Hale, that the Senate recede from its amendments, was laid over under the rule.—in the House, Mr. John Cochrane offered a resolution making inquiries of the Secretary of the Treasury on the subject of the seizure of New York ships at Savannah, which was amended so as to include an inquiry relative to the seizure of arms destined for the South, by the Police of New York, when objection was made to its consideration, and Mr. Cochrane gave notice that he intended to call it up next day. A resolution was adopted, calling upon the President for the correspondence between our Governor ant and that of Peru since 1853, relative to the free navigation of the Amazon and its tributaries. On motion of Mr. Corwin, of Ohio, the vote on the report of the Committee of Thirty-three was still further postponed, until next Thursday, and debate upon the report was continued until the adjournment. The postponement is in consequence of a desire to await the action of the Peace Conference.

On Monday, 11th, in the Senate, Senator Green, of Missouri, offered a resolution, which was laid over, asking the President to communicate any correspondence which may have occurred relative to the extradition of the fugitive slave, Anderson. Another Conference Committee on the Deficiency Bill was appointed. A petition for a Territorial Government in Nevada was presented. The Naval Appropriation Bill was then taken up, and occupied attention during the remainder of the day. The appropriations for the Pensacola Navy-yard were stricken out. Senator Hale, of New Hampshire, offered an amendment providing for the building of seven steam sloops of war. Senator Hunter, of Virginia, opposed it, as it looked too much like an intention to coerce seceding States. It was advocated by Senators Grimes, of Iowa; Fessenden, of Maine; and King, of New York. The debate was not closed.—In the House, a preamble and resolution were offered by Mr. Craige, of North Carolina, and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, instructing the President to recognize the existence of a Southern Confederacy, and to receive in their official capacity such Commissioners as may be sent by the Government of that Confederacy to Washington. A resolution offered by Mr M'Clernand, of Illinois, was adopted, calling upon the President for information relative to the seizure of the Mint and Custom-house at New Orleans. Mr. Ferry, of Connecticut, offered a resolution, which was objected to by Mr. Winslow, of North Carolina, instructing the Judiciary Committee to inquire into the expediency of amending the Constitution so as to make it impossible for any State to secede without the consent of all the States. Mr. Sickles, of New York, offered a resolution, which was adopted, recommending the celebration of the anniversary of the birth of Washington, the 22d of February, as a national holiday. Mr. Palmer, of New York, introduced two resolutions—the first declaring that neither the Federal Government nor the people of the Northern States have a purpose or constitutional right to interfere with slavery in any State of the Union; and the other asserting that the number of people in the North not subscribing to the sentiments of the first were too insignificant in number to be worthy of notice. These resolutions excited a very lively debate, but the first one finally passed by a vote of 106 to 4—not a quorum. Further debate and explanations then ensued, and it was again passed, 116 to 4. A reconsideration was carried, and, after still further debate, Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, offered a substitute, declaring that neither Congress nor the Legislatures of non-slaveholding States have the right to legislate upon the subject of slavery in the slaveholding States. This appeared to give satistaction to every body, and it was passed unanimously. Mr. Palmer's second resolution was not considered—it being superseded by that of Mr. Sherman. Mr. Sickles offered a resolution calling upon the Secretary of the Treasury for information relative to interference with the enforcement of the Revenue laws in the seceded States. It was amended, on motion of Mr. Burnett, of Kentucky, by adding an inquiry relative to the concentration of troops at Washington, and passed.

On Tuesday, 12th, in the Senate, among the petitions presented was one by Senator Crittenden, from 23,230 citizens of Massachusetts, asking for the adoption of his compromise. He accompanied its presentation with a few congratulatory remarks; and was followed by Senator Sumner, who declared that those who signed the petition could not have known what they were asking for—that the proposed compromise went even further than the Breckin ridge platform in its guarantees to Slavery. A colloquy in deference to the subject took place between Senators Crit-

tenden and Sumner, which was finally stopped by a motion to consider the special order—the Navy Appropriation bill. The proposition under discussion was to amend, by adding an appropriation for building seven steam sloops of war. Senator Green, of Missouri, addressed the Senate on the general subject of the national troubles, and at the conclusion of his remarks the amendment was adopted, and the bill was passed—Senators Bigler of Pennsylvania, Douglas of Illinois, Johnson of Tennessee, and Latham of California voting in the affirmative.—In the House, Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, presented a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, exhibiting the condition of the Treasury, and asking for the passage of some measure of relief. It states that the liabilities due and to fall due before the 4th of March next are nearly $10,000.000. The accruing revenue will, it is estimated, net about $ 2,000,000, leaving $8,000,000 to be borrowed. There is in the Treasury, subject to draft, a little more than $500,000, while drafts to about $20,000,000 are unanswered. The short time to elapse before the close of the present session renders it in-dispensable for the Secretary to advertise for a loan immediately. Mr. Sherman accompanied the letter with a bill to meet its demands, and asked for its immediate passage. Mr. Garnett, of Virginia, objected, and, under the rules, it was laid over. A unanimous report from the Special Committee on the abstraction of the Indian Trust Bonds was presented by Mr. Morris, of Illinois, the Chairman, and, after considerable objection, it was read. The Senate's amendments to the Pacific Railroad bill were then considered, and occupied attention till the adjournment. The debate was participated in by a number of members, and finally closed with an interchange of opinions relative to the effect of the recent election in Virginia.

On Wednesday, 13th, in the Senate, the bill to carry out the treaty with New Granada was taken up and passed. The Tariff Bill was taken up, and Senator Seward gave notice that he should move to strike out that portion abolishing the warehousing system. The bill was laid over without action, and the bill for the better organization of the militia of the District of Columbia was considered for some time, and finally recommitted to the Committee on Military Affairs for modification. The Senate soon afterward adjourned. In the House, in joint convention, the Senators and Representatives assembled to witness the counting of the Electoral votes, and to hear the result declared. The galleries of the House were densely crowded, and the scene was very animated. Vice-President Breckinridge opened the packages, and declared their contents, and at the conclusion of these formalities announced the result. This done, the Senators withdrew, and business proceeded as usual. Previous to this ceremony, Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, presented another communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, asking for relief for the Treasury, and accompanied it with a bill to accomplish the desired purpose, but Mr. Garnett, of Virginia, as on the previous day, objected to its consideration. Mr. Sherman moved a suspension of the rules, but the matter finally went over for the day.

On Thursday, 14th, in the Senate, a resolution was adopted appointing a Committee to make arrangements for the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln. Bills organizing the Territory of Nevada and to provide a government for Dacotah Territory were reported. A large number of memorials relative to the crisis were presented. The Tariff Bill was taken up, and Senator Hunter spoke against it, and Senator Simmons in its favor. After an Executive Session, during which Mr. Pettit was defeated as Judge for Kansas, the Senate adjourned.—In the House, a Select Committee was appointed, with power to send for persons and papers, to inquire into a charge made in the New York Times to the effect that certain seceding members of Congress have fraudulently obtained books from the Congressional Library and appropriated them to their own use. The Pacific Railroad Bill was taken up, and the clause providing that the Central road shall go via Fort Riley from the mouth of the Kansas River was struck out. The subject was then laid aside, and Mr. Campbell, of Pennsylvania, made a speech on the crisis. The Special Committee on the alleged conspiracy to attack the capital reported that they are unanimously of the opinion that the evidence produced before them does not prove the existence of a secret organization in Washington or else-where hostile to the Government, that has for its object, upon its own responsibility, an attack upon the capital or any other of the public property, or an interruption of any of the functions of the Government. Mr. Branch, of North Carolina, presented a report setting forth that there are seven companies of artillery and one of sappers and miners quartered at the capital, and concluding with the following "That the quartering of troops of the regular army in this District and around the Capitol, when not necessary for their protection from a hostile enemy, and during the session of Congress, is impolitic and offensive, and, if permitted, may become destructive of civil liberty and, in the opinion of this House, the regular troops now in it ought to be forthwith removed therefrom." This elicited a warm discussion, and the proposition was finally laid on the table by a vote of 125 to 35.

On Friday, 15th, the Senate took up the Tariff Bill. With regard to the warehousing system, Senator Seward moved to amend the bill by altering the time for the payment of duties from ninety days, as provided in the bill. to three years. A discussion ensued; but without taking the question the Senate adjourned.—The proceedings of the House were unimportant.

THE SOUTHERN CONGRESS

The Convention of the seceding States at Montgomery, on Saturday, 9th, elected a President and a Vice-President for the proposed Southern Confederacy, as follows:

For President—JEFFERSON DAVIS, of Mississippi.

For Vice-President--ALEX H. STEPHENS, of Georgia. The vote for these gentlemen was unanimous. Previous to this action, the presiding officer was instructed to appoint Committees on Foreign Affairs, on Finance, on Military and Naval Affairs, on Postal Affairs, on Commerce and Patents. All laws of the United States in force on the 1st of November last were continued by special ordinance, and will remain in force until repealed or altered. The Committee on Finance was instructed to report, with promptness, a tariff for raising revenue for the support of the new Government. In the Constitution as adopted there are special provisions for the prohibition of the slave-trade, for the rendition of fugitives, and for the settlement of all matters of territory and public debt with the non-seceding States. In all other particulars the Constitution is identical with that under which the United States have increased from thirteen to thirty-four.

The Southern Congress, on Tuesday, 12th, in secret session, adopted a resolution assuming for the Provisional Government the care of all questions and difficulties now existing between the States of the new Confederacy and the United States, relating to the occupation of the forts, arsenals, dock-yards, and other public establishments. The Governors of the seceding States are to be forthwith notified of this action. The restriction of secrecy was subsequently removed.

On Wednesday, 13th, the Congress adopted a resolution directing the Committee on Military and Naval Affairs to make some provision for the officers who have resigned their commissions. The Committee on Commerce was instructed to report on the expediency of repealing the Navigation Laws. Mr. Brooke offered a resolution in favor of adopting a flag, as nearly as might be, resembling the Stars and Stripes; but after some debate he withdrew it, and the Convention finished the day in secret session.

MR. VICE-PRESIDENT STEPHENS ON THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY

On accepting the Vice-Presidency of the Southern Confederacy, Mr. Stevens said, after thanking the Congress : "It might be expected that I should indulge in some remarks on the state of public affair's, and the dangers which threaten us, and the most advisable measure to be adopted to meet the pressing exigencies. Allow me to say, in the absence of the distinguished gentleman called to the Chief Executive Chair, I think it best to forbear saying any thing on such matters. We expect him in a few days—by Wednesday of this week, if not Providentially detained—when we will hear from him on these difficult questions, and I doubt not we shall cordially and harmoniously concur in the line of policy which his superior wisdom and statesmanship indicate. Meantime we may very profitably be directing our attention to such as providing necessary postal arrangements, making provision for the transfer of the Custom-houses from the jurisdiction of the separate States

to the Confederacy, and the imposition of such duties as are necessary to meet the present expected expediencies. The power to raise revenue should be limited to the object of the revenue. A small duty, of not exceeding 10 percentum upon importations; it is believed is sufficient. We can also be devoting our attention to a Constitution and permanent Government, stable and durable, which is one of the leading objects of our assembling. I am now ready to take the oath."

PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADIEU TO SPRINGFIELD.

On Monday, 11th, at eight A.M., President Lincoln left Springfield. After exchanging a parting salutation with his wife, he took his stand on the platform, removed his hat, and asking silence, spoke as follows to the multitude that stood in respectful silence and with their heads uncovered:

"MY FRIENDs,—No one not in my position can appreciate the sadness I feel at this parting. To this people I owe all that I am. Here I have lived more than a quarter of a century, here my children were born, and here one of them lies buried. I know not how soon I shall see you again. A duty devolves upon me which is, perhaps, greater than that which has devolved upon any other man since the days of Washington. He never would have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I can not succeed without the same Divine aid which sustained him; and in the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for support, and I hope you, my friends, will all pray that I may receive that Divine assistance, without which I can not succeed, but with which success is certain. Again I bid you all all affectionate farewell." [Loud applause, and cries of "We will pray for you !"]

Toward the conclusion of his remarks himself and audience were moved to tears. His exhortation to pray elicited choked exclamations of "We will do it, we will do it!" As he turned to enter the cars three cheers were given, and a few seconds afterward the train moved slowly out of the sight of the silent gathering.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S SPEECH AT CINCINNATI.

At Cincinnati, on 12th, he said : " I have spoken but once before this in Cincinnati. That was a year previous to the late Presidential election. On that occasion, in a playful manner, but with sincere words, I addressed much of what I said to the Kentuckians. I gave my opinion that we, as Republicans, would ultimately beat them as Democrats, but that they could postpone that result longer by nominating Senator Douglas for the Presidency than they could in any other way. They did not, in any true sense of the word, nominate Mr. Douglas, and the result has come certainly as soon as ever I expected. I also told them how I expected they would be treated after they should have been beaten; and I now wish to call their attention to what I then said upon that subject. I then said: `When we do as we say, beat you, you perhaps want to know what we will do with you. I will tell you, as far as I am authorized to speak for the Opposition, what we mean to do with you. We mean to treat you, as near as we possibly can, as Washington, Jefferson, and Madison treated you. We mean to leave you alone, and in no way to interfere with your institutions; to abide by all and every compromise of the Constitution, and, in a word, coming back to the original proposition, to treat you so far as degenerate men, if we have degenerated, may, according to the example of those noble fathers, Washington, Jefferson, and Madison.

"'We mean to remember that you are as good as we; that there is no difference between us other than the difference of circumstances. We mean to recognize and bear in mind always that you have as good hearts in your bosoms as other people, or as we claim to have, and treat you accordingly.'

"Fellow-citizens of Kentucky!—Friends and brethren may I call you in my new position—I see no occasion and feel no inclination to retract a word of this. If it shall not be made good, be assured the fault shall not be mine."

ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S SPEECH AT INDIANAPOLIS.

On the same day he spoke at Indianapolis : "FELLOW-CITIZENS of THE STATE OF INDIANA,-I am here to thank you much for this magnificent welcome, and still more for the very generous support given by your State to that political cause which I think is the true and just cause of the whole country and the whole world. Solomon says, 'There is a time to keep silence,' and when men wrangle by the month, with no certainty that they mean the sane thing while using the same word, it perhaps were as well if they would keep silence. The words 'coercion' and 'invasion' are much used in these days, and often with some temper and hot blood. Let is make sure, if we can, that we do not misunderstand the meaning of those who use them. Let us get the exact definitions of these words, not from dictionaries, but from the men themselves, who certainly deprecate the things they would represent by the use of the words. What, then, is 'coercion ?' What is ' invasion ?' Would the marching of an army into South Carolina, without the consent of her people, and with hostile intent toward them, he invasion ? I certainly think it would be 'coercion;' also if the South Carolinians were forced to submit. But if the United States should merely hold and retake its own forts and other property, and collect the duties on foreign importations, or even withhold the mails from places where they were habitually violated, would any or all these things be 'invasion' or 'coercion ?' Do our professed lovers of the Union, but who spitefully resolve that they will resist coercion and invasion, understand that such things as these, on the part of the United States, would be coercion or invasion of a State? If so, their idea of means to preserve the object of their great affection would seem to be exceedingly thin and airy. If sick, the little pills of the homeopathist would be much too large for it to swallow. In their view, the Union, as a family relation, would seem to be no regular marriage, but rather a sort of free-love arrangement, to be maintained on passional attraction. By-the-way, in what consists the special sacredness of a State ? I speak not of the position assigned to a State in the Union by the Constitution, for that by the bond we all recognize. That position, however, a State can not carry out of the Union with it. I speak of that assumed primary right of a State to rule all which is less than itself, and to ruin all which is larger than itself. If a State and a county, in a given case, should be equal to extent of territory, and equal in number of inhabitants, in what, as a matter of principle, is the State better than the county? Would an exchange of names be an exchange of rights? Upon principle, on what rightful principle, may a State, being no more than one-fiftieth part of the nation in soil and population, break up the nation, and then coerce a proportionably larger subdivision of itself in the most arbitrary way? What mysterious right to play tyrant is conferred on a district of country with its people by merely calling it a State ? Fellow-citizens, I am not asserting any thing. I am merely asking questions for you to consider. And now allow me to bid you farewell."

ABRAHAM LINCON'S SPEECH AT COLUMBUS.

At Columbus, Ohio, on 13th, he thus spoke to the Legislature and public :

" MR PRESIDENT, AND MR. SPEAKER, AND GENTLEMEN OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, - It is true, as has been said by the President of the Senate, that very great responsibility rests upon me in the position to which the votes of the American people have called me. I am deeply sensible of that weighty responsibility. I can not but know what you all know, that without a name, perhaps without a reason why I should have a name, there has fallen upon me a task such as did not rest even upon the Father of his Country; and so feeling, I can not but turn and look for that support without which it will be impossible for me to perform that great task. I turn, then, and look to the American people, and to that God who has never forsaken them. Allusion has been made to the interest felt in relation to the policy of the new Administration. In this I have received from some a degree of credit for having kept silence, and from others deprecation. I still think that I was right. In the varying and repeatedly shifting scenes of the present, and without a precedent which could enable me to judge by the past, it has seamed fitting that before speaking upon the difficulties of the country, I should have gained a view of the whole field, to be sure after all—being at liberty to modify and change the course of policy as future events may make a change necessary. I have not maintained silence from any want of real anxiety. It is a good thing that there is no more than anxiety, for

there is nothing going wrong. It is a consoling circumstance that when we look out there is nothing that really hurts any body, We entertain different views upon political questions, but nobody is suffering any thing, This is a most consoling circumstance, and from it we may conclude that all we want is time, patience, and a reliance on that God who has never forsaken this people. Fellow-citizens, what I have said I have said altogether extemporanously, and will now come to a close."

ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S SPEECH SPEECH AT PITTSBURGH.

At Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), he said he would not give them a speech, as he thought it more rare, if not more wise, for a public man. He expressed his gratification and surprise at seeing so great a crowd and such boundless enthusiasm manifested in the right time and under such untoward circumstances to greet so unworthy an individual as himself. This was undoubtedly attributed to the position which more by accident than by worth he had attained. He remarked further that if all these whole-souled people whom he saw this evening before him were for the preservation of the Union, he did not see how it could be in much danger. [Cheering and cries of "Union and no compromise:"] He had intended to say a few words to the people of Pittsburgh, the greatest manufacturing city of the United States, upon such matters as they desired; but as he had adopted the plan of holding his tongue for the most part during the last canvass and since his election, he thought he had perhaps better now still continue to hold his tongue. [Cries of " Go on," "Go on !"] Well, I am reminded that there is an Alleghany City as well as an Alleghany county—the former the banner town and the latter the banner county, perhaps of the world. I am glad to see both of them and the good people of both. That I may not disappoint these, I will say a few words to you tomorrow as to the peculiar interests of Alleghany County.

ANOTHER SPEECH AT PITTSBURGH.

Mr. Lincoln made a speech at Pittsburgh on 15th, which was a carefully considered effort. He spoke upon the crisis and the Tariff Bill now before Congress. With regard to the crisis, he advises every body to keep cool, and predicts a peaceful settlement of all our troubles. Respecting the tariff, he confesses his unacquaintance with the subject, but is of the opinion that the subject should remain over for the next Congress to act upon.

THE PEACE CONVENTION.

On 15th, the committee of the Peace Congress at Washington agreed upon a plan of adjustment. The vote stood 12 to 9.

THE ELECTION IN TENNESSEE.

The recent election in Tennessee was a Union triumph. The latest reports from Tennessee indicate that the triumph of the Union men in the late election was even more sweeping than was supposed from the first returns. Not only were Union delegates to the Convention elected in almost every district, but the people have declared that the Convention itself is unnecessary, and have voted "No Convention" by a large majority.

FOREIGN NEWS.
ENGLAND.

BRITISH VIEWS OF SECESSION.

THE London Times of January 29 has the following comments on Senator Seward's recent speech:

"The American people have seen fit, acting as a nation and in their collective capacity, to create a Government possessing certain definite powers. The remaining functions of Government they have left to be administered within certain territorial divisions called States, and to each of these Governments, acting within its proper powers, every American citizen is bound to pay the same obedience as the people of England do to the laws under which they live. Any individual citizen, therefore, seeking to destroy this Central Government is guilty of treason against it, and the same thing is true of any aggregate of individuals, even should they constitute the majority of the population of a State or several States. The fact that rebellion takes the form of the secession of a State can make no difference, for so long as the Central Government confines itself within its own jurisdiction the State possesses no right whatever against it. The State posssesses no greater right collectively than each of its citizens possess individually.

"We are glad to see that these views have at last found expression in the elaborate speech which Mr. Seward, proximate Prime Minister of Mr. Lincoln - has addressed to the Senate on the state of the Union. These principles should have been laid down and elucidated in the Message from the President now in office, but failing this, it is, at any rate, something to know that they will guide the councils of his successor."

FRANCE,

The BONAPART-PATTERSON Case   

The Bonaparte-Patterson case came before the Civil Tribunal of the Seine on the 25th of January. A great crowd was in attendance, a place being reserved for journalists and reporters. All parts of the hall were besieged, and a crowd of lawyers pressed round the bar. M. Berryer recounted the preliminaries of Prince Jerome's marriage, and the alliance with the family of General Samuel Smith, "one of the first in the American Republic." The young lady possessed, together with the natural graces of youth and beauty, the inestimable gifts of an education at once elegant and substantial. As for her mind, it is only necessary to hear her speak, even now. The Prince Jerome Bonaparte was fascinated by her, and through the friendly offices of the Spanish Embassador he sued for her hand." M. Berryer extended his recital of the facts, and alluding to the baptism of Miss Patterson, named, among the witnesses to the rite, three young ladies who are now Lady Stafford, Lady Wellesley, wife of the elder brother of the Duke of Wellington, and a sister of Lady Stafford's, who is the wife of a Peer of England.

BALL OF THE PRINCE IMPERIAL.

"The children's ball, which was lately given by the Princess Mathilde in honor of the Prince Imperial, was," says the Sport, "most charming. It commenced at four o'clock in the afternoon, and ended at about eight. The Emperor arrived at four, and the Prince Imperial, who wore the costume of a marquis of the old regime, at a quarter past. His Imperial Highness was received by all the little guests, who grouped themselves on his passage. The orchestra was composed of children, all in exceedingly pretty costumes, and the Prince insisted on dancing with the lad who played the flute. Mademoiselle Walewski was attired to represent a butterfly, and the Prince danced several times with her. Mademoiselle Minnetta Vimercati, daughter of the director of the hunting establishment of King Victor Emanuel, was in the costume of a Spanish girl; and the son of Madame Bizot as a postillion of the time of Louis XV."

ITALY.
THE BOMBARDMENT OF GAETA.

A telegram dated Naples, January 25—5 pm, says: Yesterday the bombardment of Gaeta was continued by the Sardinian fleet. Gaeta has suffered much from the bombardment. The fire from the batteries of the place is feeble. General Cialdini has lost but few men. A Sardinian gun-boat has been damaged.

Another, dated Naples, Januuy 26, says: The bombardment of Gaeta continues. A treasonable correspondence of high importance, which has been entertained with Gaeta, has been discovered.

Another, dated Genoa, via Maseilles, January 25, says: The Corriere Mercantile of today says: "The bombardment of Gaeta is continued with prodigious effect from the batteries on the land side, conjointly with the powerful cooperation of the fleet. It is hoped that success will attend the efforts of the besiegers in a few days. The fleet withdrew on the 23d, in order to repair damages, after haveing silenced nearly all the enemy's batteries. It was to recommence the bombardment on the same eavening.''

A dispatch from Naples of the 29th ult., states that a flag of truce had been sent front Gaeta to the attacking Sardinian fleet, and immediately thereafter the firing of both sides was suspended.