over the strong, could rise up, put forth her claims, and with one bound regain her position, as did Austria in 1813.
"There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune."
France, mighty on the ocean, in the Mediterranean, in Europe and Africa, by the twofold strength of her improved army and navy, may become the arbitress, nay, the only mediatrix, between England and Germany. If she rose to the greatness of the occasion, she might reconquer, perhaps without unsheathing her sword, her prestige, her influence, and even her lost provinces. To pave the way for such a future she requires a Minister for Foreign Affairs with the genius of a Talleyrand or a Metternich, if not of a Richelieu or a Cavour. Since Republicans have held the reins of government, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs have been many and various. It is important that such experiments should not be prolonged indefinitely, because in quarrelling about the shadow we often lose the substance. So much for the general state of affairs in Europe up to the present month of November.
II. Republican Diplomacy.
A few days ago we read in the Voltaire (a Paris Republican newspaper) some comical lines about Republican Diplomats of the day. We give them in the original text:—
"Echine basse et chapeau bas, le dos en arc de cercle, le ventre humblement rentré, les épaules serrées sons l'habit a la française, les bras collés au corps, les mollets essayant de se confondre avec les tibias, tout être ratatiné, recroquevillé, ramassé sur lui-même, voyez ce fantôme qui passe, long, sec et plat, rasant les murs, effleurant les paves … Ce fantôme, c'est celui de la diplomatic française sous la glorieuse présidence de M. Jules Grévy.'"
The language is terse and the description accurate enough, though far from flattering. Besides the writer of this graphic and lively onslaught emphasises his ideas as follows: "Appealed to from one end of the earth to the other, the French flag remains unfurled. Our fleet is only surpassed by England's, yet it remains
