The Empress Eugenie seems much inclined to play the part
of the Empress Helena. She has addressed a circular to the Queens of Europe asking their aid to rebuild, apparently by subscription, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The letter is a somewhat formal one, and terribly nineteenth-century in tone. The Em- press advises a " universal subscription" for a grand structure, to be built from a design selected by an "international jury" from "competitive plans" submitted by artists of all countries. In fact the Church of the Sepulchre is to be built like a. Great Exhi- bition—by competition and contract. Surely if the work needs to be done, there are individuals or sovereigns ready to do it with- out asking alms from the whole world. Suppose Queen Christina, one of the richest women in Europe, builds the church as an ex- piatory offering ?
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