It was believed in the beginning of the week that
the Emperor Napoleon, when proposing negotiations, intended, if his proposals were rejected, to intervene by force of arms. This statement in- deed was distinctly made at Vienna, and the news of Cialdini's advance into Venetia created a kind of panic in Paris. A French fleet has sailed for the Adriatic, and it is still doubtful whether Napoleon may not strike in to preserve the city of Venice until an armistice has been concluded. Looking, however, to the obvious determination of the Prussians, the danger of consolidating Germany by rousing the national hatred of the foreigner, and the awe felt by the French soldiery of the breech-loader—an awe which the Moniteur de CArmee vainly endeavours to dissipate—it is not, we think, probable that the Emperor of the French will strike in at once. He will, if Prussia is moderate, rather endeavour to bring the other neutral powers into line, and only fight in the last resort, after his armaments have been completed. Fight at Nit he probably will, for his prestige is seriously lowered, but not this year—not till Belgium is in some way involved in the quarrel.
