26 OCTOBER 1872, Page 1

The Comte de Chambord has been moved by the idea

of a definitive Republic to address a letter to his friends which has excited some attention in Paris. In it he asserts his belief that liberty can only come with the hereditary Monarchy ; that any

• form of Republic will abolish religious liberty and tend towards a certain abyss ; that Europe and the Papacy have need of France ; that he has nothing to regret, having always been inspired.by love of country ; and that he has never ceased to perform the task "which it is for Us to perform," "to caution France against errors, to point out the rocks and to direct her to the port." The letter is obviously the production of a very sincere man entirely out of accord with his generation, who honestly believes that his King- ship, acknowledged or not, is just as certain as the sun's light or the existence of a God. There is not much hope for France in that kind of mind, but there is something respectable about it, too. It would pay the Comte so much better to tell eloquent lies.