No man is great in London, and we do not
fancy that there is the least danger of the English people either taking up General Boulanger, or behaving rudely to him. He is not liked by the masses, who have a notion that he is at once revolutionist and reactionary, but, also, he is not abhorred. Society will probably lionise him till he is too tired to bear the process any longer ; but there is no objection to that, unless it should come from himself. It may, however, be useful to remark that the Republic is still the legitimate Government of France, that the present Ministry in Paris is susceptible about the General to an extravagant degree, and that any notable honour paid to him, especially by members of the Royal family, will not improve Lord Lytton's influence in any negotiations. There is no reason whatever for discourtesy to General Bonlmnger, who has as yet been proved guilty of nothing except an unreasonable popularity, and who is a Member for Paris ; but there is no reason, either, for treating him as if he were a Prince expelled by mob violence from a throne. The stories about his hostility to England are pro- bably untrue, and do not signify if they are true, as he will be governed, should he ever become Dictator, by his interests, and not his antipathies ; but a little of the reserve one practises to an acquaintance with whom one may have a law-suit will not be out of place. Fortunately, it is not English society which has a habit of adoration, but only the English people.
