The trial of M. Deroulede began in Paris on.Monday, and
'ended on Wednesday in a verdict of "Not guilty," the jury spending twenty minutes in deliberating on the case. If France were :England, we should certainly regard this as a happy result, and consider that it was well not to make a martyr of so fantastic a person ; but France is not England, and we are by no means sure that the verdict will 'decrease M. Deroulede's influence. Remember that he admitted the charge of trying to persuade General Roget to march on the Ely*. The speech of M. Deroulede's counsel, M. Falateuf, contained's, strong attack on the Parliamentary Republic. His cliimit was prosecuted because he wished to change the existing regiele and to purify the Republic. "Yes," continued M. Falateuf, "for more than twenty years now you have been at work ; for more than twenty years you all; PrOgressists and Moderates, have been pretending that you are the only party capable of Obtaining a Majority ; and what have you made of Fmfice Hay.e- you brought her neater the hour of deliverance ? WIT. tin's'hour oiti day to strike, tell me, in what state the country would be ? Should we not be exposed once more to some fresh Fashoda at some point or other of the globe; to. some fresh 'sliente 1 Oh, may God spare us this trial You 'reason wliciiiit'Veliefea-^ns to akt." These:wordsivill seem to English- men "heady " and unreal, but theyundoubtedly represent a large body of French opinion. Half France is now in that strange mood which has been exhibited before in history. They want somebody to act instead of talking, and this desire is not im- paired by the fact that no one exactly knows what the action ought to be. Perhaps, after all, what they are really longing for is an actor, not a true man of action.
