“Encore un Louis XVII.!  A letter from Calais tells us that a strange personage lately landed from England (from Bedlam we believe) has been giving himself out to be the son of the unfortunate Louis XVI.  This is the twenty-fourth pretender of the species who has asserted that his father was the august victim of the Temple.  Beyond his pretensions, the poor creature is said to be pretty harmless; he is accompanied by one or two old women, who declare they recognize in him the Dauphin; he does not make any attempt to seize upon his throne by force of arms, but waits until heaven shall conduct him to it.

“If his Majesty comes to Paris, we presume he will take up his quarters in the palace of Charenton.

“We have not before alluded to certain rumors which have been afloat (among the lowest canaille and the vilest estaminets of the metropolis), that a notorious personage—­why should we hesitate to mention the name of the Prince John Thomas Napoleon?—­has entered France with culpable intentions, and revolutionary views.  The Moniteur of this morning, however, confirms the disgraceful fact.  A pretender is on our shores; an armed assassin is threatening our peaceful liberties; a wandering, homeless cut-throat is robbing on our highways; and the punishment of his crime awaits him.  Let no considerations of the past defer that just punishment; it is the duty of the legislator to provide for the future.  Let the full powers of the law be brought against him, aided by the stern justice of the public force.  Let him be tracked, like a wild beast, to his lair, and meet the fate of one.  But the sentence has, ere this, been certainly executed.  The brigand, we hear, has been distributing (without any effect) pamphlets among the low ale-houses and peasantry of the department of the Upper Rhine (in which he lurks); and the Police have an easy means of tracking his footsteps.

“Corporal Crane, of the Gendarmerie, is on the track of the unfortunate young man.  His attempt will only serve to show the folly of the pretenders, and the love, respect, regard, fidelity, admiration, reverence, and passionate personal attachment in which we hold our beloved sovereign.”

“Second edition!

“Capture of the prince.

“A courier has just arrived at the Tuileries with a report that after a scuffle between Corporal Crane and the ‘Imperial Army,’ in a water-barrel, whither the latter had retreated, victory has remained with the former.  A desperate combat ensued in the first place, in a hay-loft, whence the pretender was ejected with immense loss.  He is now a prisoner—­and we dread to think what his fate may be!  It will warn future aspirants, and give Europe a lesson which it is not likely to forget.  Above all, it will set beyond a doubt the regard, respect, admiration, reverence, and adoration which we all feel for our sovereign.”