The Press. — London, England, 1853-08-13 00:00:00

AUGUST 13,1853. nation, about to witness a display of that which we feel to be our life and power iu the country of nations. " The glory of a young man is his strength," saith the proverb . and all, from rich to poor, not a man but felt the force Cl it as he beheld the hearts of oak and the material muscle of that powerful arm which has never yet struck one blow in vain. We are all nearing the squadron, and minim; out, with many a tapering whirl of smoke behind us, to the nethermost vessels at the head of the line ; when at 10.2 u we hear the echoes of Portsmouth woke up by the well known voice of the guns of the old Priory, as she utters her twentyone notes of welcome to the Sovereign. Fin away in the distance, towards the west, and approach ling rapidly, may be seen the familiar form of the rictori, and Albert, with the royal standard of England at the main, and the Lord High Admiral's flag at the fore; followed b, her beautiful satellite, the Elfin, some small steamers and a ruck of yachts; and at 10.45 the yacht enters t h e broad channel left between the columns of the squadron and, as she passes between the two most leeward vessels at a signal from the admiral, the dark hulls along tin whole of the double line pour forth a storm of fire, smoke and thunder, which startles and appals by its vehemen magnificence. It is over in a minute, but the impression remains long atter the opaque masses of fat white smoke which curl out from hundreds of portholes, anti wrappe, the whole pageant from view, have been drifted away an. dissipated by the gentle breeze. The royal yacht is no% joined by the Fairy, the Virid, the Banshee, the Elfin, th, Gorgon, Hecla, Bulldog, Stromboli, Black Eagle, Fire Quen and other steamers, at a more or less respectful distance and proceeded onwards right through the fleet, amid tli , enthusiastic cheering from the thousands who were Awl and within eyeshot of her. The Queen, attended by her ladies of honour and 3 courtly train of nobles in state uniforms, was visible 03 deck all the while ; the Prince was by her side, in hi: field-marshal's garb. The young Princes, in constan motion up and down the deck, seemed highly delighte , with the scene, and, but for their size, could not be wri distinguished from the boys of the royal yacht, as the • wore the usual dress of a " ship's boy ;" and a blaze of ref coats, gold and silver lace, and white feathers marked tin position of the brilliant staff of officers on board. The yacht at length arrived off the Duke of Wellington and lay to for a few momenta to give those on board at opportunity of admiring her stupendous proportions. It the interval the royal barge conveyed the Prince of Prussia and the Russian Archduchesses and German Princes. *on the Fairy to the Victoria and Albert, where they were re ceived by her Majesty ; and it was very generally believei by those who saw the reception, that her Majesty did no appear very cordial with the daughters of the Emperor a Russia, but saluted them with a certain air of royal reserve and did not proffer them her hand. Immediately after wards the yacht passed round under the stern of tin Duke, to the port side, but before she did the Prussian 50-gun frigate tie/ion and the corvette under the same flag lying outside the squadron, manned yards and tired a rays' **date in excellent style. The English ships did not mar yards because they were about to get under way, and besides that., the practice is about to be dispensed with en board steamers in consequence of the dirty stat. in which the soot on the yards and rigging leaves the men's clothes. At 11.25 two barges, the first of which steered by Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence, contained he: Majesty, the Prince, the foreign visitors, &c., and the second their respective staffs, moved off from the rays' yacht, and pulled up to the starboard quarter of the fluke As the Queen sat her foot on her quarter-deck the royal standard, which had been transferred from the yacht to flit barge as her Majesty changed her place, was run up to the main of the Duke, and instantly the whole squatlron, with the exception of the admiral's ship, blared forth another royal salute with an effect finer, if possible, than that pro duced by the first, and wrapped the whole scene from view or the space of five or six minutes, so that the vessels to windward could see nothing but the '' war-cloud r fling dim," that fell like the folds of a massive curtain down on the water. The Queen remained inspecting the line rior of the Wellington for upwards of twenty minutes, and at 11.53 she made her appearance at the stern gallery of the captain's cabin, and remained there till 12.5 o'clock in contemplation of the wondrous spectacle before her, re eeiv ing the cheers of her subjects, who recognised the Royal lady. She looked remarkably well, and conversed with great animation with her foreign guests, and with Sir T. Cochrane, who stood on her right-hand side in what is irreverently termed by the service " full fig." At 12.7 the Queen and her party returned on board the royal yacht as they came, and immediately afterwards the signal was given to "to weigh " and stand out to the S.E. In loss than six minutes the whole squadron was in motion ! They stood out in two columns, the Puke 4 Wellington leading the starboard and the Agamemnon the port divi• THE PRESS. sion, one following the other with great exactitude. and regularity, though the Doke and the faster vessels had frequently to blow otl steam in order to let the block-ships. the I fugue, Blenheim, Ajax, and Edinburgh, keep in then places. The Queen, in the royal yacht, led the van. at the ills• Lance of two cables' length from the squadnoi, on the port side of the Duke, and on the starboard side of the .4ga• •semunn, right in a line between the two columns ; and all the steamem, to the number of forty or fifty, with upwards . .ra.) yachts and a flotilla of small boats. kept up on tithe' side with her as well as they could. Soon alter one o'clock the enemy was seen to the east card, tolerably close at hand, however, as their existent.' tad been ignored till the last moment, and Admiral Fan hawe's flag could be made out from the peak of the Prise. 'lrgenl, which was leading the squadron on the port tact vith a light wind and all sails set. The contrast betweei he appearance of the men-of•war under canvas and thei assailants was very remarkable, and verb little to the credi the latter. Steam has made war more terrible, but ha deprived it of much of its grandeur of aspect, and bids tin o destroy all the chivalry that gunpowder lett to it ; and i vas not without profound regret that we thought on the leviutble day when the beautiful, clean, and gracefu nan•ofwar must give the palm to her ugly puffy rival, an, etire from the contest for ever, and heard the sighs of il l Id " salts," as they deplored the days when the navy lo'' .essed sailors, and was not dependent on the suer. oeehanies and urtillery-men. At 1.41 signals were made to form lino of battle, wide! vas done in the ships of the starboard division steamin .n in lines at angles to their former course, till they a ewe abreast of the Duke and of each other ; and the ship a► the port side executing the same maiuruvre. so thi. ►e columns wheeled out, as it were, and deployed into ingle line, which stretched across the water for upward a mile—the Nag-ships in the centre, the block-ships o heir tlanks,then the screws and the paddle-wheels Rankin tiem again on the extreme right and left. At lAt tittle of drums in the squadron followed the signal to ben quarters. Ilammock-nettings were put in order, an orls triced up for action—the enemy, still on the loth .tek, under all sail, accompanied by the three steamen lid making the best (dims they could to escape their fin ridable assailants ; but at 2.5 it was evident that the ould not succeed, and they accordingly put about ate ,'ent on the starboard tack, the line of the squadron ow twrfectly formed. At 2.34 the leading ships 're enemy, the Prince Regent and Quern, furled 010 muses, heat to quarters, and prepared fur action, and thei sonsorts soon followed the example. At '2-10 the sign! as given to the squadron "to chase" the one my to win( • :ard, and immediately afterwards Admiral lianahawe wee :nd endeavoured to run to WI on the pint tuck. bum ntling he could not gain his point, tired a gun at 3.•21 aid got his squadron together. Another gun frum tb 'ying admiral at. 3.'45, and the squadron closed up sti, loser, and hauled their wind ; but the hostile fleet we lose upon them, and with its extending flanks theaters. o surround them. Admiral nuishawe came first int. , ction with the weathermost ships on the starboard thud ,f the squadron, and at 3.30 the Prince Regent opened nagniticent broadside that mode everything afloat shalt. i•om its violence, which was the signal for one of the nos remendous cannonades ever heard by man. For nearly I uarter of an hour the ear was dinned with the thunder - he floating batteries, which vomited forth flame and amok, ncesaantly, till all that could be seen was the lurid thisl if the guile through the smoke, which swept for mile way, and hid the sun and sky to leeward completely froi ; but when it ceased the Attithian wait Wei ike a log on the water, her funnel down on deed ler sheets let fly so that the sails bellyed and flapped it he air, the yards, some of them, let down MI the ears ethers crossed akimbo so as to represent a vessel mantle' , nd crippled in action; and the admiral executed the saw. niece of innocent deception with the most complete sue !esti. The whole fleet then made chase after media. •upposed enemy, and stood round towards their motoring. 'n the morning in two lines—the Vivid, with the tsar liplotnatique on board, and the Banshee, being ordered b item as fast as they could for the amusement of the Queen end the foreign Princes; and at last a general rave howeei, twenty-six men-of-war. the royal vessels, dozens of steamers. ind hundreds of yachts took place, till Itenla like light was oasseil at 1.15 p.m., at which time the Duke, which bad been leading the whole tpiadnin, was slightly beaten he he Aggoneranqn. At 5.34 tiny were nearly all moored. nal the l'russian vessels saluted again as the royal stimdanl -massed. The boat attack billowed : "At half-past six o'clock the admiral made signal for the boats of the squadron to attack an enemy to leeward. The hostile force was represented by the Magicienne and the l'atiarc steamers, which took up a position within mile of the Southsea beach. They lay ' broadside on 'to the mhore, and us soon as the boats were hoisted over the side they prepared their batteries to give them a want. re. •eption. The utmost activity prevailed among the vessels of the attacking squadrons, which were anchored at the moorings they had lelt in the morning, it. a line from Spithead all along the co.ast of the Isle of Wight. The rapidity with which the huge launches were cleared away, raised over the side. and lowered into the water, must have surprised those who had not before witnessed the admirable perfection to which the boat service of our navy has been brought. It. a few minutes each vessel had its launch floating by its side, a carronade (a short, serviceable gun, of heavy metal) on its slide in the bow, and then poured into her its stream of seamen, ruiariues, and marine artillery. With twenty. 351 four oars, doublehatiked, the marines seated aft, the °Meer eutumund standing bult•up in the sternsheets with the ,eke lines in his hand, and the jack floating fnan the tall Jag-stair in the stern, each boat was II Lt uutifid Object in itself, and formed all engine of war by no wail,: despicable, ;laving all the fippliances of attack, defence, and retreat eoncentrated iu a very small compao.s. A few minutes man'. and the words • Give way sent from the mules of die squadron a flotilla of enormous tune( anal power. " As soon us the leading boat had ( *area the v e ssels o f die tipectitt4lll. *OM the IMM :4 of the l'idiurr showed .hat the tight had commenced. In an instant more the diac of issits vomited forth a flood of tire and smoke. The ,•arronaden of the launches, served with great quickness, .ouneled a rolling bass of thunder to the smart sharp rattle .t* the musketry. And now one could understand the for nielable character via boat attack, li.r, as the flotilla threw War the broadsides of the inen.ofs,kr and I.ot into hey divided and steered away, so that one division made or the bows and the other fur the stems of the ships at ay, tints escaping to a gnat extent the tire of the strongest union of their batteries, and assailing them in their ..eakest points. The heavier metal of the bigates was .road at frequent intervals through the din of the carro ades and tireloeks, and at length the rapid nittlingvolleys the marines on board, delivering their limas the latmehen .raw up alongside to board, w ere distinetly audible. titill more luuucht•s kept coming than the fleet, and opened fire * they formed their divisions, the marines all loading and ring us it' for life, and the sailors pulling with the regu- Arity of machinery. till a loud ringing elieer--such a nyous btaiNt of exultation Ihat one might imagine+ the albeit fellows had won anew Trafalgar--proclaimed their aetory over the enemy, and the tiring was over." Iler Nlitjesty was graciously pleased to express her •iitire satisfaction of the day's pnaTislings, and promoted 41e senior lieutenant 1 the senior mate of the fleet. .ieutenant lasoil is the lueky " Tim cAmi , Al' CIIOIIII.VM. Saturday was signalised by parting visit from the ;ueen, who, however, came in a private character, .ithout the usual noisy salutes and concluding armies of the troops, and went to a marquee meted on the hill near a redoubt which it was the rineipal object of the day's manteurrings to blow p and capture. The works connected a ith the re- uubt were completed by fatigue parties furnished by itch brigade•, the livards Muting fifty, and each of lie other brigades selen y the men each. The mine . as charged with (0101bs. of powder, and the sap was Aim(led to have been tired through a coil of win► onnected with a voltaic buttery about a hundred evils distant from the redoubt. The movements of lie troops and the st lining of the redoubt were lanned with the view of illustrating that portion of he siege of Ciudad Roilrige in which Lord Seaton then Lieutenant• Colonel Colborne) so greatly dia. inguished himself. The preliminary attacks having een duly performed, a pause occurred, and every .tttly was carefully ordered off for a circle of half a tale diameter from the spot of the expected explo ion. None, however, took place ; and, after a mor• dying interval of suspense, it was discovered that he galvanic wire would not work, and the mine, tiler all, had to be exploded by a common porthre. raven then the explosion seeintsl but trilling, and vas disparagingly com p ared by the spectat. rs to the .yrotechnical exhibitions at Cremorne or Vauxhall. , uch as it was, however, it was assumed to aceom • limit the desired end. The assaulting troops rushed seer the debris, the enemy retired, and the Chobham :hided Rodrigo was gloriously captured. Monday witnessed a sham battle much better con ested, and prolonged, with a multitude of advances eel retreats, for nearly five hours. During this pace of time, while victory hung doubtful over the Itelligerent armies, both parties were alternately 'riven to and fro, until at last the field of battle vas removed some two miles or so distant from the •antonment4. At this point the enemy ntade u stand, uefore which their tulversaries recoiled, and falling iinek in good order reached their original p o sition, when the engagement terminated without leaving any very signal advantage either on line side or the other. On Wednesday the Duchess of Kent, accompanied by the Duchess of Cambridge and the Princess Mary, was present at a grand field-day, the troops being again under the eenimand of the Duke of Cambridge. A novelty in the proceedings of the day consisted in the " enemy" being supplied with two pieces of artillery, which worked with the small force during the 'lay, and gave additional effect to the pro ceedings. The camp forces were formed with their right resting on the open space opposite Dighton lodge, the present residenee of Lord Seaton ; the enemy occupied some heights in the immediate vi cinity, having the camp in his rear. The whole of the forces were actively employed in driving the enemy from this position, and, having compelled him to seek shelter in the redoubt partially blown up on the previous Saturday, at length drove him from it. by advances of the infantry. It is confidently stated that the camp will break up after the last field-day, which will take place en Thursday next. The two following days, the 19th and •ttth, will be occupied by the removal of the troops.