The Sun. — London, England, 1863-09-03 00:00:00

THE SUN,TALONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 3, 1863. GREAT WE STERN RAI LWAY.- IR WAR WICK RA( ":ES, Bth and 9th SEPT EMBER.— F , ST and SECON D CLASS RETURN TICKETS to tetmington and Warwi issued at Paddington, Victoria, Ba tersea. Chelsea, Ken aington, Windsor, and Reading, on MONDAY, the 7th Sep; Amber, d following Thursdays, day, th will be a va il a ble for return by an y train up to e 10th September, inclusive. P a ddinte j ton. for Leamingt on and W a rwick, at d r ains leave a.m., 8.20 (3d class), g... 3 9, Et, 2, 3.40, 4.50, and 6 . 30 p. m. 6 The 9.30 a. m. Expref of Trsdn from Padd neon will call at 'Warwick on the 7th, St - 11, and 9th September. RE AT WI :STERN RAILWAY. — WORCESTER INIUSCCAL FESTIVAL. —FIRST and SE('ONDItETUR g TICW ETS to WORCESTER issued at paddin!-rton, Victor la, Battersea, Chelsea, Kensington, Windsor, and Readio fy,, on MONDAY, 7th September, and follnwintr days, will be available for return up to SATUR DAY. 12th Sep tembel • itrclusive. Trains leave Paddin -Lon for Worcester at 6 a.m., 9.30 a.m., 1 p.m., 4.50 p.m., and t .31) p.m. ROYAL PR, INCF,SS'S THEATRE Lest,,e , Mr. George Vining:. 'Under the Manag( anent of Mr. Walter Moraf_Tomery. THIS EVENIIs7G, ;Ifalzespere's Tragedy of MACBETH. Macbeth, Mr. Waiter toutgorriery. To be followed by A 11.01.16' II enee DAMOND. ;:orarn a I 7. 'll - IEII ['RE-ROY - AL, ADELY.I - 11. N r :4olf, ProprWtor and Manazer, Mr. B. Welmter. T [CIS -EVENING (2d week), at 7, a new comic drama, THE TIEN AND CET 1(:,K EN 8 ; or, A Sign of Affe , qion. Messrs. Billington, H. Phillips, Stephenson ; Mrs. Stirling and Miss 1. Simms. After which, at a quart er-past 8, the new drama of THE fIMJNTED MAN; OR, T.,E GHOST'S tiARGAIN, in which will be exhibited Professor Pepper's adaptation of the Great Spectral Illusion. Messrs. J. L. Toole, R. Phillips , efton. C. J. Smith; Mrs. Alfred Mellon and Miss El. SAM= 3. Followed by a new Burletlque, entitled ILL-T RE ATETD IL TKO VATORE. ME ssrs. Toole, P. Bedford, K. Phillips, 14;lonrne, C.. 1. Smith, Homer ; the Sisters Nelson, Carry said Sara, and Miss K. Kelly. ROYAL STRAND THEATRE. Manager, Mr. W. H. Swanborough. THIS EVENING, EIS FIRST CHAMPAGNE. air. Leigh Murray. Followed by (10th time) THE MOTTO, " I'M A.LL THERE." Messrs. Honey, Turner, E. Danvers, Collier, Clifton; ITesdames Ada Swanborough, F. Josephs, Maria Simpson, Wallace, and Jenny White. To conclude with TURN HIM OUT. Mr. Turner, Miss Thorne Commence at 7. IrHE THIRD EDITION OF " THE SUN." Containing . the Latest SPORTING INTELLIG:i:NCE, inn be had Every Evening of G. R. GLENIE, NEWS AGENT, No. 4, Connaught-terrace, Hyde-park. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGIP THIS DAY.-3,lorning, sh. 30m.—Aftenaoon, 511. 50m, To-mo RR 014.-M orning, 6h. 10m.--Afternoon, GI. 30m, The Weather—Sun Office, Sept. 2, 1863. TSERII.O2IETER. This morninz ...... • . 62 This day at Two o'clock . 73 Barometer-29.7 3 . Wind—South ; moderate. UM> LONDON, THURSDAY, SEPT. 3, 1863. As practically, as assiduously, as nobly, in her own sick-chamber, here in England, as formerly in the field, in the hospitals, and in the barracks of the Eest, FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE still labours in the cause of the British Soldier. Of this, the remark. able folio Report, recently published by the Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the Sanitary Condition of the Army in India, affords the last and the most signal attestation. It does so in the form of a really beautiful and admirable paper comment ing upon that Report, a paper contributed by Miss NIGHTINGALE expressly at the request of the Royal Commissioners. It will be remembered, of course, that until his noble and gentle heart was stricken motionless by what appeared to us, his survivors, a singularly premature death, in the very noon of his distinguished and honourable career, the late ,SIDNEY Lord HERBERT of LEE, presided over the Royal Commission as its singularly well-selected Chairman. When removed by death, Lord HERBERT was succeeded as Chairman of the Commission, it will be also borne vividly in the popular recollection, by one hardly less qualified to discharge the duties of that office, ono no leas conspicuous among con temporary statesmen and administrators, than the noble Lord the member for King's Lynn, formerly in succession, during his father's last Premiership, Secretary of State, first of all for the Colonies, and afterwards for Hindostan. It is to Lord STANLEY, consequently, that these observations of Miss NIGHTINGALE have been addressed, to Lord. STAN LEY, that is, as Chairman of the Royal Commission. Prefixed to the ponderous folio volume of their own Report, the Commissioners themselves have said, by way of brief preface to this remarkable paper penned by FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, "We have given an abstract of the Stational Reports, and (Report Folio, p. v.) a valuable paper of comments on those reports, contributed, at the request of the Commission, by Miss NIGHTINGALE." Happily, this paper from the hands of England's One Sister of Charity is not simply buried away in the huge folio report of the Commissioners. It has been wisely and beneficently excerpted from those pages, and has just now been issued in a separate form, as a brief but substantial publication, accessible to all.* That the remarks of Miss NIGHTINGALE have been throughout this paper of hers most patiently and profoundly well-considered, may be appreciated upon a mere glance at the interval which elapsed between the date of the request (11th October, 1861) sent to her by the Royal Commission, and the date affixed by her (21st November, 1862) to the close of her elaborate communication in reply. That is, upwards of a twelvemonth, during which this patient Friend and Nurse of the British soldier was musing over the facts furnished to her in the °facial reports, while yet those reports were in manuscript, and—at intervals during her own sufferings—penning, bit by bit, these thirteen chap ters or sections into which her running commen taries have been subdivided. Subdivided, thus, probably for her own convenience in regard to the thinking of them out systematically, quite as much as with any view to the facilitation of labour on the part of the reader in the way of reference. Section the First is apropo s to the evidence—evidence, it may be s a id , frightfully unanswerable of its kind—demonstrative of the fact that Indian Camps are peculiarly subject to the Diseases of Camps— besides hepatic diseases, cholera fevers, diarrhoea, dy s entery. In the Second Section the humane critic, commenting Disease, r a upon the Onl y too demonstrable ll fact that In dian Station s present the sameo s Sanitary Defects as Ca m p s, enume rates as follows the five principal sou rces or causes of Camp r viz., Bad Water , Bad Drainage, Filth y t of Ventilati on, and Surface Overcrowdin g nb , l t - w a r n ek t huts and sick wards. Commenting upon the bad ness of the water, Miss NIGHTINGALE says, with what one might almost call a fearful glimmer of " Where tests have been used, the com position of the water reads like a very intri cate prescription." The swarming o f animal life in it, being in a manner as nothing compared with the astounding varieties of chlorides, nitrates, sulphates, and carbonates. As to the badness of the drainage, it is remarked that cesspits are spoken of by the reports as though they were dressing rooms; the severe and uncompromising analyst of these reports observing that for Bad Drainage we might read, "NO Drainage whatever, in any sense in which we understand drainage." Among the capital woodcut illustrations, scattered, here and there, among the letterpress, may be found, at p. 15, a graphic hint as to what is often the sum total of the Indian humour, A half-crown volume , bound in cl ot h, an d ex t en di ng over ices than a hundred pages (Sv o ., pp. 92), printed by Spottiswoode and Co., and published by Stanford, of Charing .cross, comprisas within it the whole of these deeply interrstisig and practically suggestive "Observations" by Miss Nightingale. Not an officer in the British army (eapecially in India) but should possess himself of a copy of it, haa Drainage;System—a couple of wretched natives, bearing between them, slung upon their shoulders, upon a stout bamboo, an open can of abomination ! As to the filthiness of the bazaars, it is spoken of as something almost defying descrip lion. At one hill station (where there are two such bazaars) Nynee Tal, a bill station where men are sent for their health (!) the stench," says Miss NIGHTINGALE, "is at times overpowering." In reference to the notorious want of ventilation, it is here remarked, as impressively as instructively., that while the reports pronounce the ventilation t o bE: good if the barracks are not overcrowded-4 as the barracks are almost always overcrowded, t he ventilation is nearly as bad as bad can be. Sew .ral w ell-known barracks in India are then part icu- Is rized, precisely as they are referred to i n the r e port : as at Kirkee " scarcely any ve ntila t;Lon ;" at Bombay, "improvement imperativ,v ;" at I Lamptee, " most faulty and deficient ;" at 73ellary, " no windows ; " at Allahabad, and also at Dum Dum "very defective," and so on—literally asque ad ;nauseam. Surface-overcrowding, the last-men tioned source of camp disease, is then finally com mented upon by Miss NIGHTINGALE, and the pre valence of that " overcrowding" proved to absolute demonstration. Sectionslll., on Intemperance ;IV., on Diet, and V., on want of Occupation and Exercise, are are each of them peculiarly deserving of c onsid eration xercise, —the large two-page illustration upontohfeolactctuerppatoiionnt (pp. 40-41), entitled " Daily Means and Amusement : India passim," b e ing peculiarly suggestive and instructive. An Indian officer of rank, we are told, was the truthful draughtsman. The scene depicted is from the life. It is an in terior. The dormitory in an Indian Barrack. The men in their shirt sleeves. Some naked from the waist upwards. Lying, lolling, lounging, sitting on their beds—those beds, in or on which, we are told, they spend 18 out of the 24 hours, six only up or out ! Smoking, reading, day-dreaming on the fiat of their backs, card-playing, chatting, hair-brushing, shoe-brushing, water-drinking ad libitum. This chapter or section (about the longest in the book) is among them all one worthiest of the hand of FLOR ENCE NIGHTINGALE. It is full of good practical sug gestions in the way of improvement, and this, too, an improvement not desultory but systematic. So also, as any one might conjecture would surely be the case, is it with Section the Sixth, the one on Hospitals. The remaining seven need only here be enumerated, Their titles—remembering all the while whose hand it is that writes them— will prove to the reflective reader sufficiently ex plicit as to their probable purport : to wit, Hill Stations ; Native Lines ; Native Towns ; Absolute Perfection of Causes of Disease ; Soldiers' Wives; Statistics, and Sanitary Service. Such in brief are, as one may say, the distinctive titles of the thirteen rays of light directed from these luminous Sections of FLORENCE NIGHINGALE'S Observations on the Sanitary State of the Army in India—light shed by her benign experience as a Soldier's Nurse in Barrack, Hospital, and Field, full and clear into the darkest and foulest recesses of the Augean stable of our Indian Military Organisation. The address from the Committee of the Ladies' Sanatory Association on Dressmaking is worthy of notice. It commences by saying that the death of a young dressmaker, is the midst of the busy London season, has called public notice to the condition of her class. In 1842 it is said that a Royal Commis sion made evident the hardships that thousands of young women were enduring from overwork, and also from over-crowding, but in spite of every effort that has been made since then, it is to be feared that many thousands are still suffering from the same sad causes as twenty years ago. The next passage states an incontrovertible fact, that, how ever, seems little heeded, that the remuneration of needlework is so little that needlewomen cannot earn sufficient during the ordinary time, and are, therefore, forced to undertake extra work. If few actually drop down exhausted before our eyes, it is said, yet the evil is wrought in their frames, and the present system of dressmaking could not be kept up if it were not for the constant arrival of fresh workers from the country, of whom not a few go back with broken health, and even sink into a premature grave, " the one season taking the whole summer of their young lives." This is, in truth' a deplorable state of things, and yet its veracity is attested by all experience on the subject. It is high time that some decisive measures should be adopted to check the continuance of this system. The committee seem to have gone to the root of the evil, so far as they possibly can, and they have sounded the depths, as it were, of the nefarious system in vogue. It is said that even a moderate amount of sedentary labour would prove most inju rious if no exercise is taken to relieve its monotony. These unhappy victims of fashion rarely pass the threshold except on Sundays. The close rooms in which they work and sleep tend to enervate their exhausted frames still more, and added to this there is an yearly strain on them, during the mouths of the " season," when from 16 to 18 hours' work is required. The committee seek to examine into the causes of such disastrous and de plorable effects ensuing from a trade which is in itself perfectly health y ; and whose fault i s it ? t h ey ask. " We cannot help it," say the empl o y ers , " for ladies will have their dresses to the day; they give short notice and take long credit, and it is hard to pay our way and please them." " We c anno t help it," say the ladies, " we are willing to give a good price for good work ; but we cannot take charge of work and workrooms.. " We can help it least of all," say the poor girls, "for we must keep our situations, or starve —or worse. To these replies the committee address themselves in an effective manner. To the ladies it is urged that much de pends on them, and that they can do a great deal if they will only choose to do so. They can easily inform themselves regarding the style of the houses they employ—they can abstain from unreasonable demands; and, above all, they can pay their bills. One employer informed the committee tha t no and than five thousand pounds were d ue to h im , n that thus he had been brought to the verge of bank ruptcy. To the employers it is said that self interest would be promoted by increasing the com forts of their employees. Better work is done and more efficient assistance rendered altogether by those who obtain sufficient rest than by those who are harassed and worried by incessant toil and wabalnetstoafte of nsleesip things. A wholesome atmosphere would n also tend d e rab with ttho regard conduce to t to o a r k m w o r a e m d e n e s i in general. LiksAvise, it is most truly said, that more liberal outdoor assistance at the outset of the season would be a real gain in the end, as thus the "skilled inmates " would be kept up to a state of energy a nd efficiency. To th e workwomen a few re marks are directed. It is said that no regular reform can be introduced unless the workers can e t_ in j uri e s that com bine to procure whet right for th emse l ves. They shou ld therefore reflectarrangem e nt ran what injuries they ai ec from fror t he thepresent most part, irreparable, as health, ante broken, can never be fully restored. Their parents or guardians should be most careful as to where, and with whom, they apprentice them. A most wise suggestion is made, that where a com fortable place cannot be got in the needlework line, owing to the overcrowding that prevails in 'that branch, some other employment should be sought after. It scorns strange that this idea has not occurred to those who have the charge of young girls. It stands to sense that the more any one employment is chosen the less remuneration it pro duces, and the smaller share of comfort accrues to its followers. If they learned to write well and to ke ep accounts they would be able to get e / orae ex cellent situations in shops ; and in their own voca tion, if they were more skilled, they could obtain greater preferment, or even undertake business themselves. Ladies, it is said, might do much by encouraging those houses which require ready money, or only give three months' credit. Thepmight for the ass servicesit the good work by asking engagements as serving in s ho p s, or hair-dressin g , s of females in such in preference to those of men. This excellent ad dress concludes by hoping that before another sea son has added its victims to this system of cruel and unnecessary overwork, some of these hints will be taken and these plans may be given a trial. It is earnestly to be trusted that such may be the case, for the present system is in every way a disgrace to the community, and cannot fail to produce the most deleterious results. It seems on reflection that the several courses here suggested are as wise as any that have been made on the subject, and they appear to embrace all the needful points of the question. The opulent classes who create the necessity for this employment, the mercantile managers who engage so many hands, and they to whom is entrusted the task of providing for the young, who must labour for themselves, have all a heavy responsibility resting upon them. Be it theirs to acknowledge the errors into which they have fallen, and to endeavour as speedily as possible to rectify the faults that may have been unwit tingly committed, but which entail seri'us conse quences on a large portion of the community. Not the least curious of the additions made to our store of knowledge by the adventurous researches of Captains SPEKE and GRANT are the pictures of races and kingdoms in the interior of the African continent, who had never previously looked on a white man. Great as were the obstacles offered by Nature to the progress of the travellers, formidable as were the difficulties which they encountered from the absence of means of conveyance of pro visions and other necessaries, and serious as were the risks to which the climate exposed them, the uncertainty and greed of the native rulers was no insignificant item in their catalogue of troubles. The account given by Captain GRANT, at a recent meeting of the British Association, while arresting the unflagging attention of his bearers by its novelty, its interest, and its entertaining features, could not fail to impress them with a sense of the arduous nature of the undertaking which those enterprising Englishmen have carried to a success ful termination. The travellers were not in a position to be independent of the native chiefs, whose power is usually despotic, and in whose domains a human life is held as of little or no value. It would not have troubled the slumbers of these miniature despots had the bold white men paid with their lives the penalty of their intrusion, and the populace would not certainly have cared to interpose on behalf of the strangers. The goods which they carried offered dazzling temptations to the eyes of the savages, and it was extremely diffi cult to avoid giving mortal offence by refusing the demands of these insatiable monarchs without sacrificing all in their possession. One of them con trived to reduce the party to subjection by farbid ding his people to sell thew, uny of the necessaries of life. This ingenious xgrethod of extortion pro duced the desired (ffr,ct, and obtained for the in genious mat ceavrer ttr, rifle, ammunition, and other articles he desired. It was as dangerous to be too friendly as to be 'ari bad teams, fur Captain GRANT tells us that, alter staying some time with an old unwillingSuita Sultan in thet .as Land of the Moon, his h os t b ecame part with so useful and entertaining a companion, and three m on th s were l ost b efore he co a get away from his inconveniently attentive At last Captain GRANT prepared to leave, but cn the very day of his departure the SULTAN, whose dignity did not interfere with his activity, drove off the porters with a stick, and having appa rently heard that important part of the English code which says that possession is nine points of the law, he helped himself to one of the rifles, which the traveller had to wrest from him by force, pay ing at the same time additional presents. A King in his own country, however, was not to be so easily eluded, and accordingly two days after, while the train was marching on, an armed mob sprung up on every side, whose antics amused Captain GRANT very much, until he discovered that they were a band of highwaymen sent by his Majesty the SULTAN, and a very short time sufficed to ransack every load, and to convert the stately line of 200 porters into two or three dejected followers, with baggage proportionately shrunk. No redress could be obtained from a King who had openly helped himself to a rifle, but he suffered Captain GRANT to depart with whole bones, which, under the cir cumstances, was perhaps as much as could be ex pected. After this experience it was somewhat alarming to pass into the domains of a King wh o possessed the honourable distinction of being re markable for his avarice even among African chiefs. Thanks to the old SULTAN from whom they had first escaped, Captain GRANT and his followers were but ill provided with the usual gifts, but suc ceeded in passing safely through th e country at a cost of only half their goods. Their appearance among this people excited the greatest attention, being the first white men seen there, and the watching to which they were subjected in consequence grew inconveniently officious. In this fact they were also regarded with consider able awe, although some thieves tried to get into o their e tent l i a v t e s. rrh night, foredeath of these which e a t they paid ie t t h he ve sw penalty as taken as a proof that the new comers were magicians, and they were fortunately left unmo lested in consequence. Another of the rulers afforded a most favourable contrast, and shows us that the capacities of the African have been underrated. In some parts the inhabitants are distinguished for their amiability and intelligence. Their curiosity at the sight of articles of European manufacture, and their interest in pictures of Eng lish life, &c., betoken some degree of aptitude for cultivation and improvement. Still the childish ness of the savage clings to them. The KING, wh o was the most intellectual of all the Africans Capt. GRANT encountered, at once appropriated a toy which was made for his child for his own amuse ment. This King is a favou rable exce p tion to the reckless disregard of life which is common in the apparent among these African tribes. The King lower orders of humanity, and w hich is decidedly h of DAHOMEY has gained an unenviable n otoriet y b y wholesale slaughters, but we hear of another monarch of whom it is commonly said that he nerer looks bright until a few executions have come off. " Not a day passed," says Captain SPEKE, " with out our hearing of, or actually seeing, 50 1110 poor victim. Th e old f eu d a l cus t om a ppears to exist in thi s part, and any dereliction o f d u t y is punished most severely. A common punish- meta is c u t t i ng and maiming their hands or ears, and th e K ING, seeing that one of Captain GRANT'S hands had been injured, asked him whether he had not been a page. The wound, however, was more honourably acquired, having been gained in a gallant act under the lamented HAVELOCK at the time of his advance upon Cawnpore, a fact of which Sir RODERICK MußcaisoN informed the Newcastle audience. Much may be learned from studying the characteristics of these wild races, whose con duct in some degree exonerates civilisation from the charges brought against it, since many of the ruling passions of crowded cities are apparent in the uncultivated African wastes. The ethnologist may trace the influence of race in the singular dif ferences existing between neighbouring tribes; the political economist may speculate on the wide field for commerce and cultivation remaining to be opened to European capital and intelligence; while the philanthropist may ponder on the length of time that m us t e l apse b e f ore these b en i ghte d savages, whose ignorance has certainly not pre served their innocence, may be brought into the light of a larger knowledge and a purer faith. LATEST INTELLIGENCE. (REITTEIt'S TELEGRAMS,) SPAIN, MEETING OF THE PROGRESSISTA DEPUTIES. MADRID, SEPT. 2 (EVENING). The leading Progressista deputies will hold a meeting on Saturday next. Friends of the Ministry assert that the Ministers continue to enjoy the con fidence of the Queen. PRAYERS FOR POLAND. ROME, SEPT. 2. A printed notice has been issued relating to a solemn procession ordered for the 6th September. The Cardinal-Vicar announces it to be the desire of the Pope that special prayers shall be offered up for unhappy Poland, which his Holiness observes with grief to haie now become the scene of san guinary massacres. Poland, always Catholic, and a bulwark against the invasion of error, deserves that the Almighty should be implored to deliver her from the evils by which she is inflicted. Peti• tions should be put up that while retaining her character, she may remain faithful to the mission God has given her, and may maintain the Catholic banner thoroughly intact. EGYPT. ALEXANDRIA, SEPT. 2. The Annamite Ambassadors have left in the Labrador upon their voyage to France. The rise of the Nile continues to create uneasi ness. Measures are still being taken to :wort disaster. The cattle disease is diminishing. FRANCE. MEXICO AND THE CONFEDERATE STATES. PARIS, SEPT. 3. An important pamphlet has been published by Dentu, entitled, " France, Mexico, and the Con federate States." The writer advocates the necessity of prompt recognition of the Confederate States by Mexico. BOURSE, Sept. 2.—Sales for realisation have caused a retrogade movement, Threes, for the Account, being nuw at 68f. 65c. Railway Share Market firm. The market closed as follows : II per Cents 97 60 Do. end month 3 per Cents 6B 50 Do. end month 68 60 Credit Mobilier 1185 Do. end mouth 1180 Bank Shares 3385 -- Credit l oneier 1320 Italian Loan 73 50 Do. end month — Se NV ditto Do. end month — Russian Austrian Spanish Thi 53 Homo Debt BAIL' "A.YB. Cash. Account. Orleans 1036 25 .. 1040 Northern .... New ditto - Lyons and Mediterranean 1050 .. 1045 Geneva .. Southern Western Eastern Sardinian Austrian LOlrbard North of Spain Saragossa.. 686 50 .. 687 60 Ditto to Barcelona AMERICA. SOUTHAMPTON, SEPT. 3. The Hamburg and American Company's steam ship Saxonia, Captain Trautmann, from New York on the 22d ult., has arrived here. She brings 144 passengers for this port, Havre, and Hamburg ; 85,619 dols. in specie for England, 25,826 dols. for France, and 500 dols. far Hamburg. The Saxonia passed the Germania, bound out wards, in lat. 50.8 north, long. 27.30 west. During the first four days of her voyage the &monis experienced very thick fog. (REUTER'S EXPRESS.) The following additional despatches appear in the New York journals : NORFOLK, VA., Aug. 21. The _Richmond Whig of to-day contains the fol lowing : ^ CHARLESTON, S.C., Aug. 20. The enemy's operations during the last 24 hours have been mostly confined to a steady and continu ous bombardment of Fort Sumter from their. Parrot guns on Morris Island. Their fire begins to tell on Fort Sumter, which replies only at long intervals. The defence of the harbour does not depend mainly upon Sumter. Even if that fortress should be bat tered down, the harbour may still be held. Crovernor Bonham has issued a proclamation urging the removal of all non-combatants from Charleston as soon as possible. The two hundred pounder Parrot guns of the enemy are too much for the walls of Sumter, and the fort only replies at intervals. It has been determined to defend the city, street by street and house by house, as long as a foot of earth is left. (From the Chattanooga Rebel.) We look for ti,e worst at Charleston. It will never be taken as it stands, however. It would be mined and blown from its foundation first. We do not anticipate any very encouraging news from that quarter. The journals of the city may pat the best face on the matter from motives of pa triotism ; but we had as we ll be prepared for any emergency. (From the Macon Telegraph.) We think the Chattanooga Rebel is unnecessarily despondent about Charleston. It is true she may, in time, succumb to superior numbers and heavier ordnance; but the numbers are not here yet, and the hopes of successful defence have grown with every day since the beginning of the siege, and so has the strength of the position. The Charles tonians don't believe that their city will be taken, and we shall not believe it CHluntil it is done. CAGO, August 21. Special despatches from Memphis say that only the Seventeenth army corps is now stationed at Vicksburg. A species of intermittent fever is prevalent among the soldiers there, and those who are taken sick are promptly removed to the hospitals here. Very few troops are quartered at the city of Vicksburg; only enough to do police duty. The rest are encamped on the heights back of the city. General Sherman's corps is still encamped near the Big Black, on Bear and clear Clear creeks. This corps has h ad the hardes t service of any in the campaign, yet they enjoy better health than any other. —__ The Thirteenth army corps, under General Ord, has moved to Natchez for sanitary reasons. They will remain there for the present. Admiral Porter's fleet is scattered along the Mississippi river from New Orleans to Cairo. The intermediate distance between the points where the gunboats are stationed are patrolled by light draugbt boats. There is no special news from below. Advices from General Steele's Arkansas expedi tion ere looked for soon from Helena. The following are the latest despatches from the army of the Potomac : WASHINGTON, Aug. 21. _ _ Information is current bore that Lee's army hae been moving off from our front upon the Virginia Central Railroad to Richmond; but officers arriving here tonight, whose position in the army entitles them to know what is going on, assert that no such intelligence is in the possession of our commanding generals. Lee is undoubtedly upon the Rapidan and Rap• pahannoek. His pickets are extended from the Upper Rappahantock along that river to Fredericks• burg, and the region about Potomac creek is in fested with rebel cavalry. Everything indicates that the enemy intends to remain in his present locality, unless oUr own moye ments should necessitate a change of base; and it is not impossible that the next battle may be fought upon that river. Indeed, it is apprehended that Leo will assume the offensive rather than retreat, and many expect an attack from him at an early date. Preparations for such an emergency are now being made. MR. F. G. CHAPMAN'S DESPATCH. Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, August 21. I have information from thfee different sources which leads mo to believe that the rebels have left our front and gone south to Richmond. Deserters who came across the Rappahannock say that the movement of troops towards Fredericks burg from Culpepper was only a ruse to cover Lee's real object, i.e., to enable him to move his troops southward by way of Gordonsville. Day before yesterday large bodies of the rebel cavalry dashed down towards the Rappahannock at the separate fords, driving in our pickets. They come boldly out in sight of our lines and deployed in fine battle order. Immediately all the corps along the river were put under arms, in which posi tion they remained until morning, when, behold the enemy had withdrawn A cavalry reconnaissance was then made, which went as far as Culpepper, but found no enemy; but, on the contrary, obtained such information as leads to the belief that the whole rebel force has gone in the direction of Gordonsville. The reason for my belief I am not at liberty to give. Richmond papers of the 18th brought into our lines speak most despondingly of affairs, but parti cularly deplore the prospect, now in view, that Charleston must fall. A complete panic prevails in Richmond to obtain greenbacks. Many of the dealers will take no other money for the commodi ties they have to dispose of. The Enquirer mounts the Jew speculators rough shod, and classes Mr. Benjamin as the king thief of the tribe. ORDERS OF GENERAL MEADE. GENERAL ORDERS-NO. 80. Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, August 21, 1863. 1. For the purpose of giving full freedom of choice to this army in the selection of newspapers, it is ordered that any officer or enlisted man wishing to purchase any daily journal not now furnished by the agent appointed under the provisions of the circular of June 2, may give notice thereof to the provost-marshal of the command to which he belongs, who shall forward the same through the provost-marshal of his corps to the Provost-Marshal General, who shall in struct said agent to furnish the same without delay, and a neglect on his part to comply with such instructions shall be held sufficient cause for vacating his appointment 2. It appearing in several instances that the payment of the sick and wounded of this army has been delayed by reason of their descriptive lists having been signed by non commissioned officers temporarily commanding companies, it is ordered that whenever from any cause the signature of a commissioned officer cannot be obtained, the said list shall be signed by a field-officer, or by the adjutant of the regiment to which such company belongs. 3, The reports called for by paragraph 5, General Orders No. 62, of June 12, 1863, from these headquarters from captains of companies, will be made monthly, and will state, in addition to the name and rank of every officer having a soldier in his service, and the name and regiment of the soldier so employed, and the length of time such service has been rendered. 4. No non-commissioned officer or private can give his parole except through an officer, and no officer for himself or his command can, under any circumstances, give a mili tory parole not to serve until exchanged, except when deli. vered to an officer of the United States, duly authorised to receive him at one of the points agreed upon by the Govern ment fur the exchange of prisoners of war, or at some other point agreed upon by the commander of an army to which he belongs. All other paroles are null and void. Any offi• cer or soldier of this army giving them will be returned to duty without exchange, and will be punished for disobedi ence of orders. By command of Major• General :11.1EADE. S. Williams, Assistant Adjutant General. The Confederate Navy. In an interesting article, in which the Patrie glances at recent events and the present aspect of affairs in America, and declares the cause of the South to be very far from lost, and that it would be difficult to understand the Hosannah. ! of the North, if one had not long been familiarised with Yankee exaggeration, we find some rather curious statistics and details respecting the Confederate men-of-war or privateers, whichever they may be called. The Siecle, as we know, discards both names, and roundly treats them as pirates : " Since the destruction by its captain of the Ta cony and the capture of the Archer, the Confede rate privateers, the identity of which is well esta blished, are five in number, the steamers Alabama and Florida, and the three-masted Lapwing, which cruise in the Atlantic Ocean ; the steamer Georgia, which has selected for its arena the Sea of the Antilles; and the three-masted Robert Lee, which watches the waters of the Bermudas. There is a sixth, which keeps about Cape Horn, and to which several ships have fallen a prey, but her name is not known. With the exception of the Sumter, it was some time before the names of any of those ves sels reached us, and it is to be observed that we do not even yet know them all, and that many other anonymous ships furrow the waters of the two oceans in search of the merchantmen of the North. It is the struggle of the weak against the strong. The amount of damage inflicted on Federal com merce by the Confederate cruisers is considerable (by the Alabama and the Florida alone it exceeds 50 millions), and the incessant stings of these auda cious skimmers of the seas have excited to fury the anger of the North, which finds it impossible to tear from its flank this well-barbed dart. In vain does it equip whole fleets, in vain despatch its -swiftest steamers. Some privateers have certainly been captured and destroyed, but the most famous and dangerous, those which the Federal cruisers are so anxious to take, have hitherto escaped scot free. Captain Semmes, the South American Surcouf, has hoisted his flag on board the Alabama. This daring sailor is commander in the Confederate navy, he is the terror of the merchant navy of the North and the torment of the Federal cruisers, through whose hands he slips like an eel. The. Washing ton Government has sent a whole fleet on the track of the privateers. The gunboat United States, steamers Erichsen, Honduras, Governor Buckingham, and Star of the South, have long been traversing the ocean in every direction. From Bos ton have just sailed the steamers Howqua, Iron Age, Admiral Dupont, Expounder, Daniel Webster, the school-ship Massachusetts, the revenue cutter Morris, and the schooner Thomas Woodward ; from Newport the sloop of war John Adams ; from Princetown the steamer Shattuck ; and finally, from Philadelphia, the steamer Young America. All these efforts are particularly directed against the Alabama and the Florida. To escape this accumulation of enemies, Captain Semmes and Maffit will have to redouble their energy, audacity, and skill. They are not caught yet. Like the famous Red Roaer of Fenimore Cooper, they seem to have a talisman that protects them, and enables them to set both man and the elements at defiance." Some of the vessels above enumerated seem hardly of sufficient force successfully to cope single handed with the Confederate steamers. I think it was the Erichsen which some time ago fell in with Florida, and was glad to beat a hasty retreat after receiving a broadside, while the Florida, after a vain attempt to overtake her, consoled herself by burn ing a Yankee merchantman before her eyes. DOCTOR JOHNSON, in referring the English word " curmudgeon" to the French cur and mechunt, gives as his authority for the etymology "an unknown correspondent"--this suggestion having been one of the many hundreds made to him during the progress of his work by correspondents in all parts of the country, It seems almost incredible, but it is nevertheless true, that Ash, having appropriated the suggestion, actually repro cuces it in the following form : " Curmudgecn, from the French cceur, unknown, and in6chant, a correspondent." • DEATH OF A MARECUAL (!) OF THE FRENCH EMPIRE.—One of the oldest officers of the Grand Army has just terminated his existence at the village o f Garches, near St. Cloud. Lieutenant-Colonel Marechal was born at Troyes on the 12th of March, 1774, and died on the 6th of August, 1563, in his 90th year. He entered the service in 1791, and made all the campaigns of the Repub lic and the Empire. Ile was wounded ten times, and, among other battles, at Eylau, Ileilsberg, Eektauhl, Wagram, and the Moscowa. He was created officer of the Legion of Honour on, the oth of April, 1813. Chula „ HER MAJESTY, The Queen in Germany. ROSENAU, COBURG, Aug. 30. Her Majesty the Queen drove to the Kallenberg on Friday evening, and took tea with the Duchess of Coburg. Mr. Barnard, her Majesty's Resident at Coburg, had the honour of an interview with the Queen on Wednesday. The Queen, Princess Helena, and Prince Alfred attended Divine service at the chapel at the Kallen berg this morning. Her Majesty and the royal family continue to take drives in the neighbourhood, and have visited the widow of Baron Stockmar and the Prince Con sort's former tutor, Mr. Florschuts, at Coburg. Her Majesty's health is much the same. She is unable to bear any great exertion or fatigue. Story of a Little Sovereign in the Sulks. (From Punch.) Once upon a time there was a wilful boy who belonged to a German Band, in which he blew his own trumpet, and made great discord. He never would play in tune. Some suspected that he had no ear, others, winking slily, intimated that his ears were egregiously long; certain it is, that although he was no composer, he gave himself airs, and of fended many people with his crotchets. Every one looked with derision on the trumpet, which the presumptuous Prussian blew; and while admitting that he had a thorough bass organ, without hesita tion declared that he was always a little fiat. Master Kaiser, who led the German band, was at one period a very indifferent performer, but had lately rather improved in his play. He had just left school, and was pretty well up in geography, clearly un derstanding how the revolutions of the earth are influenced by the Poles. O ne d a y Master Kaiser, seeing that clouds were gathering, and being appre hensive of a storm, proposed that the band should subscribe and buy a big umbrella for their common protection from any overpowering rain. To this proposal all the German band, with one or two ex ceptions, joyfully assented. The little bumptious trumpeter, however, turned upon his heel, and sulkily hugging himself beneath an old-fashioned court, rejected the overtures of his paymaster, and insisted on standing out. Little Master Saxony, in his best suit, went to him with a stick of barley sugar, and tried to tickle him into compliance. The trumpeter scowled and seemed disposed to kick. He did'nt want any umbrella, he hated umbrellas, what did he care if it rained bullets ? they couldn't hurt him. Why ?,Because he had too much lead already in his crown. MonAL.—This story should teach us a lesson of universal forbearance and toleration, for how can we expect that the Browns should always play sweetly together, when perfect harmony is not produced even by the clink of little Sovereigns ? The Pope and the Italian Government. The Armonia of Turin announces in the follow ing terms an en c y c li cal letter o f Pius IX. to the cardinals, archbi s h ops, and bishops of Italy "Our Holy Fath er, P ius Ix., un d e r date the 10th of August, has addres se d an encyc li ca l letter to the Italian cardinals, archbish o p s , and bishops , in which he deplores the very cruel and sacrilegious war to which the Church is everywhere subject, but especially in Italy, through the acts of the Subalpine Government. The Holy Father regards the triumph of truth and justice as certain ; he rejoices over the constancy and firmness of the episcopacy, he renews his former declarations ; he condemns the clerico liberal societies; he praises the Italian clergy, who are strongly attached for the most part to the Holy See, and the rdigieuse who prefer to suffer hunger rather than leave the cloister, and the Italian people who succour the Pope by means of the St. Peter's pence. He recommends them finally to pray and wait with confidence." " This is a document," concludes the Armonia, " worthy of Pius IX., who in his paternal solicitude points out the evil, suggests the remedy, and pro mises recovery in the name of Him who has rendered curable the nations of the earth." THE POETRY OF SEA-FISHING. As DESCRIBED IN A RECENT ESSAY, BY THE AUTHOR OF " WATER BABIES." Cliffs over head, ribbed and scarred, four hundred feet in height, over which peeped many a gallant deer ! Stacks of rock-island at their feet, as large as great men-of-war with all sails set, ribboned with yellow, black, and red, pierced with vast arches, through which shone the infinite gleam of the Atlantic ; round the stacks, and in and out of the arches, mackerel, in tens of thousands, breaking water an acre at a time with a soft roar, as out of the water flashed before them millions of shining splinters—some water-beads sparkling in the SLID, some " brett"—the herring-fry which they had chased in shore. In among them the boat slides, with three lines out, and each taken ere the bait was two oars' length from the boat; while over head and all around was a Babel of wings and voices, which confused eye and ear alike, of mer and shearwatcr, blackback and herring-gull, hacklet, and cormorant—diving, gobbling, screaming, cack ling, laughing, fighting—and overhead two or three stately gannets, too proud to mingle with the com mon herd, sailed round a hundred feet in air, in search of a vacant spot, and then Fell from the sky, like a god, while the wind rattled hoarse in their pinions, and rushed under water, throwing up a perpendi cular jet of spray, exactly as does a cannon-ball. And, over all, nearest the roof of cloudless blue, sailed out from her eyrie in the white cliff the great hen peregrine, the queen of all the shore. Slowly the falcon slides round and round, eyeing the mob below, till some fat herring-gull, full gorged with mackerel, flaps lazily away to digest. In a moment the great falcon's wings are closed over her back. With one long silent rush she has reached him, and those terrible hind talons, which can strike the life out of a mallard's brain, and drop him into the mere at a single stroke, are fast in the gull's shoulders ; but not to kill. After a moment's flapping and screaming, adversity gives him wit and necessity invention. Down drops a mackerel, shamefully disgorged, and down after it drops the falcon, and, catching the fish in mid-air, bears it off in triumph to the ledge where her young are barking for their dinner. And so goes on the great hungry world, as it has gone since the first Lingula or Orthis gaped in pre-Silurian seas, some 199 millions of years ago, and us much more as Sir Charles Lyell has need of—conjugating the primary verb, "To eat." I eat thee ; he eats me ; they eat him ; other theys eat them : and so forth, ad infinitum. DONATION BY THE QUEEN.—At the end of last month Mrs. Maclaren, wife of a workman at West Port (says an Edinburgh paper), gave birth to three girls. The occurrence was made known to Sir Charles Phipps for representation to the Queen, as it is usual for her Majesty to give a donation to mothers under such circumstances. The Queen ordered a Post-6ffice order of £3 to be sent to Mrs. Maclaren, which has been duly received by her. A ROYAL LOTTERY.—A lottery has just been organised at Bucharest by the reigning Princess, the pro ceeds of which are to be devoted to the creation of a found ling asylum. THE ENGLISH LEGATION AT TURIN.—The number of the Independatice Beige, received to day, has the following on the subject :—" It appears that it is intended to make a complete change in the English Le gation at Tulin. Sir James Hudson has already resigned his functions in the hands of the First Secretary, pending the arrival of Mr. Elliot, a near relative of Lord Russell. It is rumoured that the present Charge d'Affaires, Mr. West, is to be replaced by Mr. Russell, nephew of Lord Russell, lately at Rome, at present on leave in England, and for some time past attached, for form's sake, to the Turin Legation. It is maintained, as you know, and with some appearance of reason, that nepotism has a great deal to say to the nominations of the British Minister for Foreign Affairs. Two of the Under Secretaries of Legation at Turin are also to be changed ; one goes to the United States, and the other to Pekin I One might really suppose that Lord Russell had discovered a conspiracy in the heart of the Legation in question, and that he is resolved to scatter its elements to the four cirners of the earth. Mr. Hudson, it is believed, will continuo to live in the North of Italy, and it is even said that he will pass a good part of his time at Turin. His presence there might be a little au burn/341g for hit ElleCeEpor." The King of the Hellenes, It is not certain whether King George will visit the Queen at Windsor or whether he will join the Court later at Balmoral. His Majesty is at present paying a short visit to his relations at Rumpen haim ; but in consequence of the unpleasant relations between the German States and Denmark, and also the position of Greece itself towards the ex-King Otho, it has been determined that the King of the Hellenes shall stay but a few days at Rumpenheim. The vote for the annexation of the lonian Islands cannot be taken before the second week in October, and his Mcjesty intends to arrive at Athens imme diately after that event. His arrival here may be looked for either during the Queen's stay at Windsor or immediately after her Majesty's departure for Balmoral. In either ease King George would go to Scotland to take leave of the Princess of Wales. Foreign Courts. PARIS, Sept. 1. The Empress Eugenie is travelling to Biarritz under the strictest incognito. The authorities at Orleans received notice not to make any preparation for her Majesty's reception. The marriage of the reigning Count 0 tten de Stolberg-Wcrnigerode, with the Princess Anna de Reuse, was celebrated last week at Stonsdorff, in Silesia. BERLIN, Aug. 31. A despatch from Baden-Baden states that the King left there this morning on a visit to Queen Victoria at Rosenau. It is expected that his Majesty will remain but a few hours at Rosenau, and that he will leave Coburg in the evening on his journey to Berlin. The Marchioness (Dow.) of Normanby is staying at Hamilton Lodge, Kensington. Her ladyship's health is greatly improved. The Earl and Countess of Chesterfield have a select party assembled at Bretby Park, near Burton-upon- Trent, for the Derby races. The Earl and Countess Grey will return to Howick Hall, Northumberland, the week after next, from a tour in the north of Scotland. Viscountess Clifden gave birth to a son and heir yesterday afternoon, at Dover House, Whitehall. Her ladyship and infant son are progressing favourably. Lord and Lady Stanley of Alderley, and the Hon. Misses Stanley are expected to return home from their tour in Germany early in the ensuing week. The Right Hon. Charles P. Villiers, M.P., left town on Tuesday night, to pass a few weeks at Spa, in Belgium- We understand a marriage is arranged to take place between Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. Henryßyng, of the Coldstream Guards, second son of the Earl of Strafford, and the Countess Henrietta Danneskiold, eldest daughter of Count Christian Danueskiold Samsoe, and niece of the Marquis of Ailesbury. TUE Catholic bishops have decided, at their con ference in Dublin, to complete the Catholic University, and erect a building at a cost of £lOO,OOO. They expect to raise the sum in five years by collections in Great Britain, America, and Australia.—The Reader. Parisian society has just sustained a loss by the death of the Marquise de Grammont, at a somewhat advanced age. The deceased lady was eldest daughter of the Due de Crillon, and in 1829 married the Marquis de Grammont, deputy for the Haute-Saone, and head of a noble house, but who bears no relationship to the family of Gramont of Navarro, or to that of Gramont-Caderousse. The Marquise de Grammont leaves four sisters, married re spectively to the Marquis de Chanaleilles, the Due Pozzo di Borgo, the Due de Caraman, and the Comte de Levis- Mirepoix. A RED RAINBOW !—A curious and rare pheno menon was observed on the 25th of June last by Dr. Mohe of Coblentz, in the shape of a completely red rainbow formed by the rays of the setting sun. The ex • terior outline was well defined ; but in the interior the colour faded away towards the centre. The secondary bow, equally red, was observed only at intervals; the two were separated by the dark band observed on former occa sions. We need scarcely remark that monocromatic rain bows are very raro. TOMB OF LEONARDO DA VINCI.—The Gazette des Etrangers says :—" An important discovery in the history of art has just been made. A few months back M. Arsene Houssaye was commissioned by the State to direct researches at Amboise (Indre-et-Loire), with the object of finding the tomb of Leonardo da Vinci, the position of which was unknown. Last week the pursuit was crowned with success. A sort of case, found in an old church at Amboise, and containing a coffin, was pointed out to the notice of M. Houssaye. An inscription on the lid of the coffin is said to leave no doubt of the authenticity of the remains which it contains. Thus are refuted, as was ex expected, the suppositions that Leonardo da Vinci had died elsewhere than at Amboise." THE CONGRESS AT MALINES.—Major O'Reilly, in a letter to the Morning News, says :—" As I per ceive that my name has been mentioned as one of the Irish who had purposed attending the Catholic Conference at Aialinep, will you allow me to explain, through your columns, that not only had I purposed doing so, but had devoted what little leisure I possessed to preparing materials m for a paper on the progress of Catholicity i n I re l an d s i nce the commencement of this century. U n f ortunately, the m iousi e l n in t, es t s o o a f b o a n n e do o n f my children intention. The compelled rectore , at of verythe e last sr moment, the Catholic University of Ireland, who had also made ar rangements to be present, was likewise obliged, by urgent business of the university, to remain in Ireland. I felt the more this disappointment, as I had taken the deepest inte rest from the first in the project of my Belgian friends, which has produced such glorious results." A MAGNETIC MOUNTAIN has been discovered in Swedish Lapland, on the left bank of the Rautus joki; and the vein, which is several-feet thick, promises to be one of the richest scurces of natural magnets at present known. Mr. Berg, to whom it belongs, hopes to obtain from it enough to s upply specimens to all the collections in Europe. Among the facts mentioned in proof of the mag netic force which these magnets derived fr om this source, it is stated that a galvanometer traverses 10 degs. or 15 degs. in their presence, and that a contact of a few minutes im parts a sufficient charge to a piece of soft iron to enable it to support a weight of one or two Swedish pounds. A natural magnet weighing 400 pounds has already been ob tained, and larger ones may be expected. M. Done of Berlin has already possessed himself of one weighing 68 Swedish pounds; the price varies from eighty centimes to three francs the kilogramme. Th e A bb e Moigno, from whose admirable journal, Les Mondes, we have borrowed the above account, remarks that the extraordinary mag netism of this mountain suggests the question whether the magnet pole of the earth mast not be sought in Lapland rather than in. Siberia, th e more so as the ex i stence of the pole iu Siberia is more than doubtful. EGGS FOR THE MILLION.—What a fact it is that we have not only not eggs enough for the very limited use we make of them in our cookery, but are import ing them to the value of more than half a million of pounds sterling a-year ?In the last table of imports, the number for 18b1 stands as 203,313,300. Ido not forget that eggs are largely used for some of our manufactures; bat that does not affect the question why they are not produced at home. Upwards of two hundred millions of eggs pro duced for us by foreigners, while Englishwomen are want ing employment at home I Surely this is a mistake which must soon be rectified I The thing is, we have not studied the art of poultry-rearing as foreigners have, and as we ought to have done long ago. Even at this day, I aro► occasionally asked whether I believe in the possibility of regularly inducing hens to lay all the year round, and even whether it is possible to obtain a succession of eggs through the four seasons. Suoh points should not be left for foreigners to answer at this time of day.—Once e Week. FORTUNATE RESCUE AT 6EA.—The Phare de les _Loire states that on the 20th ult. Capt. Leveque, command ing a vessel sailing from St. Maio, while in lat. 37.10 .N.l , long. 15,50 W., saved 13 men, forming the crew of. the English vessel, Seaman , Captain Stopwith, bound from the North Sea to Shields with a cargo of corn. A short time after the English sailors were taken off the vessel she sank, I