The Express.
London, England, 1855-06-20 00:00:00

o*----------------7----bspeoprte, where pas are geoerally manned
as kept in readiness should the little Merlin persist
is approaching nearer than desirable.
Frew oar topmast mistress a capital view is ob.;
lewd of the port of Croostadt and !he surrounding"
pastry. The approach appears studded with bates-
-, I
betweso which the channel leads on to the towed
posunandiog a harbour, oow filled with a kunst et
Dots, securely locked within moles of masonry beilt
ig the water. A few miles south of Cronstadt is
situated the magnificent imperial summer palace of
owpooboutn, sod some distance from this, partly
lop to view in groves of birch and willow, a peep is
obtaiced of the gilt spires of the large palace of Pe-
tabor, celebrated for us fountain., cataracts, and the
artistic taste of its ornamental gardens.
It is almost impossible to count accurately the
kit withio, and to distinguish the different dew:rip-1
pips of craft. The following, however, is pretty ow- I
not :—Five sail of the line, fitted for sea, with top-
awards across ; two three-deckers, moored
• to, between Forts Meritchilloff and
Doostot; about seventeen ships, evidently sails of
the hoe, with only lower masts standing; betides
which there are a variety of frigates, steamers, and
• tutu—the number of which could not be sneer-
wood. Suffeiset, however, is seen to convince us
thew is no intention of meeting us at sea.
Ao article appeared last spring in the Journal de
eets, the production of a French engineer officer,
is which he points out "the governor's country house,
os
the northern shore of the island of Cronstsdt, as the
soot likely place to effect a landing,end for throwing
cep entrenchments," &c. This information the enemy
appears to have taken advantage of, andestensive earth
works have been raised on this point, mountiog 18
to 20 guns. Others of the same description are under
sonstruction along the northern shore, and the work-
* stiff, consisting of thousands, appear to cover the
spot like heaps of ants; and the battery also pre-
wets every stags of livid operation, from cutting the
int sod to tormiog the embrasure and mounting the

pas.
As to the movements of the rest of the fleet, we know
that the Desperate, Conflict, Esk, Cossack, and Archer,
are engaged in blockading the coast trom Libau to
Dagerort ; the Ajax, Captain Warden, is stationed in
the Revel roads; the Hogue and Colossus, at Biro-
land, the Amphion and Locust are cruising oft Swes-
burg ; the Magician°e has been detached on special
service in Biorkii Sand, leading to \Viborg.
The Bulldog has been sent with the mails to Dant-
sig. The Lightning and Princeis Alice are at Faro
Sand, where the Belleisle hospital ship has been
stationed and a general coal depiit formed. On this
island the French government built a temporary
hospital last autumn, which the Commander-in-Chief
has lately made use of for small-pox patients, of
which at one time upwards of 100 were landed from
the Arrogant and 60 from the Duke of Wellington :
the latter vessel lust her first lieutenant, Mr. H. Han-
gent, an old highly respected officer, from this
disease. Faro Solid also serves as a rendezvous for
ear cruisers, and most of the prizes captured are sent
here previous to leaving fur England.
Toe inhabitants are, of course, very friendly, as
considerable sums of money are circulated, the dif
knot ships being able to purchase fresh provisions
here; considerable employment also is derived from
washing for the officers of the squadron, who are
mode to pay for the nine most liberaly.
The Driver and Porcupine have just arrived with
Gallen in tow from Faro.
We are better rff this year for fresh meat, u a
weekly steamer is now regularly running between
Elsinore and the fleet with live stock, and the innle
wortunity enables private messes to order stook
aid vegetables; and as we have now a weekly mail
again can be complained of. excepting that
we an get no English papers via Dentstg, owlag
to the exorbitant rate of postage: these have copse-
quently to be got out by government transports,
which are few and far between.