The Express.
London, England, 1865-03-28 00:00:00

patch frees General Sheridan, giving the particulars
of his operations same Laxly's defeat :--
"Heed quarters, Middle Military Divide*,
Columbia, is, March 10.
" Geseral,rla my lest despatch, dated Waynes-
boro', I gave you a brief amount of the defeat of
Early b 7 Ouster's division. The same night this
division was pushed across the Bias Ridge, and
entered Charlottesville at 2 p.m. the next day.
The mayor of the pleas and the principal inhabitant&
earns put sad delivered up the keys of the public
buildings. I had to remain at Charlottesville
two days. This time was consumed in bringing
overfrom Waynesboro? our ammunition and pontoon
train. The weather was horrible beyond descrip-
tion, and the rain incessant The serond division
were oceepied during this time in destroying the
two large iron bridges, one over the Rivanna River,
another over Moses Creek, near Charlottesville, and
the railroad ter a distance of eight miles, in the
direction of Lynchburg. Oa the 6th March I sent
the first division—General Bevan oommanding—to
Seottseille, on the James River, with directions to
send out light parties through the country, and
destroy all merchandise, mills, factorial, bridges,
Ace., on the Rivanna River, the pies to join the
division at Scottsville. The division then pro-
ceeded along the canal to Duguidsville, fifteen
miles from Lynchburg, destroying every
look, and in many places even the banks of the
mutat 4Afainguidsville we hoped to 'ware the
bridge be let us cress the river, as oar postpone
were useless en account of the high water. In this,
however, we were foiled, as the enemy, on our ap-
proach, bad burnt both this bridge and the bridge
at Hardwioke. The third division started at the
same time from Charlottesville, and proceeded down
the Lynchburg railroad to Amherst Court House,
destroying every bridge on the road, and, in many
places, miles of the road. The bridges on this road
are numerous, some of them over five hundred
feet in length. We have found great abundance
in this smutty for our men and animals. In fact
the canal has bees the great feeder of Richmond.
At the Rockfish river the bank of the canal was
cut ; and at New Canton, where the dam is across
the James, the gaud-lock was destroyed, and th
the
e
James river let into the canal, carrying away
bank& and washing out the bottom of the canal.
The dam across the James at this point was also
partially daitroyed. I have had no opposition.
Everybody is bewildered by our movements. I
have had no news of any kind since I left ; the
latest Richmond papers were of the 4th, but con-
tained nothing. I on the
omittedfr mention that the
bridges on the railroad Swap depot
other side of Staunton to Charlottesville were
utterly destroyed, also ell the bridges for a distance
of ten miles on the Gordonsville Railroad. The
weather has been very bad indeed, raining hard
every day, with the exception of !our days, since
we started ; my wagons have, from the state of the
roads, detained me. rip to this time we have cap-
tured 14 pieces of artillery, 11 at Waynesborough
and three at Charlottesville. The party I 'setback
from Waynesborough started with 10 pieces, but
they were obliged to destroy two for want of
animals. The remaining eight pieces were tho-
roughly destroyed. We have captured up to the pre-
senttimell canalboats laden with supplies, ammu-
nition, rations, medical stores, kc. 1 cannot speak
too high terms of Generals Merritts, Casters,
a4d Nevins, and the officers and men of their com-
mand. They have waded through mud and water
during this continuous rein, and are all in fins
she
spirits and health. Commodore Hollins, of t
rebel navy, was shot near Gordonsville while
attempting to escape from our &demos& that
direction. (Signed) "P. H. SesaulDt
Major-Genseil."

THZ ALLZGED swam TREATY BILTWEEN
FRANCE AND ITALY.

The alleged secret treaty between France and
Italy has been the subject of explanations in the
Turin chamber. Signor Massari asked the Presi-
dent of the Council if the treaty really existed,
and General La Marmors replied in the most em-
phatic terms that it did not. Had not the House
abolished the punishment of death he would, he said,
answer for the truth of this denial with his bead ; as
it was, he would answer for it with something
he prised even more highly, viz., his honour.
Signor Visconti Venosta, the late Minister of Foreign
Affairs, by whom Signor Marsini declares the treaty
was signed, was equally emphatic in doneeniala.
Public opinion, he said, bad already justice
to these pretended revelations, respecting which
the only thing true was the credulity with
which they had been listened to. In answer
to • suggestion from Signor Ctispi, he de-
nied, moreover, that any conversation upon
the subject of such & treaty had ever taken place at ,
the time when the convention was being discussed.
The Opinions, in an article upon the subject, says,
that • protocol was added to the convention, but
that it related to the transfer of the capital, and
that, like the convention itself, it was
signed by Signors Nigra and Pepoli, and
not by Signor Visconti Venosta. "It is truly
incomprehensible," it adds, "bow the convention
could be signed in Paris and the protocol annexed
to it, in Turin by other plenipotentiaries ; nor is it
easier to understand how General La Marmora, who
was at first opposed to the convention, could
have become favourable to it when he
bad found upon the shelves of the Foreign-office
the treaty denounced by Mazzini." The .Nazione
of Florence writes upon the subject in
very strong terms. Signor Mazzini, it says, now
that the Piedmontese population are depressed and
agitated by recent events, announces to them that
their provinces are to be annexed to France, just as
he announced the mission of Genoa in 1860, and
afterwards that of Sardinia and Naples." The Pied-
, monteee population," it adds, " will do justice to
his inventions, as the Ligurian, Sardinian, and
Neapolitan populations did."

A LADY ' FREACELSR.
Mrs. A. F. Thistlethwaite again preached in the
ball of the Literary and Scientific Institution,
Edwards-street, Purtman4quare, last Sunday after-
noon. The proceedings on Sunday communed
punctually at 3 p.m., before which time both hall
and gallery were fulL The bills of dramatic
readings still affixed to the walls of pt
sages and lobby, the roomy stage of the ball
itself, with its faded crimson drop-curtain
and shabby pilasters and appointments, gives a
semi-theatrical aspect to the great room, and this
impression was rather heightened than destroyed
on Sunday by the whispered anticipations itad
dent curiosity of many of the people present. Not
that they were to any great extent of the class to
which such an ecclesiastical novelty es that promised
them might be supposed to apperl. Here and there
sparsely scattered among the congregation might be
seen a small deputation from the fashionable world,
but the vast majority of those filling the chairs aM
benches seemed to be drawn from the rho keepers
and domestic servants of the district, and were el
the highly oomf•mtable and respectable elan ham
which the frequentme—say at Mr. eparesos'a
Tabernacle—an mainly drama. The pled
was occupied by some of the leaden or silig=ge
society usually worshipping there, which numbers
some eighty members, its pastor, the Rev. Mr.
Davis, sitting to the right of the largei state chair in
front of which is the lecturer's taloleivrbetefrose Mrs.
Tbistleth waits so:Metered her auditors. Pnnetuelly at
three p.m. the lady preacher ace upon the plat-
form, not from behind the curtain, as some foolish
people seemed to aspect, but by a side door and;l
proceeding to the tibia, at once reed out alymn,
which was subsequently sang very sweetly slid
musically by aIL Gifted with the met perfect self
poesession, a deep rich contralto voles, which is
modulated with considerable skill and tact, and
having her great natural advantages supported by
that dramatic faoelty without some share of which
every appearann before the public falls fiat, Mrs.
Thistlethwaite is well qualified for the. difficult role
she has undertaken. And this was well evinced byte
grave and serious attention alas commanded
time
before her eloquence had play. From the
n being read
of the first line of the hym
out, every one present, whatever the original
motive for their visit might have been, seemed im-
pressed by the evident sincerity of the person before
them. No doubt it was expected by some that an
attractive woman would hold forth on religious
matters, and that her avowals of sincerity andear-
nestness would be moss or less true. lis scarcely
likely, however, that either the rapid flow of
words, always well chosen, sometimes eloquent, and
occasionally poetical--or the intellectual foree and
energy perceptible in every action—or the striking
mobility of feature—or the Damien air cif re-
finement—could be anticipated by any orisi to
whom Mn. Thietlethwsite is only known by name.
As a mere study of character she furnishes a re-
markable instance of the triumph tales, effected
over circumstances, and proves effect that in-
telligent earnestness is more than a mator that
touch of the ludicrous which attaches itsch felf to t
unoonventional, the exceptional and the pecu-
liar. Her sermon on Sunday was of the type
familiar to all who have frequentei places of wor-
ship of the evangelical school. It waa, however,
perfectly free from the fierce denunciations and
terrifying pictures which apparently form such
tempting themes for inexperienced end self-taught
preaches'. The efficacy of grass, the inexhaustible
character of the divine love, the certainty of for-
giveness for all, and the blissful fulness of those
called and chosen, formed the leading topics of her
discourse. Taking for her first text a passage from
the prophet Isaiah, "Shall the prey be taken from
the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered 1" she
reverted to manytther parts of both the Old and
New Testament, • reading aloud from each, and
supplying a running commentary to all. Thus, she
defended the character of Mary Magdalene from
the aspersions cast upon it by divines, and main-
tained that this Mary had never been guilty
of the sins commonly laid at her door. Thus, too,
she dwelt at length upon the fitness of woman as an
instrument of salvation and a messenger of mercy.
The fact of the disciples leaving the sepulchre while
a woman remained behind to weep—that a woman
should have first seen Jesus after the resurrection—
and that a woman was the chosen recipient of the
first assuring message sent to the apostle, were all
brought forward, as we understood, to prove
woman's special fitness for the work of conversion.
These points were urged with a rapid fluency, a oan-
stant transition of voice, and an energetic elocution
of which it is difficult to convey an adequate idea
without, at the same time, seeming guilty of
exmnation. The pretty methodist "Adam
BWe " did not throw her whole soul into her *elf-
appointed work more thoroughly than the lady
preacher of Sunday last appeared to do; while by up-
lifted imploring eyes, by outstretched arms, by occa-
sional excited pacing, to and fro the little platform,
she fully realised the notion of a female enthusiast,
who believed herself entrusted by the Almighty
with the discharge of a prescribed duty upon earth.
Nor, after a little time, did the sense of novelty in
listening to this tamale preacher interfere with
the attention due to her discourse. The elegant
black silk dress, with its plain white collar and
cuffs, formed no unseemly contrast to the gown
and bands one is accustomed to behold on the
orthodox figuras of clergymen of the established
church • and granting it be expedient for a lady of
Mrs. Thistlethwaite's position to preach at all, there
was nothing in her demeanour or arguments to pro-
voke hostile criticism. It should be stated that
both prayers and sermon were delivered without a
note of any kind, while from the comparative
frequency of its perorating sod its coneequent
occasional tendency to anti-climax, the latter
was obviously extem.pore, and that when Mrs.
Thistlethwaite said, in conclusion, that in her
anxiety to save souls she "could go on until 1.0-
morrow morning," we bad the fullest belief,
derived from the flow of language we had already
heard, that she did not over-estimate her powers.
The sermon itself lasted just an hour, after which
another hymn was sung, a short prayer was offered
by Mrs. Thistlethwaite, and another by the Rev.
Mr. Davis, and a final' announcement was made
that a Scotch nobleman would deliver an address
from the same place later in the evening, and that
Mrs. Thistlethwaite had also promised to preach
again next Sunday afternoon
such
Upon the effect wrought by such exceptional
ministrations as the one we have described,
it is not our province to speak. If after visiting a
midnight gathering, or a thieves prayer meeting,
you are assured that twenty or thirty of the poor
wretches you saw have been reclaimed,
and if you have indisputable evidence afforded
you of their having, for a time at all events, for-
saken their abandoned courses, it is safe to speak
of practical results. But it is otherwise with sinners
who are not at war with society, and whose trans-
gressions neither degenerate into crime nor develop
into full blown shameless vice. The London idler who
"creeps into houses and leads captive silly women,"
the grocer who gives abort weight or adulterated
goods, and the domestic who accepts unlawful tips,
can none of them be shut up in "Soma" or
taught better behaviour in reformatories. The
benefit effected here must be spiritual, end is, as a
matter of course, more difficult to gauge. Mrs.
Thistlethwaite has, we understand, received letters
from people whose limns have been roused by her
appeab,. and has heard from other sources of the
eonnessens she has made • and the little knot of
worshippers, in conjunction with whom she labours,
aver that out of their 90 member, all but four or
five and twenty have been gathered In from the

;reek-I:"
Our duty ends, however, with recording that
Mime' areamstnees were not wastbigto provoke
curiosity, and to assemble the idle and tbountiees
to Edwards-street on Sunday, the meet marked

propriety of demeanour was observable throughout
Sincerity show commands rempeet, sod of the
honesty of of the lady who bas thus chosen
to come ore the public as as expounder of reli-
gious truth no one having beard ber can entertain
a doubt, Indeed, it seemed so natural that her
Manlier and bearing should command respect, and
ensure attention and reverence—the two hours'
mewls* had so acclimatised the strangers to the =-
seem they were witnessing, at
the
111='s a pretty sort o' pme, Bill, eh 1" of a
cabman to the friend smoking with him outside,
probably jarred as strongly on their ears on first
leaving the
moor if it had been applied to public
worship of a orthodox kind.

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