The Sun.
London, England, 1855-09-17 00:00:00

Ne. XXIX.

Admiralty, Jan. 8, 1855.
I am commanded by my Lcrds Commissioners of
the Admiralty to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the sth instant.
Their lordships awarded to the officers and men
serving under your command at the capture of
Bomarsund such promotion and rewards as your
statement of their services seemed to merit, con-
sidering that the operation was a combined oue,
in which the French army, as well as the French
fleet, bore a conspicuous part.
The approbation of the Board has been notified
to Captain Watson, and to the officers and seamen
under his immediate command, for the bold and
successful manner in which they maintained the
blockade of the Gulf of Finland, in the presence
of a superior force of the enemy, long after the
commencement of severe frost, when the fleet
under your orders had retired to Kiel.
I am to add that their lordships have already
expressed to you their sense of your exertions during
your late command in the Baltic; and no censure
has been conveyed on any point requiring further
investigation.—l am, Sir, your most obedient ser-
vant,

W. A. B. HAMILTON.

Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Napier, K C.B.
Finding that he applied in vain to the Admiralty
for a court-martial on himself, Sir Charles, with a
manliness and regard for his own character which
exceed all praise, made application to the Duke of
Newcastle, then Minister of War.

[No. XXX.]
MERCHISTOUN, HORNDEAN, Jan. 5, 1805.
My Lord Duke,--When I went to the Baltic I
was under your Grace's orders, and I carried them
out, in conjunction with my colleagues, to the best
of my ability, and my conduct was much approved
of by the Government up to the fall of Bomarsund.
I concurred with the French Admiral, the Mar-
shal of France, and the French General of En-
gineers, in repudiating the plan of General Jones
for attacking Sweaborg, which, if carried into exe-
cution, would have ended in inevitable disaster,
worse even than Sebastopol.
The French General was made a Marshal of
France ; the French Vice-Admiral, a full Admiral;
Brigadier Jones, a Major-General ; and I have
been censured, deprived of my command, and
obliged to ask for a court-martial to justify my con-
duct. Is this justice my Lord Duke ?—I have the
honour to remain, your Grace's obedient servant,
CHAS. N APIER, Vice-Admiral.
To his Grace the Duke of Newcastle.

THE BRAE MAP GATHEREV G.

The annual gathering of the Highland clans for the
exhibition of athletic games took place at Mar Castle, on
Thursday, in the presence of the Queen and Court from
Balmoral.
From an early hour in the morning the clansmen were
seen mustering in groups, and large numbers of pedes-
trianshdneesecdrFasanhoylirppbeaedositfocHnrsnitigrohhoecliGia,hnradeareelnerndss
Forbes, .
and sightseers had gathered in the village of
Ch
aads tll
left
ft
to ns
tbreaftehrdeo nine n
ue
nod' ceiro ctklnti‘.eireelydelnae`
marched
o Balmoral,l an ver n n
where, o n
Green-
terrace, between the new castle and the Dee. Here they
presented a very picturesqe group, and being fine,
stalwart Highlanders, dressed in full Highland cos-
tare,e, they had a very-characteristic appearance. The
night was wet and cold, yet they started fresh
and hearty for the gathering on Thursday morning,
marched to the ground to the music of the bagpipes, and
carrying the banners of the clan. About one o'clock the
Farquharson and Duff Highlanders, under the Farqu-
harsons and Duffs, as their chiefs, marched from Castle-
ton, and took position in front of the old castle of Mar,
the whole forming three sides of a square, within which
the games were to come off. A lergo number of spec-
tators filled up the lines, and a fine display of the prin-
cipal families of Mar, with a few strangers from England,
was presented en the castle-terrace. A carpeting of the
Farquharson tartan was laid on the green platform of
the terrace slope, and sofas placed for her Majesty, the
Prince, and the Royal family.
The
des
ceahtharearetwe• ars vTernyefinnaes,tiaendstathoedesicnentehe centre o
was of
granes
an open plain, through which the river Dee winds.
sFornotinh tyhoens
sueme ma i
pertofptehned
ibeantltalre mmeans
st s
n, andf
granlo.not
ek irnogekt owtiht
he
eh& overhanging, screenel by gigantic mountains,
rgylaygepeoafkcs
aostfieLtoonchisnasgeaern.
and beyondit you look up
amongnLeosot kii innggwi
nht
ae htli appear
shelteredwpeeasrt ,
sttphhoeet
ednucmtsantophthnei,
wfart-hfaamepdorGtiolennoTfiiltts.
Towards
s
theh northie
highest slope yet covered with snow, rises above other
which
c eßh
giants of the Cairngorm range, and sweeps round to the
east. Deer forests face the lower slopes of this amphi-
theatre, on the foreground of which stands the mansion
of Invercauld.
hkencoawbnert,haantdthreaycinnegedonnoftobote,
malolrwe hpiacrh.
About 2 o'clock the games. commenced, and consisted
of the usual variety of throwing the. hammer, putting the
ticularly described,
The Queen drove to the castle at 3 o'clock, and
are now
wto
received with enthusiastic cheering. Rer was
roiewgeltl
the Prince looked full of health end= spirits,Majesty and
dressed in the Stuart tartan. The suite
all and were
t were present.
The games proceeded with great s •
ri in the presence of
the Queen, and the dancing wits • specially attractive.
the sword dance was the grand feate of the day. Imagine
two broadswords laid on a spring platform at right
angles. Imagine half-a-dozen athletic Highlanders foot-
ing a systematic step to the music of the bagpipe, every
step touching the apex of an angle ; imagine this done,
and the angle danced over from apex to apex for a quar-
ter of an hour or 20 minutes, and the swords Dever once
touched, and you have the sword dance, which carried
off the first prize.
The Queen and Court remained for about an hour and
a-half, and then returned to Balmoral amid the renewed
cheers of the people.
In the evening there was a grand ball as usual in the
Castle of Mar. It was
familiesatteded by the Farquharsons
and other distinguished
.of the district, and kept
up to an early hour in the morning.