The Sun.
London, England, 1855-08-23 00:00:00

THE WHITE SEA.

The Inv alide Busse publishes the following re-
port of the Archimaudrite Alexander, of the Mo-
nastery of Solovetz, to Admiral Kroustchoff, mili-
tary governor of Archangel, dated the 25th of June
(July ')
To complete my report of the 18th inst., relative to
the appearance of the English near the Monastery of
Solovetz, I have the honour co submit respectfully the
following facts to your Excellency :
"On the 21st of June (July 3) the English screw-ves-
sel returned to the island of Zaiatsky at 5 in the after-
noon, and was soon followed by a French steamer ; both
cast anchor at about five versts' distance from the mo-
nastery, and sent some of their crew to the abovemen-
tioned island, where the commander of the English ves-
sel asked brother Memnon, the guardian of the church,
what reply the Archimandrite had made to the request
to send them oxen. 'None,' replied the old man. After
consulting among themselves, the English took him on
board their boat and brought him to our island of Solo-
vetz, and ordered him to declare to me that if I did not
present myself in person on the following day (June
22—July 4), on board their ships, or if I did not
send them what they wanted, they would come them-
selves and take away the oxen and cows. I kept
old Memnon at the monastery, and on the following
day I sent him to tell the English to send me au inter-
preter in a boat with four rowers only, while I would
go to meet them at 100 sagenes' distance from the
shore to confer with him, and I took this resolution with
a view of saving the monastery, or, at least, of doing
my duty, that my conscience might be tranquil in the
future. Taking my sub-prior with rue, that be might
be present at the negotiations, I left at 8 a.m. in a
boat pulled by seven excellent boatmen, and carrying a
white flag. On arriving at the island I stopped at a dis-
tance of 100 sagenes, and saw a boat of the enemy's
approach hearing a white flag and manned by 15 men.
I thereupon landed on the island with the sub-prior, and
sent my boat to meet the English to tell them to send
me an interpreter, with four rowers, and that I should
not confer with them except on that condition. In con-
sequence of this declaration one of the Englishmen got
into my boat and the others landed on a neighbouring
island. The Englishman who came to me said tbat he
was not an interpreter, but an English officer who knew
a little Russian, and that his name was Anthony. The
conversation turned upon their demand for oxen. I re-
plied, "I have nn oxen—l have only cows, whose mi.k
provides food for the monks, who are prohibited by our
religion from eating meat, and if you attempt to take
away these cows by force I will have them killed and
thrown into the sea before you can effect a landing.' I
then represented to him that in 1854 his compatriots hal
bombarded the mona-tery, which had been, and was to
he for the future, a refuge for the navigators of their
nation and of ether hostile nations in the course of their
commercial voyages,
"The Englishman said, in reply, 'The commander of
the squadron was doubly wrong—first, fur having bad
the -des of opening fire, although he excuses himself by
saying you fired upon him first ; and, secondly, for not
having taken the monastery after firing upon it. His
conduct cannot be praised.' And he concluded with
some gross expressions againstthe officer who commanded
the squadron last year. I took the opportunity of tell-
ing hi►n that, trusting in the intercession of our holy
patrons, we were firmly convinced that no human force
could ever take the sacred asylum. I persuaded him to
intercede with his commander that he should not insist
upon demanding oxen and cows, and he promised to do
so. On quitting he added, 'We now leave this, but in
three weeks' time a considerable fleet will come, in
which our CoMmander-in-Chief will be on board a vessel,
the very sight alone of which will fill you with fear : you
must then wait upon him with a white flag, and ask him
to spare the monastery.' My boatmen then took him
back. The two vessels mentioned above having remained
at anchor near the monastery on the 21st, 22d, and 23d
of June (3d, 4th, and sth of July) weighed anchor, and
paid a visit to the islands, hunting down and despoiling
the poor inhabitants. On the 24th of June (July 6) I
again visited the island of Zaiatsky, to ascertain what
the English and French had done there, „and I found my
two;old men in good health. On leaAng, the French
had robbed them of a cock and one year's provisions of
wood for burning, brought there from the monastery.
" When, during the course of the conversation, I
spoke to the English office' respecting the sheep be.
longing to the monastery which had been taken away,
he replied, We offered to pay for there to your old men,
but they refused the money ; we are at war, and we
pillage.' I then requested him t,) restore a boat, laden
with herrings, which had been captured within sight of
the monastery, and which was the property of a peer
peasant who war weeping bitterly. The officer promised
to do so, but did not ; a few barrels of herrings only
were left on shore with the recommendation to give them
to the peasant, and the boat with the remainder, was
taken away.
" We now see steamers pass daily in front of the mo-
nastery, which is strictly blockaded ; on our side, we
offer up prayers and place our trust in the Holy Mother
of God, who consoles the afflicted."

[PRICE 4D. STAMPED SD•

HEREFORD MUSICAL FESTIVAL.

HEREFORD, Wednesday.—The collection made yester-
day at the doors of the cathedral for the benefit of the
clergy widows' and orphans' charity amounted to 173/.
174. Bd. .

- The first concert last night was attended by nearly
400 persons. The following is the programme for the
evening :

PAET I.

Overture—(Jubilee)
Madrigal—" Merrily Wake," (Fair Rosa-
mond)
Scena—Madame Clara Novello, "Ocean !
thou mighty monster." (Oberon) Weber.
Duetto—Madame and Mr. Weiss " Tu lo
sai." ( due Foscari) Verdi.
Scena—Madame Grisi, " Cast a Diva."
(Norma)
Aria—Signor Mario, " Il mio tesoro." (Don
Giovianni)
Duetto—Madame Clara Novello and Miss
Dolby, " Dells Moss." (Le Prophdte) Meyerbeer.
Air—Madame Weiss, "Oh ! is it not a
pleasant thing." (Berta) H. Smart.
Terzetto —Madame Gri si, Signor Mario, and
Mr. Weiss, " Guai se ti efugge." (Lu-
cresia Borgia) Donizetti.
Song—Mr. Sims Reeves and Chorus,
" Come if you dare." (Bing Arthur) Purcell.
Between the parts : Fantasia—Pianaforte, Master Arthur
Napoleon, (Mose) Thalberg).
PART U.
Overture—(" Wood Nymphs")
Song—Mr. M. Smith, " Good bye, sweet-
heart"
Romanza—Madame Clara Novello, "Ma

negli estremi ietanti" (" II Ginramento") Mereadante.
Ballad—Mr. Sims Reeves, " Sad was the

hour." (Berta) H. Smart.
Duetto—Madame Grid. and Signor Mario,
" Mira la bianca inns."
Scotch Song—Miss Dolby, "Over the sea." Mrs. Groom.
Song—Mr. Weiss, " The village black-
smith." W. H. Weiss.
Quartetto—Madame Clara Novelle, Miss
Dolby, Mr. Sims Reeves, and Mr. Weiss,
" Un di, se ben rammentoini" (" Rigo-
letto")
Chorus—" The tiger couches."
The scena from Oberon, " Ocean, thou mighty monster,"
introduced Clara Novello, who was warmly received (as
were also subsequently Mario and Grisi, Miss Dolby
and Sims Reeves) and outdid herself in this glorious
piece. In the opening note of the scerla her magnificent
♦oice rang through the spacious hall with its peculiar
clearness, and altogether this piece was in our opinion
the gem of the evening.
Between the parts Master Arthur Napoleon played
one of Tbalberg's pianoforte fantasias. A good deal of
interest was excited by the appearance of this youthful
,xecutant. _ _ _

~The attendance at the cathedral this morning was very
much better than yesterday. This morning was devoted
entirely to Mendelssohtfe oratorio of "Elijah." To
Mr. Weis was allotted the part of the Prophet, and
Clara Novello, Miss Dolby, Mrs. 'Weiss, Miss Moss,
Sims Reeves, and Mr. M. Smith, all assisted in the
principal soli. A great treat was anticipated in the
rendering of the air, "If with all your hearts," which
was given to Signor Mario, and heavy was the disap-
pointment experienced by all who listened to his handling
of this beautiful air, sung without any of the pathos or
feeling which we have been accustomed to hear thrown
into the passage.
Clara► Novello sang the opening air to the second part,
" Hear ye, Israel," and, we need not say, did full justice
to it.

Among the company present were the Lord Bishop,
with Mrs. Hampden and Miss Hampden, the Countess
Lucan, Lord William Graham, the Ladies Bingham,
Lady Charlotte Montgomery, Lady Emily Foley, Lady
Langley, the Hon. and Rev. George Herbert and Lady
Harriet Herbert, Archdeacon Lane Freer, Archdeacon
Thorp, the Hon. Captain Hanbury, Mr. King King,
M.P.. Mr. Booker, M.P., Sir R. Price and Lady Price,
&c., &c.