The Sun.
London, England, 1855-10-08 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

Tale DAY—Morn. 23 min.aft.l2.—Evening 42 min. aft. 12
TO- AORROw—Mom. 0 min. aft. I—Evening 18 min. aft. 1

THE WEATHER.-SIIN OFFICE, Oct. 8.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.

66 highest since noon yesterday.
54 —lowest this morning and during the night.
63 —this day, at noon.

BAROMETER, 29'58.
WTND, S.S.W.-Light, with sunshine and cloudy
weather. Slight shower about noon.

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LONDON, MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1855.

What do the army and the people of France
think of the failure of the English attack on the
Redan on the Bth of September We know
from the admirable article in the Moniteur, which
we transferred to our impression of the 24th ult.,
the impression that prevails in the very highest
quarters respecting the great gallantry and effi-
ciency of the English troops then as on all pre-
vious occasions. We have also seen the generous
encomium bestowed by Marshal PELISSIER on his
Allies, pointing out, too, that there had been
a French as well as an English failure on that
memorable day. It may, however, and even has
been asserted that these laudatory expressions
were attributable rather to politeness than to a
very accurate view of what had taken place,
and that in the Palace of Truth a more
homely and less pleasing estimate might
be heard of the skill of British Officers and the
conduct and bravery of the soldiers ! Very
stringent criticisms have been offered in this
country respecting the arrangements for the
attack, and the conduct of a large proportion of
those actually engaged.
It is not unnatural that there should be an ex
• pression of discontent at our own repulse while
our Allies so fully accomplished their task, and,
as asserted by many persons assuming to speak
ex cathedra, monopolised the whole glory of the
capture' of the beleaguered City ! While such an
impression is abroad in this country it is par-
ticularly desirable to know whether it has ex-
tended beyond the Channel, and been participated
in by any large or influential section of our Allies.
Hence the importance of the answer to the inter-
rogatory with which we commenced this article.
" What do the army and people of Francs
think of the failure of the English attack on the
Redan on the Bth ultimo ?"
We rejoice to be enabled to produce unexcep-
tionable testimony on this interesting topic—tes-
timony that must be regarded as conclusive by
every disinterested and unprejudiced person. We
earnestly commend the admirable letter of Pro-
fessor AYTOIIN, which will be found in another
part of this day's impression, to the attentive
perusal of our friends and of the community as
large. It is indeed well worthy of perusal, and
will, we trust, remove any apprehensions that the
honour of old England had been tarnished before
Sebastopol, or that we were not entitled to share
in some degree the laurels so profusely gathered
by our brave Allies on the ever-memorable Bth
of September.
It is naturally a source of considerable gratifi
cation to ourselves to find that the view which we
put forward, and have continued to maintain, has
been so completely and unequivocally corroborated
by a witness in every respect so trustworthy as
Professor AYTOUN—testimony that convinces us
that the voice of France is universally uplifted in
favour of our gallant men, who receive ample jus-
tice from those whose training and education emi-
nently qualify them to form a correct judgment
on such points. The explanation which has been
given by our distinguished countryman is, as he
declares, universally recognised in Paris. We
see, from the reported conversation of General
PELISSIER, what it was that he required. He
wished that, from the moment of taking the
Malakhoff by a coup de main, the Russian atten-
tion should be distracted, even for a single
hour, to afford the opportunity of strengthening
his-position, and thus enabling him to retain the
possession of the glorious prize. For that he
sent forward his own troops to assault the Redan
of Careening Bay, and the Central and Quaran-
tine Bastions. They failed, like our own, but not
until the great object for which they were made
had been accomplished. Nobly did our brave
fellows, albeit that many of them were " mere
boys," as they were contemptuously termed, dis-
charge their arduous and terrible duty. Not
only did they proceed across the two hundred
yards that intervened between their trenches
and the Redan, under a tremendous enfi-
lading fire of artillery, but they made good
their footin,g, and for nearly two hours-1 hour
56 minutes —maintained their desperate position,
and that 'notwithstanding the absence of that
support which they naturally anticipated, but
which was' withheld, in order to prevent a greater
amount of carnage than that which actually took
place. It is unquestionably a deplorable exigency
that required the sacrifice of brave men, that de-

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