The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-01 00:00:00

4,040 I

ING,

IV NO I' FORGET YOUR APPOINTMENT.
jil —We Sup at EVANS', Covent-garden, after Jullien'B

KINAHAN'S LL WHISKY v. COGNAC
BRANDY.
This celebrated Old IRISH WHISKY rivals the finest
FRENCH BRANDY,
It i Pure, Mild, Mellow, Delicious, and very Wholesome.
Sold in Bottles, 3s. Bd., at the Retail Houses in London ; by
the Agents in the principal towns in England; or wholesale
at

than to take a long journey by rail in the Con-
federacy. The passenger, once started for Atlanta,
will before he arrives there, although the distance
is only 130 miles, probably have time for exten-
sive self-communion. Upon my journey up, and
upon my journey down, I was, in each instance,
two nights and the better part of two days in the
train ; but I have heard of luckless passengers who
passed four days and nights in the cars, and who, if
they had started for Atlanta on foot, might reason-
ably have expected to get there on their own legs
more quickly than they were actually delivered by
steam, without the misery of passing four nights in
a box-car. It will be imagined that a passenger's
sufferings for food are much the same as he would
expect if he took a trip into Timbuotoo. Parched
corn—that is to say, maize fried or browned in a
skillet or frying-pan, at some shanty by the side of
the track—commands a fabulous price. A tin cup
full of water is worth more than champagne in a
French cafe ; a little bit of cold beefsteak, and a
morsel of corn bread, are given away by a charitable
quartermaster (who is pretty sure to have with him
a fair share of creature comforts) as though he were
distributing diamonds. Eventually you are pretty
sure to arrive at Atlanta at four in the morning. A
train starts for Augusta, the haven of all your
hopes, at six. You rush through the Cimmerian
obscurity of the streets to the Provost-Marshal's
to get your pass vise, run all the risks of
plunging headlong into the cellars or into the ex-
cavation made for the foundation of a house, and
at last weary, filthy, hungry, thirsty beyond ese
pression, you embark for Augusta, the possessor of
all the comforts I have described. It will be
imagined that a moderate hotel is under the cir-
cumstances classed in your mind with the Claren-
don, or the Metropole at Geneva, or any of the most
famous hostelries known to you on earth.
It seems to me hardly possible that these two
great antagonistic Western armies can lie much 1
longer in their present position. I believe that the I,
Federals would be well satisfied to winter at Chat-
tanooga, and to make it the base for their spring
campaign, if they possessed the railroad which
comes in from the West, and communicates with
Bridgeport; but from this they are entirely inter-
cepted by the Confederate possession of Lookout
Mountain, which not only dominates the railroad
running at its base, on the same side of the Ten-
nessee River as the mountain itself, but also enables
the Southern sharpshooters to make the road on the
other side of the Tennessee so hot as to be impassable
for waggons in the daytime. It is my belief that Gen.
Bragg's great object in adhering to his present posi-
tion is to make the Federal tenure of Chattanooga
during the winter without Lookout Mountain an im- ,
possibility. Bat if lam not mistaken, he will have to
fight somewhere, or to relax his grip on the moan-
tain. Your readers will have learnt, long before the
arrival of this letter, tliatGen.Rosencranz has joined
the noble army of decapitated Federal generals, and
that Gen. Grant now reigns in his stead. A month
ago I should have thought that the loss of Gen.
Rosencranz to the Federals was tantamount to the
gain by the Confederates of the two great victories
in the field; but, considering his inexplicable
strategy before the battle of Chicamauga, and his
manifest want of ability as regards handling his
troops on the battlefield, it is hard to maintain that
the prevailing opinion about him held in the Con-
federate army by every one except Gen. Bragg, and
which likens him to Gen. Pope, is not correct. The
substitution of Gen. Grant makes it more than ever
likely that the communication with Chattanooga
from
,the west—by the railroads which run from
Nashville and Memphis to Stevenson (close to Bridge-
port), and meeting there, sweep on together to Chat-
tanooga—will, if possible, be forcibly opened by the
Federals. For some time past one corps of Gen.
Grant's army has been busily engaged in repairing
the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, which has
long been unavailable to either belligerent, and by
which Grant obviously desires to throw Federal
reinforcements in from the Mississippi River. A
body of Confederate cavalry, under General Stephen
D. Lee, have done their utmost to obstruct the
Federal labourers, and but for another move of
General Grant's, there is reason to think the efforts of
General Stephen D. Lee would have been seconded
by the army of General Jaseph E. Johnston, which
would have moved up from Enterprise, in Mississippi,
with this object. But in order to engage General
Johnston's attention, General Grant instructed
another corps of his army—that commanded by
Macpherson, who is an eminent military engineer,
and one of the best officers in the Federal service—
to strike in upon Canton, to the north of Jackson, so
as to withdraw notice from the Memphis and
Charleston Railroad. It is certain that in his opera-
tions against General Macpherson,General Johnston
has had the best of it ; but whether the latter has
cleared the country of the Federals sufficiently to
admit of his going northwards and joining Stephen
D. Lee, lam unable to say. Another indication
that the Federals are in earnest about connecting
Chattanooga with the Mississippi River may be
found in the fact that they are steadily persevering
in rebuilding the bridge across the Tennessee at
Bridgeport, a long and massive structure, which was
destroyed long ago by General A. Sydney johns=
when he fell back from Bowling-green before the
battle of Shiloh. Altogether it seems to me pro-
bable that General Bragg will have to fight
another great battle before Christmas upon ground
somewhere between his present position and Bridge-
port. In addition to General S. D. Lee's cavalry
there is another large body of Confederate horse-
men somewhere in Northern Alabama, which has
[ recently returned from its successful ride under
I General Wheeler round Rosencranz's rear, and which
will make itself again felt before long. The disposi-
tion of the Western Federal forces since the decapi-
tation of Rosencranz is, if I am not mistaken, some-
thing as follows :—At Vicksburg, and operating
w
ards Canton, is the corps of General Macpher-
son
; along the line of the Memphis and Charleston
tßoailroad are two heavy divisions—one of them,
General Sherman's, engaged in protecting the work-
men who are repairing the line; at Stevenson, in
Alabama, an important point, being, as I have
said, the junction of the two railroads from
Nashville and Memphis, and a kind of depot for
as some think, two Federal
the army at Chattanooga, is General Hooker,
is General Thomas, with,
wcoirtphsa;t
alteascthoanttea,
nooorg, a
in all probability, at least four corps under him ;
at London, halfway
between Knoxville and
oan which has
e
Chat-
tanooga, is a small forc
lately suffered the los of 700 prisoners by a suc-
Confederate cavalry under
cessful dash on them of
Colonel Dibrell ; at Knoxville is General Burnside,
with probably two corps under him. The disposi-
tion of Western Confederate forces exhibits the
l Bragg, which faces General
large army of General Bragg, .
exhibits also General
Thomas in Chattanooga; it .
Johnston at Enterprise, acting
and General Samuel .
acting against Burnsade.
villa
tain that no serious 133
party in the imme
nooga, but that the p
likely be in the neighbourhood
London. But darn'
clearly the difficulties
army on either aide
possible not
such as the battle of against Macpherson,
Jones in Western Virginia,
Items tolerably cer-
ove be made by either
diate neighbourhood of Chatta-
oints of collision will most
of Stevenson and of
• g the last month I have seen so
which beset an advancing
in su cheat country:that it is
doubly to to regr that an opportunity
Chicamauga offered to the
Confederates,
and which would, if rightly seized,
cl of half their embarrassments, should
have dispose
deplorably thrown away. That great
1 .g bees so
U.. 13 .11 be made by the Federals to hold the line
efforts wits . -- from Knoxville to Bridge-
and Charleston
of the Tennessee Base.
' River,
port, and the line of the Mempue..
Railroad from Bridgeport to the ississi M' • - pp• -
will be palpable to all who are at the pains of 1
casting a glance at a good map. If the war be I
terminated upon the tai Possidetis principle, the
possession of this line will ;
ass,go to
Federals
the whole of Tennessee and Kentucky ; secondly,

Concert.

NEW NOVEL BY MISS EDWARDS.

Now ready, at all the Libraries, in 3 vols.,

BARBARA'S HISTORY.
By AMELIA B. EDWARDS,

8, GREAT WINDMILL-STREET, W.
Observe the Red Seal, Pink Label, and Cork branded
" Kinahan's LL Whisky."

Author of " My Brother's Wife," &c.
Hurst and Blackett, Publishers, IA
Great Marlborough-
street.

Naval and Military Intelligence.

NEW WORK BY A PRISON MATRON.
Now ready at all the Libraries, in 2 vols., 216.,

THE NAVY.

MEMOIRS

OF JANE
FEMALE CONVICT,

CAMERON,

The last of the plates with which the exterior of
the iron frigate Achilles is covered was successfully
fixed in its place yesterday afternoon, and the
vessel is now encased throughout in armour•plates
from stem to stern, the number of plates being 338,
and their aggregate weight up wards of 1,000 tons.
The plates vary in thickness from 4/in. on the
broadsides to 3in, at the stern. On Saturday Mr.
E. J. Reed, the chief constructor of the navy,
visited Chatham Dockyard, accompanied by Mr.
R. Abethell, from the Admiralty, and spent some
time in inspecting nearly every part of the Achilles.
The frigate is so far advanced in her construction
that she will be in all respects ready to leave the
dock on the 24th inst., provided there is sufficient
water to float her out on that date.

By a PRISON MATRON,
Author of " Female Life in Prison," 4:4.
Hurst and Blackett, 13, Great Marlborough-street.

Now ready, in post Bvo., lOs. 6d., with a Portrait of the
Author,
MY IMPRISONMENT AT WASHINGTON,
Including MY JOURNAL KEPT AT THE OLD
CAPITOL PRISON THERE.

By ROSE GREENHOW.
Richard Bentley, Publisher in Ordinary to her Majesty.

This day, at all Libraries, in one voL, price 10s. 6d.,
1p TON SCHOOL DAYS.
.1.11 London : John Maxwell and Co.. 122, Fleet-street.

This day, at all Libraries, in two vols., price 215.,
TERRIBLE WOMAN.
A London: John Maxwell and Co ,122, Fleet-street.

The screw steam sloop Royalist, 11, left Ply-
mouth Sound on Saturday evening for her destina-

, This day, at all Libraries, in two vols., price 215.,
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN ENGLISH
DETECTIVE.
London : John Maxwell and Co., 122, Fleet-street.

The screw steam gunboat Leveret, 3 (tender to
the Dauntless), from Southampton, with men, ar-
rived at Plymouth on Sunday.
The screw steam frigate Constance, 50, advanced
to the first division of the steam reserve, was re-
moved yesterday from the Prince's Dock in Devon-
port-yard, and placed at the North Jetty to com-
plete her fitment.
Her Majesty's ships Conqueror and Waterloo are
appointed to call at Plymouth to embark seamen
and marines for distribution on the China station.
The transport Colgrain, from London, with troops
for Algoa Bay, was off Plymouth on Sunday.
His Imperial French Majesty's line-of battle ship
Entreprenante, bound up channel, was off Plymouth
on Sunday. 'W ind, south-east.
An Admiralty order has been received at Chat-
ham dockyard as well as the whole of the other
naval establishments at that port to be closed on
the day after Christmas. Their lordships have
directed that the day thus granted is to be made
up by the mechanics and artisans working over-
time.
The War Department transport Marlborough
went alongside the Ordnance-wham, Chatham, yes-
terday, and commenced shipping the Armstrong
and other guns for the screw corvette Fawn, 17,
100 horse power, which is being fitted for the first
division of the steam reserve, in readiness for im-
mediate commission.
The following appointments were made yesterday
at the Admiralty :—Commander George Palmer to
the Aurora; Commander W, A. Smith to the Royal
Adelaide ; Lieut. Lord Charles T. M. D. Scott to
the Victoria and Albert, vice Parry; and W. F.
Woods, clerk, supernumerary, to the Fisgard. •

This day, price is. each,
ACCEPTED ADDRESSES,
PERFIDY OF CAPTAIN SLYBOOTS,
By GEORGE AUGUSTUS SkLA.
London : Ward and Lock, 153, Fleet-street,

This day, Never Before Published, price 25.,
B
EL DEMONIO. A LOVE STORY
By PAUL FEVAL,
Author of "The Duke's Motto."
London: Ward and Lock, 158, Fleet-street.

VILLIKINS IN LATIN VERSE.
See •`TRIFLES." By W. 11. C. NATION.
low well thought out some of them arc let the last
Villikinsius efusqe Diana' indicate."—Sun.
Now ready, price 28.
Ward and Lock, 158, Fleet-street.

On Thursday, the 3d of December, will be published,
stitched in a cover, price fourpence,
MRS. LIRRIPER'S LODGINGS,
FORMING TIIE
EXTRA DOUBLE NUMBER FOR CHRISTMAS
OF " ALL THE YEAR ROUND."
Conducted by CHARLES DICKENS.
CONTENTS.

How Mrs. Lirriper carried on How the Third-Floor knew
the Business. the Potteries.
How the First-Floor went to How the best Attic was under
Crowley Castle. a Cloud.
How the Side-Room was at- How the Parlours added a
tended by a Doctor. Few Words.
How the Second-Floor kept
a Dog.
On the 4th of Jams, ry, 1864, will be commenced, to be com-
pleted in Six Numbers of "All the Year Round," a New
Story called A WHITE HAND AND A BLACK THUMB.
Volume XI. will begin on the 15th of February, 1864, with
a New Serial Story entitled QUITE ALONE, by GEORGE
AUGUSTUS SALA.
" All the Year Round" is published in Weekly Numbers,
price 2d. ; in Monthly Parts, and in Half-yearly Volumes,
price ss. 6d., bound in cloth.

THE TEETH, as Supplied by NATURE and
Preserved by ART.
By M. C. ROGERS, M.R.C.S., Surgeon-Dentist.
London : 18, New Burlington-street, W.

THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)
AUTo one who has passedGtr ST Aa,
mG
oEnotßhmi An , a 0
vt.e2sB.
tern
Confederate camp, especially in such weather as
has scourged the present October, Augusta is a
Capua indeed. A clean bed with actual sheets,
plenty of water to wash in, decent food, a table to'
write on, candles, and many more similar luxuries,
can be adequately prized only by him who has long
floundered in the mud of Gen. Bragg's camp, and
realised the manifold privations which are so nobly
endured by each Confederate army. His enjoy-
ment will be enhanced by the recollection of the
railroad which connects Atlanta with Chattanooga,
and of the mud road which divides Chickamauga
Station from Missionary Ridge. In an extensive
experience of American mire, I have never seen
anything to equal the road by which supplies for
Gen. Bragg's army are now " waggoned." Fortu-
nately its length is only seven miles; but, in spite
of the asseverations of Crimean officers when
similar scenes are pointed out to them, it may be
questioned whether the famous seven miles from
Balaklava were ever half so bad. As you wade
through it on horseback with the mud up to your
girths, waggon after waggon salutes you, "stalled"
(as it is here named), or mired, in some hole rather
more bottomless than usual, the moles, according
to the fashion of their race, refusing after one un-
successful tug to try again, while by the roadside
dozens of their defunct brethren and of bony horses,
the carcases of which lend anything but fragrance
to the breeze, serve as a warning to their survivors
against undue exertion. Along this same road
wade wearily forward the long files of recruits or of
returning convalescents on their way to the front,
up to their knees in slime, with little prospect of
having dry feet for a week to come, as the heavens
seem permanently to have dissolved in liquid, and
camp-fires under such circumstances are all but im-
possible. Need I say that fever and ague, dysentery
and pneumonia, are rife among the Confederates and
among the hapless Federals who face them? And
yet the indications still are that neither Gen, Bragg
nor his opponent contemplate an immediate move
on a large scale. It is true that the condition of the
roads is such ae greatly to impede locomotion; but
this difficulty might be mitigated by dividing the
waggons and sending them along several different
roads. It is the concentration of waggons upon the
Chicamauga road which has reduced it to its pre-
sent fearful condition.
But if the waggon road is appalling, let not the
traveller imagine that his troubles are at an end
when he gets to the railroad. At present the main
and most important function of this railroad is to
carry provisions and ordnance to Bragg's army.
Travellers are clearly a nuisance not to be eneour•
aged under the circumstances. Accordingly, at the
little wooden shanty which is dignified with the
name of " Chicamauga Station," let no one expect
to find a passenger car, distributed into those low-
backed seats which suit the American taste, but are
execrated by all Europeans. A long line of box cars,
much resembling one of Pickford's freight trains in
lls 8
to lucky ct the
England, but individually much larger and dirtier, are
in waiting, and in one of them you may consider your-
self you can lay your blanket on the floor,
and escape under shelter from the cold pelting rain.
se
,orin 12
question
it
whether
arguesy great o u will p
e isnt
ea
xr ti
inexperience
e onenee
inh our'in k i f
x Confederate railroad travelling if you exhibit any
inquisitiveness on the subject. You will be told
there is no " imhedule or time table according to
which le,i.:omotion is directed but the trains are said
to .te "running wild"—which means that so soon
as a train arrives at Uhicamauga, and it suits the con-
venience of its conductor to start again for Atlanta,
he " puts out," trusting to the steam-whistle
of the engine and to the enormous lamp which
glares forward at the foot of each engine's chimney
to avert the collision which the single line of rails
and the careless economy of the trains render only
too probable. Frequent as are the accidents upon
these railroads, the only wonder is that
with,
there
yaerree
not ten times more frequent. To begin l
is the single line of rails; then there are the trestle
bridges over the innumcla.nle rivers and creeks,
which are carried away by every "freshet" or flood
in the stream, and which creak and tremble as the
train passes in such a fashion as would in England
elicit 100 letters per diem to the limes, from
agonised passengers. Then, thirdly, there is the
defective state of the rails, which are constantly
and in many places worn down to a thread not
thicker than a lady's little finger. Other possi-
bilities of accident there are by dozens, arising
from ouch casualties as cows and hogs upon the
track; but I have said enough to justify the pre-
vailing sentiment that it is safer to go into action

At Northern Rat-
way Terminus, at King's-cross.
Athlje imFmßeEdiEatellviciOnSitPylol; AthLe
fn ? t
Patron—The QUF:AN.
President—The Duke of BrrxeLEuu-ji—,
G
}I.G.
rrf,y'S-intl-TOttdi ,
Treasurer—Edward 7,fasteiman, Esq.
This was the first hospital t
le of free
introduce the p rinci p
and instant admission to V-
„de destitute sick, without the for-
mality of governors' lets-era. It is entirely devoted to desti-
tution in its most pit'..dble form—viz., that which is accom-
panied by sickneF,d and disease,i d is now of sufficient
magnitude that, with adequate support, it may be rendered
capable of admitting into its wards a very large proportion of
the casual sick of this great metropolis. It requires but the
funds in ordwe to have 500 beds available for the reception of
these the most wretched of our fellow-creatures. Moreover,
it gratuitously affords medical advice and medicine to more,
on the average, than 3,000 out-patients a week.
The Weekly Board feel it their imperative duty to make an
NA.RNEST APPEAL to the public for continued supple,
to enable them to admit and relieve the distressing cases that
daily present themselves.
Contributions are received by the Treasurer, Edward
Mas ter man, Esq., Nicholas
_lane ;
also by Messrs. Coutts and
Co. ; Drummond and Co. ; Herries and Co. ; Ransom and
Co. ; Prescott, Grote, and Co.; Smith, Payne, and Co. ; Glyn
and Co. ; Jones Loyd and Co. ; Barclay and Co. ; Denison
and Co. ; W Mania, Deacon, and Co. ; Overend, Gurney, and
Co. ; Nisbet and Co. ; Messrs. J. Barned and Co., Liverpool
and at the lloopital
OTANFORDS. SNIVEL Secretary.

nation AI -
of powder, shout,
consumption of 10,06011,, _
their own resources, It is 4311,1\-,

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isfnthe
owar
nc odn teionpupeesr,
i Min eo
sf tohf e
Eh isgs ht ;rent i
Tm
epnonr
et as
snece
to exclude the Confederates from the nitre caves
Twelve months ago the loss of this region would
have been most momentous to the South. At pre-
sent, with upwards of 1,000 pieces of field artillery
of their own manufacture or import in their hands,
and with all the pieces taken from their enemy,
which cannot fall greatly short of 1,000 more, it is
obvious that the loss of copper, needed for the
manufacture of their favourite 12 pounder Napoleon
gun, will not be severely felt by the Confederates,
even though it should prove permanent.
I was surprised to find, during my recent visit to
General Bragg's camp, unmistakeable evidence that
the field artillery of the Western Confederate army
is superior to that of the army recently commanded
by General Rosencranz. Among the 50 guns cap-
tured by the Confederates at Chicamauga there is a
large number of 6 pounders, which have long ago
been condemned by the Confederate ordnance
authorities as too small for field service, and which
have altogether disappeared from General Lee's
army in Virginia. A few 6 pounders are still in
the service of General Bragg's army, but they
have almost disappeared, and are being replaced
by the 12 pounder Napoleon. Probably by next
spring the 6 pounders will have been altogether
banished from the Confederate armies, and wilt be
found doing duty along the banks of the Mississippi,
a service for which their lightness admirably adapts
them. I was struck by the superior organisation of
the artillery in General Lee's as compared with
that in General Bragg's army. It is true that upon
neither side has the artillery been so great a feature
in these Western battles as it has in the battles of
Virginia. But the organisation and distribution of
the artillery, not into batteries of four or six guns,
but into battalions, which comprise four or five bat-
teries,
or, in other words, 20 guns, has worked ad-
mirably in Virginia, and was, I believe, chiefly the
result of General Longstreet's advice. The battery
organisation is still retained in General Bragg's
army, except in that portion of it which is under
the command of General Longstreet. In General
Lee's army to each corps are assigned five bat-
talions of artillery, or, in round numbers, 100 guns,
whereof two battalions are held in reserve. It will
be imagined that in the gigantic battles of this con-
tinent, which extend over miles, and are contested
by enormous armies, very little effect is produced
by the opening of a battery of four or six guns. But
the simultaneous discharge of 18 or 20 guns in a
well chosen position has never failed to make itself
sensibly felt; and to a measure of this kind—l mean
the opening by General Buckner of 12 pieces upon
the Federal column, which during the battle of
Chicamauga was thrown from the Federal left to
the Federal right—General Longstreet mainly
attributes the success which he gained on that day.
I shall defer until my return to Richmond any
comments upon the recent operations by which
General Lee has run General Meade into his rat
holes before Washington, and has broken up the
Orange and Alexandria Railroad (recently rebuilt
by the Federals) for many miles. But I may re-
mark, en passant, that October, 1863, does not seem
to have done more for the Federals than October,
1862, the first month which I passed within the
limits of the Confederacy. Inaction or retreat have
been every where the characteristics of their warfare,
nor can it be shown that Gen. Gilmore is at this
hour one whit nearer to the reduction of Charleston
than he was 100 days ago. lam assured that the
defensive works upon Sullivan's Island have grown
as rapidly as the Federal works fur offence upon Morris
Island, and not one man in the insurrectionary States
seems now to entertain any fears that Charleston,
even though burnt to the ground, will ever pass out
of the Confederate grasp. Huge reinforcements,
we are told, have joined the Federal armies in the
West, and they are trumpeted to the world in the
Northern journals as li'zely to make General Grant
invincible; but I have lately witnessed how silently,
steadily, and unostentatiously, Gen. Bragg's force
has been recruited, and I have more faith in an
army which boasts so little, but fights and endures
hardships so unflinchingly.
A long conversation with Colonel Rains, the
superintendent of the Government Powder Mills in
Augusta, and also the manager of the Arsenal of
Construction and of the Cannon Foundry in this city,
has taught me more than ever to admire the inge-
nuity and the energy which the Confederates have
brought to bear upon their struggle. Starting with-
out any powder mill in the Southern States, ex-
cept a small one at Nashville, which soon passed
out of their hands—without any large establish-
ments for making machinery, and without a single
trip hammer between the Chesapeake and the Rio
Grande—deficient in iron, lead, copper, tin, salt-
petre, cannon, small arms, and everything save
food, the Confederates have taught the world a
lesson in regard to the impossibility of subjugating
brave and high-spirited people, which will point
many a historical moral for centuries to come.
There are two men whose names are seldom heard
in connexion With the history of this war, but who
have probably contributed more to the Confederate
success than any other persons, with the exception
of Lee, Jackson, and Longstreet—l mean Colonel
Rains and Captain Brooke. Both of them modest
and unobtrusive men, absorbed in scientific re-
searches, inexhaustible in the fertility of their
resources, indefatigable in energy, they have pre-
sented during the last 30 months a record for the
study of their countrymen which will :everywhere
be read with profit whenever the history of this
great revolution is fully and fairly told. I have
seldom had the advantage of encountering !any man
whose conversation was so instructive and interest-
ing as that of Colonel Rains. His recapitulation of
the difficulties which he has had to encounter, of
the deficiencies which he has every day to supple-
ment and circumvent by ingenuity, and of the
results of his work, as evinced by his contributions
to the Confederate armies, is such as to awaken
amazement. In a former letter written some months
ago from this town I gave a short sketch of the
Augusta gunpowder mill. From that time up to
the present hour its efficiency has been constantly
on the increase, and as evidence of its prolific work-
ing I may mention that since its opening on the
27th of April, 1862, Colonel Rains has sent a
million and a half pounds of powder to Richmond
alone, exclusive of his contributions to Vicksburg,
Charleston, Mobile, and the armies of Generals
Bragg and Johnston. From his Arsenal of Con-
struction he has sent oat 6,000,000 cartridges for
small arms and 50,000 round shot and shell, to
say nothing -of caps, hand grenades,!and torpedoes.
From his cannon foundry he is continually turn-
ing out 12 pounder Napoleons, 20 pounder Parrots,
and howitzers; but the wealth of artillery already
t be has
1_
possessed by the Confederates is such that
h the
ceased to produce Napoleon guns With hisiee pro-
rapidity which at one time character
been one
ceedings, his rate of production
savin g b
ield of the
Napoleon gun per diem. The daily y
of 8,400 b. a
powder mill is now at the "teuired, be indefi-
day, which might, if occasion rel
every important station
nitely increased. But, with with powder,
in the Confederacy already surfeited
the hands of Uenerals Beau-
with large sups in
Johnston, and at Mobile and
Wil-
regard, Bragg, I-t° o
ur
f comae, draws his sup-
mington (General Lee.
ond), and with two other powder
plies from Richm
mills in active operation,
it
eration, is of little importance
that even this rate of production should be
maintained. The ordinary consumption of powder
in the Confederacy is rated at 2,0001 b. a day ; but
is, of course, greatly increased by such sieges as
those of Vicksburg and Charleston, which bring up
the average to 10,0001bs. a day, occasioned by the
large demands of the heavy artillery employed. It
;„ a singular commentary upon this war, that a
-hich two years ago produced not a pound
now think nothing of a daily
produced entirely from
'-'ent that obstacles

and shortcomings are of little moment, when en-
countered by such mechanical ingenuity and chy-
mical resources as at. possessed by Colonel Rains.
The details of his difficulties in the powder
mills here are too technical to affqrd interest to
the general reader; but I may mention that
his substitution of a kind of white poplar,
called cotton wood, in the place of willow, for the
manufacture of charcoal required in gunpowder,
has been most successful ; nor can any one fail to be
struck with the ingenuity of the sensitive tube
attached to one of his projectiles, or at the adapta-
tion and improvement of Captain Blakeley's prin-
ciple of construction for rifled shells, and at many
other successful inventions of Colonel Rains's genius.
He assures me that, having been summoned to
Charleston to investigate the cause of the explosion
which destroyed Captain Blakeley's big gun on its
first discharge, he ascertained beyond question that
it was due to improper loading. The remaining
Blakeley gun was successfully fired with 551 b. of
powder, and at 2-1- degrees of elevation, it threw its
bolt for 900 yards, the bolt subsequently careering
along on the top of the water, bound after bound,
for nearly two miles, before it sank. It must not be
imagined, because I have described somewhat in
detail the Government works in this city, that
Augusta is exceptionally conspicuous above other
Confederate cities as a contributor of war material.
It is estimated that Richmond alone furnishes 60
per cent. of all the war supplies needed by the
Confederates:

MAGAZINE DAY.

BLACKWOOD.•—" The Boatman," by Pisistratus
Caxton, is the first subject met with; it has already
been discussed in our columns. " Tony Butler"
proceeds at some length, and becomes more enter-
taining. It is very ludicrous, when Sir Arthur
Lyle mistakes one man for another, and brings home
to dinner as the Count a very objectionable individual, and
the excitement occasioned by his presence is a good satire
on the actions of people who seem to do nothing but run
after lions, and make idols of certain individuals. Nor-
man Maitland goes on with his clever contrivances, and
hits upon a plan for Tony, which is remarkable for im-
pertinence and assurance. "Tyndall on Heat" is a sort
of scientific paper, that discusses Professor Tyndalrs -
tures on the subject. The highest praise is awarded to
them, and the interesting facts that are
on; contained in the
course of the lectures are duly commented up at
the same time, while expressing admiration for the
great amount of scientific matter that is met with,
some amusing criticism is entered into concerning the
peculiarity of some subjects treated upon in this able
work. Thus it is said that, " When we are told
that, to produce the impression of a violet colour,
there enter into the eye precisely 699 millions of mil-
lions of these waves of ether per second, we listen with
more of admiration than of faith." From the quotations
that are occasionally taken from the work in this article,
it is evident that those desirous of increasing their know-
ledge in this particular branch, cannot do better than pos-
sess themselves of the lectures, and to peruse them atten-
tively. "The Navies of England and France, from a
French Point of View," is a paper that is sure to attract
notice at this juncture, and which affords us a very good
insight into some of the views of our neighbours, which
knowledge it is all times most essential to gain. Notwith-
standing the ability, and also, to some extent, the impar-
tiality which pervade these pages, there creeps into the
inquiry occasionally some of that jealousy of feeling,
and disparaging tone of remark, which seem in
some sort inseparable from the writing of a foreigner.
Still it is from these captious remarks that the wise will
learn and the mistaken ones take head to the error of their
ways. Due credit is here given to the spirit which has
animated the writings of M. Raymond; and, indeed, it is
quite refreshing to meet with anything approaching to
candour or courtesy in the criticisms of a rival. M. Ray-
mond has the sense to appreciate and the manliness to ac-
knowledge the greatness of England in many respects, and
thus accord his tribute of praise where many might content
themselves with the declaration of the errors that exist in
the system adopted by a nation, while they withhold all re •
cognition of its merits. " Chronicles of Carlingford" brings
some striking scenes before us this time, and the reader's
patience will be severely taxed with the conduct of Jack,
who is indeed a despicable character. Such men are the
pests of society, ever intent on their own ease, and caring
nothing for the comfort of ethers. It is a very amusing
scene in which the wily reprobate impcses upon his three
credulous old aunts, and affects the returning prodigal.
No wonder that poor Frank Wentworth was aghast at the
success of the imposition, and also in no small degree in-
dignant at the reflection upon himself which was imputed
to him by these zealous welcomers of the lost and found.
Affairs are becoming more complicated with regard to the
rest of the dramatis persona, and this section of the
"Chronicles of Carlingford" bids fair to rank equally high
in the estimation of its readers as its predecessors. " Per-
sonal Identities" is one of those suggestive sketches that
one is glad to meet with now and then in the pages of a
magazine, and which seem to blend philosophy with fancy.
A clever idea is started in this article that a new series of
"Imaginary Conversations" might be written between the
"New Self " and " Old Self "of many persons. Certainly
it would be a startling sight to some to regard their
old figures, mentally and physically; in the
mirror of memory reproduced in an undisputable form,
There are many quaint phrases and many homely illlustra-
tions in this little sketch, which may recall the past with
truthful force, and serve to scan the present and foreshadow
the future for us with skill and accuracy. "The Wigtown
Martyrs" refers to some altercations which have arisen as
to the validity or non-validity of Lord Macaulay's assertion
respecting the, execution of two women in Wigtown for
their religion. " The Invitation" is a very lively adapta-
tion of a well-known nursery tune to suit the transactions of
a political pastime now in practice. "Books on the Ame-
rican War" cites a goodly number. One of the advantages
which the rest of the world, the celebrated sous autres of
French parlanee,gain from these wars and rumours of wars,
is certainly the immediate conflux of books on the subject,
on all sides, and from all quarters. This makes a good
theme for discussion in an article. It is truly said that the
involuntary historians who have written these books are but
as witnesses in the cause, and " marshal the facts upoil
which the great jury, Posterity, will deliver the verdct.'
At the conclusion of this summary of the work, some r-
marks are made concerning Charleston, which are the
of notice. The writer expresses, in the first puT
opinion that the place is not inevitably doomed„effneeaptur-
The example of Sebastopol proves the diffieuevijee supply
ing an uninvested intrenched camp with an 'e'en the case
of material, and free access for reinforcemen'''.
for
of Charleston these difficulties are inc ea'the place by
whereas
at Sebastopol reinforcements could ontYrc:re than balanced
long ruinous marches, and were always less or fatigue from
with supplies by
by the fresh troops despatched wit"-eeinforeements to any
and troops to Gillmore by sea.
France and England, at Charlesaished
required extent can be sent
th!
!leo and access are on the side' iu of hostile inenchments
railway, far more rapidly
The ease is that of two
where the advantages of pe
Thee magazine has decidedly
of the defenders.
is at the same time better
more interesting than of old.
MACMILLare.!,-;ed
improved of lam
bayndthe talented author of " Ray
its prominent attractions, being
oneTwhoorthnewreasdtinrigof
ens-
origi
hoe " is
original, and, a
IdteicsidedlY
carried on in a somewhat complex fashion by a double
,eeeee.--James Burton's story alternating with the adven-
rur'—es of Mr. Secretary Osten in a manner less confusing to
the writer than to the reader. It is not difficult to see how
the two distinct narratives will be
and, indeed, the author takes no pains
subsequently interwoven;
ninechtiisons—olithtae esryrciadpeeadftceornLviiecut to congeal the cen-
t':
nhaonmt
HMi .yoa
rz tho
having
encountersng been at
once identified by him as Samuel Burton, the black sheep
of the Burton f •
almly. Samuel Burton had formerly been
servant and confidant to the eldest son of Sir George Hill-
yar, and now, at the opening of the story,master and man
have alike found their way to the antipodes on different
eerrands, It is probable that, as the story goes on, it will
d
velope into a talc of considerable interest and excitement.
Mrs. Gaskell contributes a memorial sketch of a hero of the
Federal lines who devoted himself to the care and encou-
ragement of a regiment of coloured troops, and who fell at
their head while storming Fort Wagner. Doubtless both
sides can furnish many such examples of sacrifice and self-
devotion for what they esteem the general good, and count-
less homes in all the States of the Union have mournedter; for
the dear ones called away to return no more. The
"Let
from a Competition Wallah," which have of late occupied,
a prominent position in the'pages of Diacmillan,are contientrue
and are devoted this month to a subject fatev
importance—the effect of Indian life and ell
be the topic
perm residents. It is singular that such ands
the disastrous
selected just when the mail has broughtlity
le long ere this
eroyneßuro •
intelligence that in all human prousaba"succumbed to the
another of our foremost statestaTenhe
state of Calcutta and
evil influences here spoken of•dian
official life, are matters
the risks attending Anglo-
which will be likely to engagiu much serious attention, and,
" it is high time that according to the description heere given of the sanitary con-
dition of the " City of
of the Black says
was done to effect some change. "Statistics," some-
thing
the writer of this article, in speaking
"cannot express the state of the native streets. The un-