The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-16 00:00:00

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A HEROIC FRENCH SOLDIER.

ONE OF THE YOUNG PALADINS OF NAPOLEON 111..
As wonderfully characteristic of the dazzling
devil-me-care heroism of the French Soldier, we
would here put together, not in vivid contrast, but
as companion pictures, an enthralling anecdote, and
an exquisite lyric in celebration, each of them, of
one of the dauntless band of the African. Chas-
sears. The anecdote, it is true, is of yesterday,
while the lyric is of some eight years ago. But they
exactly match, and—read now together—they can
hardly fail to win admiration for the young Poet
who wrote the lyric and for the young Soldier, who
is the hero of the anecdote.
SONG OF THE CHASSEUR.
BY SYDNEY DOBELL, AUTHOR OF 66 THE 13.0111LN,"
Oh; a gallant sans pour
Is the merry chasseur,
With his fanfaron horn and his rifle ping-pang /
And his grand havresack
Of gold on his back,
His pistol oric-crac I
And his sword cling-clang !
Oh, to see him blythe and gay
From some hot and bloody day,
Come to dance the night away till the bugle blows 6 au rang
With a wheel and a whirl
And a wheeling waltzing girl,
And his bow place aux dames l' and his oath' feu et sang
And his hop and his fling
Till his gold and silver ring
To the clatter and the clash of his sword cling-clang
But hark,
Thro' the dark,
•
Up goes the well-known shout
The drumb beat the turn out
Cut short your courting, Monsieur l'Amant I
Saddle ! mount ! march I trot I
Down comes the storm of shot,
The foe is at the charge I En avant I
His jolly havresack
Of gold is on his back,
Hear his pistol cric-crac I hear his rifle ping-pang
Vive l'Empereur I
And where's the Chasseur ?

He's in
Among the din
Steel to steel oling-olang I

PROWESS OF AN AFRICAN CHASSEUR
DURING THE LATE CONQUEST OF MEXICO.

At the last ball given at the 'rajleries the Emperor
was observed to hold a long conversation with a young
cavalry officer. This latter was Lieutenant de James, of
the African Chasseurs, whose heroic conduct in Mexico has
been much spoken of in military circles. Some few days
before the siege of Puebla, Lieutenant de James, when re-
connoitring at the had of 70 troopers, encountered unex-
pectedly a corps of 2,000 Mexican lancers escorting a eon-
voy of stores and provisions to the town. Without hesitating
a moment, he ordered a charge, and himself dashed through
the enemy's cavalry without looking to see whether his men
could follow him or not. He received three wounds as he
passed, one of which disabled his right arm, but, seizing his
sabre with the left hand he defended himself against 20 Mexi-
can troopers until his horse fell mortally wounded. The offi-
cer then rose on his knees and continued to fight until he had
received several more wounds, when he sank down ex-
hausted through loss of blood. One of the Mexican lancers
then cried out "Let us finish him I" and placed the muzzle
of his carbine on the temple of the lieutenant, who, on feel-
ing the cold metal, suddenly threw back his head, and the
ball only broke his jaw. Another lancer then approached,
and was about to pierce him with his lance, but was cut
down by one of four French troopers, who, seeing his
officer's danger, had determined to save him at all risks.
Surprised at this sudden attack, the Mexican lancers took
to flight, and the lieutenant's deliverers, after stanching his
wounds, succeeded in carrying him back to the camp. As
soon as General Pony heard of this gallant action, he
visited the wounded officer, whose recovery was considered
hopeless, and gave him the cross of the Legion of Honour.
Contrary to all expectation, the young officer, after lying 66
days between life and death, ultimately recovered, but will
never again be fit for military service. On returning to
France, he called on Marshal Forey, and requested his old
commander to obtain him a place as receiver of taxes. The
Marshal promised that he himself would speak to the
Emperor on the subject. Chef-d'escadron the Marquis de
Gallifet afterwards visited his old companion, and said,
" You must speak to the Emperor yourself; and, in order
to give you an opportunity, I bring you an invitation to
the next ball at the Tuileries." Though scarcely able to
walk, the young officer wont, and the Marquis de Gallifet
introduced him to the Emperor, who listened to his story
with the deepest interest. " Sire," said the lieutenant in
concluding, " I have received twelve wounds, which render
me totally unfit for further service. I therefore pray your

ajesty to give me a place as receiver of taxes." 6( yon
shall have it," replied the Emperor, "for you have Merited
it a dozen times."—Galignani.

HAWAII.—The rumour of the death of the Ring
of Hawaii, which was brought by telegraph a fort-
night ago, is confirmed by the mail just arrived by the West
India steamer. The king, who had been in ill health for
some months, succumbed unexpectedly to the exhaustion
produced by diarrheea on Monday, Nov. 30,
1863. He Was
the mainstay of the English mission which went out a year
ago at his request, which he regarded as the great means of
their regeneration. The mission will now doubly need the
sympathy and the help of England. Prince Lot Kame-
hameha, the brother of the late king, succeeds under the
title of Kahehameha V. Ile has confirmed the Prime
Minister, Mr. Wyllie, in his office, and given assurances to
the bishop of his support of the mission.
ANOTHER NEW
MAP OF EUROPE.--There is now
selling in the Paris print shops a new map of Europe
for 1866, which represents Italy complete with Rome and
Venice; France with the Rhine for its frontier; all Ger-
many under the sceptre of Prussia; and a great Scandina-
vian Empire in the north. He gravely says, however,
that if the map really
exists, no importance is to be
attributed to the fact. Oh, yes; let it be published in
Charivari.
OBSERVATIONS ON THE COMET have lost much
of their interest in consequence of its increased dis-
tance, though there are still traces of the faint tail and jet,
the nucleus being extremely sharp. On the Bth instant it
much resembled the great nebula in Andromeda. As it is
quickly now passing to the south and retiring both from
earth and sun it will soon be out of the reach of smaller
telescopes, particularly as the moon kill interfere.

TES. A Parliamentary
NAVY ESTIMA • paper
issued yesterday gives the navy estimates for the
years 1861-5, as well as for the years 1863-4 and 1862-3.
The expenditure for the years 1862-3 was £11,529,786,
which was reduced to the extent of £297,221, by extra the
•
ceipts and repayments made to the Exchequer, icaving
not expenditure £11,532,565. The estimates for the years
1868-4 were £10,736,002, from which has been deducted
£273,710 (a portion, £68,427, of which is estim into the
tes) as
extra receipts and repayments paid or to be paid i
Exchequer, showing the net expenditure as £10,462,322,
The estimates for the year 1664.5 aro given nt £10,432,610.
The estimated amount of extra receipts and repayments is
put down at £263,588, leaving a net expenditure of
£10,169,022. The net estimated decrease in the estimates
for 1864-5, as compared with those of the previa' year, is
therefore £303,422.