The Sun.
London, England, 1852-12-22 00:00:00

APPOINTMENTS.

Commander Richard Purvis (1849), to command the
Argus, steam-sloop, commissioned at Devonport, vice
Commander G. G. M. Purvis, whose appointment to
command that vessel has been cancelled.
Lieutenants—James Gore Jones and W. H. Pym to
the Firebrand, steam-frigate, Woolwich •, M‘Leod R.
Cockroft, William H. Phipps, and Henry J. Bloomfield,
to the Imperieuse, 50, screw-frigate, Woolwich ; Beville
G. W. Nicholas and James C. Campbell, to the Amphion,
screw-frigate, Sheerness ; Thomas R. Collingwood, to
the Barracouta, steam-sloop, Sheerness ; Richard Brad-
shaw, to the Medea, steam-sloop, Portsmouth ; Arthur
J. Thrupp, to the Cruiser, steam-sloop, Woolwich ;
William Swinbuin, to the London, 92, Portsmouth ;
Thomas James M'Donnell and Edward M. W. Carring-
ton, to the Odin, steam-frigate, Portsmouth ; Frederick
Pyne, to the Argus ; Charles S. Dunbar and Augustus
T. Bullock, to the Desperate, screw steam-sloop, Devon-
port ; William A. V. Royse, to the Firebrand, steam-
frigate, Woolwich ; Henry A. Clavering, re-appointed
to the Excellent, gunnery-ship, Portsmouth.
Masters.—George Marsh, to the Firebrand ; William
J. B. Hilliard, to the Amphion ; Samuel W. K. Free-
man, to the Barracouta ; Frederick Wise, to the Medea;
Joseph Wallis, to the rgus ; William Byford, to the
Desperate. •
Paymasters.—Charles S. Giles, to the Amphion ;
Frederick Charles Dusautoy, to the Barracouta ; Har-
rington R. Jones, to the Medea ; Thomas M. Ramage,
to the Odin ; Arthur A. Speed, to the Argus ; Charles
Horatio Niblett, to the Desperate ; David Stapleton, to
the Encounter, vice Moorman, superseded ; Edward A.
Williamson, to the Prince Regent, 90, at Portsmouth,
vice Dyer ; Henry William Rowlstone, to the Frebrand.
Mates.—Dennis Beresford Pack, to the Odin ; Lewis
M. Cooke, to the Imperieuse ; Phillip R. Sharpe, to the
Cruiser.

Clerks.—Edward Edmea,ds, to the Amphion ; Charles
Mener Balfour, to the Barracouta ; William Henry
Joseph Brown, to the Medea ; Frederick Joseph George
Grimshaw, to the Odin ; John Pooley, to the Argus ;
George Thomas Harris, to the Desperate ; George H.
Walker, to the Cruiser.
Gunners.—Henry Isam, to the Firebrand ; William
R. Avery, to the Amphion ; Samuel Sharpe, to the Bar-
racouta ; William G. Warren, to the Medea ; William
Neville, to the Odin ; Robert Thompson, to the Argus ;
Richard Ellis, to the Desperate.
Boatswains.—Edward Mann, to the Firebrand ; John
Rise, to the Amphion ; Nicholas E •oa,d, to the Barra-
couta ; Charles Blackadore, to the Medea ; Robert Knight,
to the Odin ; John Budd, to the Argus ; John Ward, to
the Desperate,
Carpenters.— James Reading, to the Firebrand ; John
L. Speare, to the Amphion ; William Hochan, to the
.3:)...,racouta • sar,--3 John Read,
to thd Udn'i ; Samuel Brown, to the Argutsi- owne-s
Stanfield, to the Desperate.

PORTSMOUTH, DEC. 21.

The remains of Admiral Sir Thomas Briggs, late corn- 4
mander-in-chief of this port, will be removed early on ,
Thursday morning to London for interment.
The Admiralty have complimented the warrant officers ,
of her Majesty's ship Indefatigable, lately paid off at
this port, on the satisfactory condition m which they
returned the stores of the frigate.
The Admiralty have ordered that the vacation at the
Central Mathematical School at Portsmouth, shall com-
mence this day, and continue until the 25th January,
1852.
The Sealark, 8, at Portsmouth, is to be fitted as the
port vessel for the instruction of naval apprentices.
Porcupine, stebm-vessel, Lieut.-Commander Jackson,
arrived this morning from the eastward, and came into
harbour.
Cyclops, steam-frigate, Lieut. Seccombe in charge,
went out of harbour about three p.m., and brought up
at Spithead.
Odin, 12, steam-frigate, Captain F. Scott, has hoisted
her pennant, and is busy fitting.
Medea, 4, steam-ship, Commander Crawshaw Bailey,
although she has not yet hoisted her pennant, is very
busy rattling down, and painting outside.
Blenheim, 58, screw steam guard-ship, Captain Hen-
derson, C. 8., is caulking, and repairing copper on both
bows and entrance down to the eight-foot mark.
We yesterday announced the arrival of a Prussian
ship of war at the Motherbank ; it being sunset, the
garrison did not rettrn the salute. The proper compli-
ment was paid this morning, at nine, from the Platform
Battery. The Neptune will pay the like compliment to-
morrow. She is ca'led the Mercui, Captain Herrmann,
and is on a voyage from Swinnemunde for Rio, with
stores, &c., for the royal Prussian ships Gefion and
Amazon. Captain Herrmann, accompanied by L. A.
Van der Bergh, Esq., the Prussian vice-consul, visited
the admiral and governor this morning.
Merchant vessels continue to drop in from the Downs.
There are now between 60 and 70 at the Motherbank.
There must be at least a 1,000 hungry seamen, to the
benefit of the tradesmen of Ryde, Isle of Wight.
The Furious, 16, paddle frigate, Captain Loring, has
completed her complement withinhalf a dozen.
The Archer, 14, screw-sloop, Commander Strange,
has received orders to prepare for sea.
The Echo tug embarked 50 convicts from this dock-
yard this morning, and put them on board the St. Vin-
cent transport at Spithead, for passage to Gibraltar and
Western Australia.
The London and Margaret Evans line-of-packet
ships sailed from Spithead to-day for New-York.
The Avon steam-vessel sailed to-day with seamen, for
Portsmouth. _ _

The steamer Valorous was warped to the jetty pre

paratory to being docked and having her copper
examined ; and the crew of the Magicienne got up lower
yarcis and topmasts.
The Adelaide Australian mail-packet was to-day
towed by the Confiance and Pike up Hamoaze. About
209 tons of coals, now stowed in the fore peak, will be
brought further aft, and this alteration in her stowage,
it is expected will obviate all her defects in steering. It
is proposed to have her ready for sea on Thursday, at
one p.m.

THE FATAL FEVER, ON BOARD THE
DAUNTLESS.

We extract the following from a private letter, dated
Barbadoes, Nov. 28 :—" Since I last wrote to you, a
dreadful visitation has fallen upon us in the shape of
yellow fever, which it appears was caught at St. Tho-
mas's. We left that island on the 10th November, and
reached this on the 16th, evening. Next day, at 2 p.m.,
we took the sick to hospital, which is a military one,
and they are very kindly treated. One of the engineers
(Henwood), and a mate (Simpson), were buried the
evening of the 18th, in a new burying-ground attached
to a new church near the hospital. The other mate.
named Couper, was buried at sea—a procession of
boats being formed. As usual, the fever is most severe
upon fast livers and spirit drinkers. The following are
on shore, convalescent :—Edwards, chaplain ; Starr,
Marine officer ; and Seccombe, clerk. It is the worst
part of this disrase, that in all the fatal cases the patients
are utterly prostrated at first, and mad afterwards, so it
is but rarely they can listen to any words of spiritual
comfort. Our doctors say it is of little use to en-
courage the patients, and keep up their spirits : how-
ever, the hospital doctor, Denny, tells a different tale,
and directly ascribes several deaths to low spirits.
As to contagion, he says he cannot produce it ; and
not a soul about the hospital has beeu touched, though
they open all the bodies of the soldiers. He is an
excellent man. Accordingly, I go among them with-
out fear, and they are always glad to be visited. I
drink no wine or spirits whatever, in spite of the doc-
tor's advice to do so, which has always been followed by
the sharpest attacks whet?. fever has appeared. I eat
scarcely anymeat, and drink plenty of tea, coffee, soup,
and limepice ; and lastly, I have, ever since we entered
the tropics, had a thorough good wash, from head to
foot, every night before turning in. tis fully estab-
rished that the fever is locally not personally contagious.
All the doctors recommend that we be all landed, and