The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-03 00:00:00

sensible. It is fine weather for marching and fight-
ing, and if the cold is sufficiently severe in Schleswig
to freeze the water defences on which the Danes
greatly reckon, the moment would be favourable for
the Germans. On this head I shall know more at
Kiel.

The Crown Prince of Prussia passed through
Hamburg this morning on his way to Marshal
Wrangel's head quarters. Prince Frederick of
Augustenbnrg—or the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein,
as he is now invariably called in these parts—has
left Kiel for a few days' shooting on the estate of
Col. Buehwaldt, at Neundorf, about 20 miles from
that town. There are a good many people going
out shooting just now in that direction, and we may
hear of some very big bags being made before many
days are over, You will probably have learnt by
telegraph that the Danes have begun to retire from
the Eider. For some days past it has not been ex-
pected that they would make a stand on this side
the Dannewerk. That is their stronghold, their
" quadrilateral," and they are not going to risk a
Solferino bfengaging superior forces in front of the
good defensive position it affords. The universal
opinion here seems to be, so far as I have had time
to ascertain it, that they certainly will fight. There
is great irritation on both sides, and the conflict,
when once engaged, ought to be both fierce and
stubborn. The forcing of the Dannewerk seems
considered tantamount to the expulsion of the Danes
from Schleswig. There is no position, lam as•
sured, in rear of that line, of a nature to encourage
a defeated army to rally and defend it.
The report, of the accuracy of which strong doubts
were recently expressed to you from Berlin, of a
neighbourly convention between Denmark and Swe-
den, in virtue of which the Stockholm Government
would send troops to occupy Copen h agen and Zealand,
so as to allow all the Danish army to be sent to the
front, has been received since I wrote. Information
I have obtained here induces me to renew the ex-
pression of my disbelief in its correctness. Recent
letters from Gottenburg declare it wholly devoid of
foundation. A Dane lately told me that he and
many of his countrymen would extremely regret to
see S wedish troops occupying their capital, and
that feeling is doubtless to be taken in connexion
with the designs of the Scandinavian party. You
remember the reports current just after the death
of Frederick VII., and when it was doubted whether
Christian IX. woald sanction that unlucky joint
Constitution,—rumours with which the name of
Prince Oscar of Sweden were connected. They may
think at Copenhagen that it is bad enough to have
Schleswig overrun by Germans, without risking the
proclamation of a Swedish Sovereign in Zealand.
Without impeaching the good faith of the Swedish
Government, there is a party in Denmark itself
which might endeavour to profit by an opportunity.
And the poverty of Sweden might make her hesi-
tate before the expense of despatching an army
abroad, except with the certainty of advantages to
be gained, or at least of compensation.

P.S.—Since the above was written I find that the
whole of the Austro-Prussian forces will not have
entered Holstein before Tuesday night at soonest.
The last of the Austrians are here, completing about
26,000 men, Twenty-eight to thirty thousand
Prussians have passed here and at Lubeck. Some
infantry of the Prussian Guard and some other
battalions have still to come, and will be followed
by the heavy artillery, The head-quarters of the
Austrians are at Nordtorf, and of the Prussians at
Bordesholm. Should the Danes be dislodged from
the Dannewerk, the next position they could take
up is at Ban, by Flensburg, whence their retreat
would be to the island of Alsen, opposite to which
the Germans would have to leave a strong force to
keep them in check while the main body advanced
into the north of Schleswig. The Alsen Sound,
between that island and the mainland, is very nar-
row, but extremely deep, allowing the passage of
large ships of war.

TOWNLEY DECLARED SANE.