The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-21 00:00:00

APPOINTMENTS.

Woormicir, AUG. 20.—Commander Lord John
Hay (1851), to command the Wasp steath-sloop at
Woolwich.

Commander the Hon. George H. Douglas (1851),
to command the Bittern, 12, sloop, commissioned this
day at Sheerness.
Commander Thomas Stuart (1840), to study steam
at the factory at Woolwich Dockyard.
Lieutenant the Hon. Horatio Nelson, to the Samp-
son steam-frigate, at Portsmouth.
Midshipman—Charles R. Forest, to the Penelope
steam-frigate, on the west coast of Africa station.
Naval Cadets—H. Schomberg Kerr, to the Me-
gmra steam-frigate, at Sheernesa ; Seymour Os-
borne, to the Sanspareil screw steamship, at De-
von port.
The Agamemnon, 90, screw steam-ship, was taken
into King William IV.'s Dock this morning
before
six o'clock. She draws 18 feet 6 inches of water at
her stern.

SHEERNESS, FRIDAY.—Her Majesty's
steam-vessel Wildfire, Mr. Brockman, second master,
commanding, arrived at seven P.M. yesterday from
Dover. paddle-wheel

A large French man .of_war screw steam-frigate,
the name of which We could not ascertain,
came
down the Thames and anchored at the Nore
on Wednesday evening. She left again yesterday
morning.
The following extracts from a private letter, rela-
tive to the speed of the steamers in attendance on the
Royal yachts on their recent cruise to
Antwerp,
will be perused with interest, and afford another
proof of the superiority of the Barracouta over the
Odin, Sampson, Magicienne, and Retribution :
aqua-
" At 6.30 A. in. on Tuesday, the 10th, the Royal dron left the anchorage off Osborne, and proceeded in an
easterly direction with a moderate. breeze the starboard
studding-sails being set.
"An hour after their departure a signal was made
from the Victoria and Albert for the squadron to ren-
dezvous in the Downs. They then put on
power, being at starting (at 7.30 A.M. ) in the following
position, and at about a third of a mile distant from each
other:— their full

Port Line.

Starboard Line.

VictoriaVahn'ildi. Albert.
Black Eagle. Fairy.
Magicienne. Odin.
Barracouta. Sampson.
Retribution.
" The Barracouta was soon observed to beg
those in advance; in 40 minutes from the time of start-
ing at full speed she Came up with the Magleienee, and
A.
tu ten minutes more passed her. Two hours subse-
quently, viz , at 10.40 ,m,, Barracouta was abreast of
aining on
Odin; and although for a while the speed of both ap-
peared to bo nearly equal, in 20 minutes the Odin was
asterni of her competitor. At noon Odin was astern of
" Until three miles
arracouta half a mile, Sampson three quarters of a
mile, Magicienne a mile and a half, and Retribution five
or six miles.
being small ' after noon, owing
of a -;z3, the steam of tbe Barracouta was
nl°,l,tll) to the proper pressure, being only from 81b. to
tu- the square inch; the revolutions of the engine, per
minute, not exceeding 18.
'whs, a distance of about 115 miles, to the coal
D: The interval of time occupied in reaching the
_was 10 hours 40 minutes; by Odin, 10 by Barracouta
51; by Sampson,
Barracouta beating the Odin by 3i wiles' Sampson 4
_ll 2; by Magicienne, 11 25; by Retribution, 12 11; the
relative in ites, Magicienne 7 miles, end Retribution 12 miles;
the average speed of the Barracouta being 10i miles per
hour.
" The squadron anchored in the Downs for the night,
with the exception of the Retribution, which vessel was
sent on to Flushing to procure pilots for, and to await
the arrival of the Royal yachts, Sce•
" At 4 A,Dt. on the following morning the Barracouta,
engines were worked
the
le Odin, the Sampson, and the Msgicienne left the
'uwoi on their voyage to Flushing, the royal yachts
quarter after two
leaving some time afterwards.
might keep her place. A little.s 4 3wohpil ex . afteri
b e
inn ogonn
tTivneepaotsteitniodnasn.tthsteeaßmaerrrsaoboeuiMordered to keep their
on the several grades of expansion, in order that she
eatrhl
and
Royal yachts came up and proceeded towards Flushing,
offtae vvshcihcehldptlafcoertAhenytwarerripv.ed About a
P,31. Having taken pilots on board they proceeded up
I" water, and not sufficient depth for the Odin and
Retribution to proceed, they let go their anchors. The
Barracouta, the Magicienne, and the Sampson, went on
at full speed, the forma PA"ing first the Magicienne,
and in an hour afterwards the Sampson. The Barra-
couta reached Antwerp 18 minutes before the Mugici.
enne, and 24 minutes before the Sampson, keeping her
steam better than on the previous day; having in an in-
terval of three hours gained a considerable advantage
over the other two steamers. On starting the Magi-
cienno was astcre of the Sarapen about half a mile; it
is therefore evident there oust have been something
wrong ~, in the latter to have allowed the former to get
ahead. In this short trial (of only three hours' dura-
tion)-
tion) the Barracouta gained more than on the previous
occasions, and had she worked up to her full power her
advantage would have been greater.
" At ten o'olock the next morning the Retribution ar-
rives Antwerp. While
th
''°,
twerp. mooring she got across
e
bo,w of
the Magicienne, carrying away the latter's bow-
sprit, close inside the cap. The damage was repaired
by putting the cap further in, and cutting cif the broken
end,
"On the afternoon of Saturday the Royal yachts, with
the steamers in attendance, proceeded down the Scheldt,
and anchored for the night some wiles inside et Flush-
ing, which they reached the following morning.
" At seven A itt, on nonday the whole squadron
weighed anchor on their return voyage, the steamers
being about a cable's length apart,_the Retribution ex-

cepted, which vessel was a. quarter of a mile astern of
the rest. At Loon the Barracouta was ahead of the
Mugicionnis mile:l, of the Odin 3 miles, oF the Sap-
son 4 miles, 0: the Retribution 7 miles, and about 3 miles
astern of the Black Eagle. At three P.M. the Barracouta
lost sight of the R,qribution's smoke, being in advance of
her a distance of at least 15 mike. At four P.M. the .ar-
rtcouta arrived off the South Foreland, distance from
Flushing 92 miles, which she accomplished in nine hears,
giving an average of rather more than 10 miles an
hour, beating the Magicienne 41 miles, the Odin six
miles, and the Sampson eight miles, the Retribution
being still out of sight. The squadron now directed
their course fur Dungenees Road, for the purpose of
there anchoring for the night. The Barracouta per-
formed the entire distance from Flushing in 11 hours,
being, ou her arrival, in dance of the Mtgicienne six
miles, of the Odin 73, miles, the Sampson 91 miles, and
of the Retribution 19 miles.
" Shortly before 5 Am. on Tuesday, the 17th, the
squadron left Dungenesse for Cowes, the distance be-
tween which places is 92 miles. The average speed per
hour of the Barracouta on this occasion was 103, miles.
of the Odin 101, of the Magicienne, 9:1, of the Sampson
ai, and of the Retribution 83,, the Barracouta beating
the Odin by 24 miles, the Magicienne six miles, the
Sampson nine miles, and the Retribution 16 miles. Du-
ring this day's run the- speed of the Odin was nearly
equal to that of the Barracouta, while that of the others
had somewhat decreased."